How would you rank/rate the work/films of Richard Matheson.

1. Duel - 8/10
2. The Devil Rides Out - 7.5/10
3. The Night Strangler - 7.5/10
4. The Pit and the Pendulum - 7/10
5. The Incredible Shrinking Man - 7/10
6. House of Usher - 7/10
7. The Omega Man - 7/10
8. Stir of Echoes - 7/10
9. Night of the Eagle (aka Burn Witch Burn) - 7/10
10. Die! Die! My Darling! - 7/10
11. The Raven - 7/10
12. Real Steel - 7/10
13. The Legend of Hell House - 7/10
14. The Last Man on Earth - 7/10
15. Twilight Zone: The Movie - 6.5/10
16. Somewhere in Time - 6.5/10
17. Dead of Night (1977) - 6.5/10
18. Dracula (1974) - 6.5/10
19. Trilogy of Terror - 6/10
20. Jaws 3-D - 6/10
21. What Dreams May Come - 6/10
22. The Box - 6/10
23. Tales of Terror - 6/10
24. The Comedy of Terrors - 4/10

1. The Incredible Shrinking Man - 9/10
2. Duel - 7/10
3. Stir of Echos - 7/10
4. The Pit and the Pendulum - 7/10
5. Night of the Eagle - 7/10
6. The Last Man on Earth - 7/10
7. The Raven - 7/10
8. Twilight Zone: The Movie - 6.5/10
9. Real Steel - 6.5/10 
10. The Box - 6.5/10
11. House of Usher - 6.5/10
12. Somewhere in Time - 5.5/10
13. The Omega Man - 5.5/10
14. What Dreams May Come - 5.5/10
15. I Am Legend - 4.5/10
16. The Legend of Hell House - 4.5/10
17. Loose Cannons - 4.5/10
18. Jaws 3-D - 4/10

9.5/10
The Night Stalker (1972)
The Night Strangler (1973)
Legend of Hell House (1973)
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
The Raven (1963)

8.5/10

Night of the Eagle aka Burn Witch Burn (1962) (half written by Matheson-other Charles Beaumont and a third writer)

8/10
Duel (1971)
The Devil Rides Out (1968)
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

7/10

House of Usher (1960)
The Last Man on Earth (1964)
Master of the World (1961)
Tales of Terror (1962)
Dying Room Only (1973)
The Comedy of Terrors (1963)

6/10



Scream of the Wolf (1974)

Dracula (1974)
The Martian Chronicles (1980)


Die! Die! My Darling aka Fanatic (1965)


6/10
Dead of Night (1977)
Trilogy of Terror (1975)
Jaws 3D (1983)

The Stranger Within
I Am Legend (2007)

5/10
Twilight Zone: The Movie (1986)

Masters of Horror: Dance of the Dead (2005)

De Sade (1969)

4/10
Loose Cannons (1990)

Forgot about What Dreams May Come--I would give that a 4/10 too.


Matheson hated when people altered his dialogue. Pretty rare in fact to find it being done. Peter Lorre did it but he was ok with that.
In his scripts, the dialogue is literally word for word.
One interesting aspect of the Night Stalker--originally the coroner was supposed to be Indian (as in India). It is very specifically stated in the final draft.
Two lines from the movie that are not in the script : "Bela Lugosi strikes again/Knock it off--it's her daughter."

Makes me wonder if it was added to make the cops look better because later in the story--they are presented so negatively.
Although Charles McGraw's character is not in the final scene--he may have been in the script. I am thinking he was probably removed for Standards and Practices--that the police could not be presented so badly. And originally Sheriff Butcher entraps Kolchak--he tells him to stake the vampire.

The Night Strangler was originally supposed to be about Jack the Ripper but Matheson got second thoughts since Robert Bloch had done it already.
When doing a screenplay based on the writing of someone else, he said that he never wanted to add his own ideas to it--he felt the job of an adapter was to convey the essential elements of it and not add his own ideas.
Although in the case of Dracula, it differs quite a bit from the source.