I Am the Doorway

Last updated
"I Am the Doorway"
Short story by Stephen King
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s) Science fiction, Short story
Publication
Published in Night Shift
Publisher Doubleday
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Publication date 1978

"I Am the Doorway" is a science fiction short story by American writer Stephen King, first published in the March 1971 issue of Cavalier magazine, and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift .

Contents

Plot summary

After being exposed to an alien mutagen on a spaceflight to Venus, disabled former astronaut Arthur narrates the frightening changes he goes through. Arthur begins the narrative with his hands bandaged and complains of horrible itching both before and after the expedition. The transformation manifests as a swarm of tiny eyeballs on his fingertips. These eyes serve as the titular "doorway" for an extraterrestrial civilization, allowing them to peer into our world, but from an alien perspective; humans are hideous monstrosities that they fear and despise, according to Arthur.

Soon, the alien presence is able to not only peer through this portal, but also to take control of Arthur's shattered body and use him to perform heinous atrocities. Arthur douses his hands in kerosene and sets them on fire in a frantic bid to retain his humanity, only to discover that once the gateway is opened, it cannot be simply closed. For over seven years, he is able to keep the extraterrestrial presence at bay. However, as the aliens' eyes emerge on Arthur's chest, he announces that he intends to commit suicide with a shotgun to stop them from killing anyone else.

Film adaptation

In 2009, the Czech director Robin Kašpařík obtained rights from King to adapt his short story into a non-profit short film. The film, Jsem brána (I Am the Doorway), was shot using the fulldome technology. The story was finally adapted as a short film [1] by Robin Kašpařík in 2017. [2] The film was shot in a first-person viewpoint, with the main character played by mime Radim Vizváry.

In 2015, British director Matthew J. Rowney produced the short story via the Dollar Baby campaign. The adaptation currently has the most international awards attached to a Dollar Baby movie. The film stars Greg Patmore and Luke Brandon Field in the title roles. [3] [4] As of 2015, the film was in postproduction. [5]

In 2018, director Simon Pearce adapted the story into a short film by the same name. [6] This adaptation, produced by noted independent filmmaker Robert Shulevitz, [7] won multiple awards, [8] including the Philip K. Dick Best Sci-Fi Short 2018. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip K. Dick</span> American science fiction writer and novelist (1928–1982)

Philip Kindred Dick, often referred to by his initials PKD, was an American science fiction writer and novelist. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his lifetime. His fiction explored varied philosophical and social questions such as the nature of reality, perception, human nature, and identity, and commonly featured characters struggling against elements such as alternate realities, illusory environments, monopolistic corporations, drug abuse, authoritarian governments, and altered states of consciousness. He is considered one of the most important figures in 20th-century science fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fredric Brown</span> American novelist and short story author

Fredric Brown was an American science fiction, fantasy, and mystery writer. He is known for his use of humor and for his mastery of the "short short" form—stories of one to three pages, often with ingenious plotting devices and surprise endings. Humor and a postmodern outlook carried over into his novels as well. One of his stories, "Arena", was adapted to a 1967 episode of the American television series Star Trek.

<i>Childhoods End</i> 1953 novel by Arthur C. Clarke

Childhood's End is a 1953 science fiction novel by the British author Arthur C. Clarke. The story follows the peaceful alien invasion of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival begins decades of apparent utopia under indirect alien rule, at the cost of human identity and culture.

<i>Skeleton Crew</i> (short story collection) 1985 short story collection by Stephen King

Skeleton Crew is a collection of short fiction by American writer Stephen King, published by Putnam in June 1985. A limited edition of a thousand copies was published by Scream/Press in October 1985 (ISBN 978-0910489126), illustrated by J. K. Potter, containing an additional short story, "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson", which had originally appeared in Rolling Stone magazine, and was later incorporated into King's 1987 novel The Tommyknockers. The original title of this book was Night Moves.

<i>Night Shift</i> (short story collection) Book by Stephen King

Night Shift is Stephen King's first collection of short stories, first published in 1978. In 1980, Night Shift won the Balrog Award for Best Collection, and in 1979 it was nominated as best collection for the Locus Award and the World Fantasy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alien invasion</span> Common theme in science fiction stories and film

Alien invasion or space invasion is a common feature in science fiction stories and films, in which extraterrestrial lifeforms invade Earth to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it, harvest people for food, steal the planet's resources, or destroy the planet altogether. It can be considered as a science-fiction subgenre of the invasion literature, expanded by H. G. Wells's seminal alien invasion novel The War of the Worlds, and is a type of 'first contact' science fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Science fiction film</span> Film genre

Science fiction is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, mutants, interstellar travel, time travel, or other technologies. Science fiction films have often been used to focus on political or social issues, and to explore philosophical issues like the human condition.

