There are a lot of Stephen King books out there — and about as many movies based on those King-ly books. The writer earns his title as a horror master not just through craft, but prolificity. He's got multiple works that could contend for "scariest book ever written," but quite a few that aren't so great either.

If you're preparing for a King deep dive, with movies or TV, consider starting with the cream of the crop. One story that's absolutely in that cream is King's novel "The Dead Zone," which fellow horror master David Cronenberg adapted as a movie in 1983. For added convenience, "The Dead Zone" is now streaming for free (with ads) on Pluto TV.

Now, Cronenberg is synonymous with body horror, but "The Dead Zone" is no gross-out picture; the violence happens only in spats. What makes it Cronenbergian is that is about a man undergoing a physical...