Summary
- The Twilight Zone's fear-inducing episodes question reality and attract viewers across its revivals.
- Ellison's adaptation of King's "Gramma" preserves the chilling tone & memorable ending effectively in the episode.
- King's "Gramma" has been adapted into the movie "Mercy," but it remains less talked about compared to other King adaptations.
The most fear-inducing episodes of The Twilight Zone make viewers feel that reality isn't what it seems and anything could happen. The sci-fi/fantasy/horror anthology series premiered in 1959 on CBS and aired for five seasons before coming back for three more revivals. It's interesting to compare the 1985, 2002, and 2019 revivals, especially since the most recent one was developed by horror filmmaker Jordan Peele. There are several The Twilight Zone episodes that are talked about the most, and that includes the episode based on a short story by Stephen King.
Much of King's work has been adapted for TV and movie with what many fans would say are mixed results. For instance, Misery is a work of art, but the remakes of Pet Sematary and Firestarter aren't much to write home about. However, when one of King's best short stories was adapted for an episode of The Twilight Zone, a beloved sci-fi author wrote this memorable episode, and that was a great decision.
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What Happens In "Gramma," The Twilight Zone Episode Harlan Ellison Wrote?
Harlan Ellison wrote season 1, episode 18 of The Twilight Zone called "Gramma" which aired on February 14th, 1986 and was based on Stephen King's short story, which was published in the 1985 collection Skeleton Crew. The story centers around a boy named Georgie (Barret Oliver) who is spending time with his grandmother, who isn't well. As George pretends he is no longer afraid of his grandmother, he learns his grandmother is a witch, which is the first sign that something is wrong.
Adapting a short story can be tricky if there isn't a clear ending or strong character work. But, of course, King is a legend for a reason and his story "Gramma" has a relatable main character, a creepy villain, and a scary conclusion.
While Ellison's The Twilight Zone episode "Gramma" alters the ending of King's story slightly, the overall tone and vibe are the same. Ellison did an incredible job ensuring that King's tale was as chilling as ever, perhaps even more so. "Gramma" has a memorable and terrifying ending as Gramma touches George and they become one person. In the final moments of the episode, George/Gramma tells his mom that Gramma died. When his mom hugs him, George has red eyes.
While some of the best Twilight Zone episodes were written by Rod Serling, Ellison's "Gramma" is one of the most well-written and unforgettable episodes of the show's entire run. Ellison was the right writer to adapt King's short story "Gramma" as he was a legend in the world of science fiction and fantasy. Besides writing the Star Trek episode "The City on the Edge on Forever," which was released in 1967, he wrote countless short story collections, non-fiction, and novels. One of his most famous stories is "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream," which was published in 1967.
While some The Twilight Zone episodes are humorous and others stirred up controversy, "Gramma" proves why the anthology horror series remains so influential and powerful. The show always makes viewers wonder what's real and what's imagined, and it's hard not to think that every story is simply a dream (or a nightmare). "Gramma" takes an ordinary character (a grandmother) and makes them terrifying, and while many of King's short stories could be adapted for The Twilight Zone, this one worked particularly well.
What Other Adaptations Are There Of The Stephen King Short Story "Gramma"?
Stephen King's short story "Gramma" was also adapted into the movie Mercy, which was a horror movie produced by Blumhouse and released in 2014. The movie stars Chandler Riggs as George Bruckner and the cast includes Amanda Walsh, Mark Duplass, Dylan McDermott, Joel Courtney, Shirley Knight, and Frances O'Connor. This adaptation isn't talked about much, likely because it was a straight to DVD release.
In 2014, Jason Blum spoke to Collider about Mercy and talked about why the title was chosen. When asked if Gramma wouldn't be "marquee friendly," Blum said:
"The title came about for exactly the reasons that you're saying. The movie isn't camp at all, so we wanted to steer away from that. Is it too close to Misery? Well, I don't know, that could be good or bad, I suppose. I thought Misery was a great movie. I don't think so, but I guess we'll find out."
Blum also talked about the Blumhouse filmmaking model and said they want "low-budget, high-concept movies, which are very different than typical independent movies." Blumhouse has adapted a few Stephen King works, including the Netflix movie Mr. Harrigan's Phone and a remake of Firestarter starring Zac Efron.
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