Who Goes There? is a 1938 science fiction horror novella by American author John W. Campbell, written under the pen name Don A. Stuart. Its story follows a group of people trapped in a scientific outpost in Antarctica infested by shapeshifting monsters able to absorb and perfectly imitate any living being, including humans. Who Goes There? was first published in the August 1938 issue of Astounding Science Fiction magazine and was also printed as The Thing from Another World, as well as included in the collection by the same title. Its extended, novel version, found in an early manuscript titled Frozen Hell, was finally published in 2019.

<i>Alien Nation</i> (TV series) Science fiction police procedural TV series (1989–1990)

Alien Nation is a science fiction police procedural television series in the Alien Nation franchise. Adapted from the 1988 Alien Nation movie, it stars Gary Graham as Detective Matthew Sikes, a Los Angeles police officer reluctantly working with "Newcomer" alien Sam "George" Francisco, played by Eric Pierpoint. Sikes also has an on again-off again flirtation with a female Newcomer, Cathy Frankel, played by Terri Treas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan O'Bannon</span> American screenwriter, director & visual effects supervisor (1946–2009)

Daniel Thomas O'Bannon was an American film screenwriter, director and visual effects supervisor, usually in the science fiction and horror genres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First contact (science fiction)</span> Science fiction theme about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life

First contact is a common theme in science fiction about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life, or of any sentient species' first encounter with another one, given they are from different planets or natural satellites. It is closely related to the anthropological idea of first contact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dollar Baby</span> Contract with Stephen King to adapt one of his short stories for $1

The Dollar Baby was an arrangement in which American author Stephen King would grant permission to students and aspiring filmmakers or theater producers to adapt one of his short stories for $1. King retains the rights to his work, but as he began to experience commercial success, he decided to use the Dollar Baby to help the next generation of creatives. The term may be used to refer to both the adaptation itself and the person adapting it; for example, "The Sun Dog" was made as a Dollar Baby and filmmaker Matt Flesher became a Dollar Baby upon adapting it.

<i>The Whisperer in Darkness</i> Novella by H. P. Lovecraft

The Whisperer in Darkness is a 26,000-word novella by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written February–September 1930, it was first published in Weird Tales, August 1931. Similar to The Colour Out of Space (1927), it is a blend of horror and science fiction. Although it makes numerous references to the Cthulhu Mythos, the story is not a central part of the mythos, but reflects a shift in Lovecraft's writing at this time towards science fiction. The story also introduces the Mi-Go, an extraterrestrial race of fungoid creatures.

"Uncle Otto's Truck" is a horror short story by Stephen King, first published in Yankee in 1983, and collected in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew.

<i>The Body Snatchers</i> 1954 science fiction novel by Jack Finney

The Body Snatchers is a science fiction novel by American writer Jack Finney, originally serialized in Collier's magazine in November–December 1954 and published in book form the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Literary adaptation</span> Adaptation of a literary work into another work

Literary adaptation is adapting a literary source to another genre or medium, such as a film, stage play, or video game.

<i>Communion</i> (1989 film) 1989 drama/thriller film directed by Philippe Mora

Communion is a 1989 American science fiction horror film based on the book of the same name by Whitley Strieber in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient astronauts in popular culture</span>

Ancient astronauts have been addressed frequently in science fiction and horror fiction. Occurrences in the genres include:

In his lifetime Arthur C. Clarke participated in film, television, radio and other media in a number of different ways.

References

  1. "I Am the Doorway".
  2. "I Am the Doorway". IMDb .
  3. "Čech točí exkluzivně podle Stephena Kinga, nesmí však vydělat ani korunu". 6 October 2014.
  4. "První český film podle Stephena Kinga".
  5. "První projekce ukázky filmu Jsem brána".
  6. "I Am the Doorway". IMDb . 2 May 2018.
  7. "Robert Shulevitz". IMDb .
  8. "I Am the Doorway - IMDb". IMDb .
  9. "THE PHILIP K DICK FILM FESTIVAL".