HBO’s new series, The Outsider, continues Stephen King’s onscreen renaissance with a harrowing adaptation of the celebrated author’s novel. Given a prestige drama sheen, the show operates as an unflinching detective story full of twists and turns, bolstered by an all-star cast. Ben Mendelsohn and Jason Bateman both shine in their respective roles as Ralph Anderson and Terry Maitland, navigating a whirlwind of grief, horror, and a touch of the supernatural. Four episodes watched for review. Minor spoilers ahead…

It Chapter Two, director Andy Muschietti’s followup to 2017’s wildly successful It, is a baffling hodgepodge of half-baked ideas. Every time the film has an interesting choice to make, it makes the wrong one, squandering its stellar cast and Stephen King’s rich mythology. Frustratingly overlong and exceedingly myopic, It Chapter Two is one of this year’s most disappointing horror blockbusters.

What Stephen King calls his most frightening novel makes for a bloody, but muddled film. Directed by Mary Lambert and penned by King, Pet Sematary is written faithfully close to its source material, but stiff acting and off-balance pacing dampen its effectiveness. Packed with 80s camp, including some stellar gore and creepy-kid horror riding off the coat-tails of 1988’s Child’s Play, the film is vintage fun, but is probably viewed through rose-colored glasses. Die-hard King fans may be able to appreciate the sickly silliness, but not if they’re searching for a sincere scare.