Henry Thomas has appeared in a handful of Stephen King adaptations over the last two decades. Henry Thomas started his acting career as a young boy with one of his first-ever roles starring as Elliott in 1982’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. This launched his career and earned him a Young Artist Award in 1983 and his career has been steady since then, consistently appearing in new releases. Over the course of Thomas’ career, he’s made several appearances in horror projects with four separate roles in Stephen King projects.
Henry Thomas’ roles in these projects have varied from being the mentor for the primary character to an early victim or even an antagonist in his different appearances. Thomas’ career has certainly evolved from his days as a child actor, and he delivers solid performances that fit in with the creepy and harrowing tones of King’s adapted films. However, the quality of these films vary from project to project, with one standing out above the rest.
4 Pet Sematary: Bloodlines
Pet Sematary: Bloodlines is not a terrible film, but it does suffer for being an original project inspired by Stephen King’s Pet Sematary which introduces new lore and in some ways contradicts the original. The film serves as a prequel to the novel and the earlier film adaptations and draws most of its story from chapter 39 of the Stephen King novel where Jud relays the story of Timmy Baterman who was brought back through the power of the Pet Sematary. The novel talks about an isolated incident where Timmy was brought back and terrorized the community by being generally creepy and revealing hidden details about the townspeople. Taking this to a whole new level, Bloodlines features a massacre, multiple corpses coming to life and an ancient union sworn to protect the secrets of the Pet Sematary.
Henry Thomas features prominently as the father of Jud Crandall, Dan Crandall, who is also a member of the union guarding Ludlow and its residents against the evil power that sleeps in their otherwise quiet town. Dan is keen that his son should escape the town and pursue his own life without the influence of the Pet Sematary, but thanks to a desperate father and a tragic death, the evil is awoken. Thomas has a stellar performance, adding gravitas and seriousness alongside the love of a father to a film that somewhat struggles to find its purpose. Bloodlines offers a meaning and origin behind the story told in Pet Sematary but as is often the case with horror, building the story sometimes removes the mystery and eeriness of the film.
3 Desperation
Based on the 1996 novel of the same name, Desperation was a straight-to-TV film starring Ron Perlman as a possessed sheriff and Annabeth Gish as the leading lady Mary Jackson. Perlman’s wicked sheriff plants drugs on innocent passers-by in order to detain them and enact the will of a demon named Tak who is possessing him. Thomas plays the husband of Mary, Peter Jackson who is killed off early in the film.
The screenplay was written by King himself which helped to deliver a story that stayed true to the original novel. The film performed moderately well considering it was released on ABC in 2006 and then soon after on DVD in the same year. Unfortunately, due to the scheduled premiere coinciding with the popular show American Idol, viewership may have been impacted, but it had a respectable 7.5 million. Had the release of these project been marketed and scheduled a little better, it could have become considerably more popular, but it’s overall a solid entry into the Stephen King horror adaptation catalog.
2 Gerald’s Game
Gerald’s Game is an exceptional story based on King’s 1992 novel which was widely regarded as being a concept that couldn’t be adapted well for film. In 2017, Netflix released their adaptation with direction from Mike Flanagan and a script by Flanagan and Jeff Howard. The film centers on a couple who rent a quiet lake house for a short break in an attempt to rekindle their relationship. Carla Gugino stars as Jessie Burlingame, opposite her on-screen husband Gerald played by Bruce Greenwood. Gerald handcuffs Jessie to the bed but suffers an unexpected heart attack and passes away leaving Jessie trapped. The rest of the story plays out with Jessie unable to move from the bed and facing inner demons and hallucinations brought on by her traumatic upbringing.
Henry Thomas plays the role of Jessie’s father who abused her as a child and presents a truly chilling and creepy performance as the gaslighting father that haunts Jessie into her future. As with many of Stephen King’s other stories, there are some elements of supernatural horror, but this film does a wonderful job of exploring the depths of horror produced by the psyche and survival instincts. Thomas makes for an incredible villain and adds depth to a film that is already layered, complex and incredibly well-directed to make something truly spectacular and deserving of the Stephen King label.
1 Doctor Sleep
Written and directed by Mike Flanagan, Doctor Sleep is another movie in which Henry Thomas appears in a follow-up film in a previously established franchise, as it serves as a sequel to The Shining. Starring Ewan McGregor as Dan Torrance, the movie shines the spotlight on the young boy who stayed at the Overlook Hotel with his father and mother before the former became violent and turned on his family. Dan, now fully grown and seeking to leave the memories of the Overlook far behind him, sunk deeper into a drinking habit and has since recovered. In the timeframe of the movie, Dan finds ways to help those who are suffering with his shining powers.
Henry Thomas plays a small but integral role as the bartender in The Overlook and also Jack Torrance, Dan’s father in flashbacks. The dual personality and roles give Thomas a chance to deliver a captivating performance that evokes the spirit of Jack Torrance and sends chills down the spine of a grown Dan. Supported by Thomas’ part in the movie, Doctor Sleep is undoubtedly one of the best Stephen King films in recent memory.
