[KING'S CORNER] Gramma (1986)
- Joseph
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Gramma (The Twilight Zone) - King's Corner Review
Welcome to King's Corner. A recurring series of reviews based on the film and TV adaptations of Stephen King's novels and collections, reviewed and released in order of the original source material publishing date.
Director: Bradford May
Starring: Barret Oliver, Darlanne Fluegel, Frederick Long, Piper Laurie, Kane Hodder
Written by: Harlan Ellison
Produced by: Harvey Frand
Cinematography by: Bradford May
Original Score by: Mickey Hart
Synopsis:
A young boy reluctantly offers to look after his odd, sinister, bed-ridden Grandmother while his mother is out. But soon the young boy remembers why he is terrified of his Gramma.
Thoughts:
In recent years there has been a rise in gerontophobic horror films, particularly in the area of Hagsploitation. In most cases they focus on the idea of becoming monstrous with aging and in targeting the young to sustain whatever life they have left, irrespective of the cost. This has been explored in films like 'The Visit', 'X' and even one of this year's standout films, 'Weapons'. It is a sub-genre that Stephen King has explored many times and it has been a feature in a lot of his recent works including 'Holly' and the short story 'Willie the Weirdo' from the recent short story collection 'You Like it Darker' but perhaps the most potent example of it can be found in the short story 'Gramma'.
Originally published in Weirdbook magazine in 1984 (and added to the short story collection Skeleton Crew a year later) 'Gramma' follows Buddy, a fearful 11 year old boy who is left alone with his bedridden grandmother. His fears are soon realised as the dark secrets his grandmother is hiding come to light. The origin of the story came from a traumatic incident in King's childhood. When he was 11 his mother moved the family to Durham, Maine to be close to her ill parents. In the Spring edition of Weirdbook magazine King talked about how he walked into his grandmother's bedroom at the age of 14 only to discover she had died. He said, "I remember sitting on the bed beside her, holding my mother's compact near to her mouth because it was something I had seen in the movies. And there was nothing."
As one of the most popular stories from 'Skeleton Crew' it garnered a lot of attention which is why it was picked up by CBS for their rebooted series of 'The Twilight Zone'. This was to the dismay of the staff writers of the show. According to the DVD commentary of the episode they felt it would be extremely difficult to adapt given the internal nature of the story but the great Harlan Ellison took up the unenviable task. The episode was originally slated to be directed by William Friedkin but a familial obligation meant he had to drop out of the project with Bradford May, who was a director of photography on the show, taking the helm.
When you read the source material it is easy to see why the internal nature of the story makes it nearly impossible to adapt. It may not achieve the impossible but Ellison meets the challenges of the story head on and through the inner monologue of Georgie (Barret Oliver) he really captures the irrational (but in this case rational) fear of the elderly that a child possesses. You completely believe through this that it is the thoughts and actions of an eleven year boy and not the thoughts and actions written by someone who thinks this is how they would speak and react.
As Georgie the entire story rests on the performance of Oliver who does a good job at carrying the short. The way in which his cocky attitude fades as his mother leaves him and he hears the growling of his grandmother from her bedroom down the hallway for the first time is superb. Even though he is faced with the supernatural, his reactions to it all give the story a bit of grounding. He doesn't always make the right choices but the choices that make sense for his character as exhibited in the false sense of confidence in his voice in the delivery of his internal and external dialogue.
Director Bradford May adds enough flourishes to the visual side of the story telling through his use of shadows and high angle shots that makes the story feel almost like a dark fairytale, in an attempt to extend it beyond the page which elevates it. Ellison's script feeds into this idea and does a lot of great work filling in the exposition behind Gramma's past through the internal voices of past conversations Georgie must have overheard. It all adds to the tension of what really lurks in Gramma's bedroom.
Through a series of slow reveals, May heightens the tension in the episode leaving the audiences to fill in the blanks of what Gramma really looks like. At first we only hear the raspy wheezing of her voice (performed in a creepily brilliant manner by Piper Laurie) before we see a monstrously wrinkled arm, then a demonic eye and finally we see gramma in all her grotesque glory in an over the top but impressive piece of puppetry and special effects. It may appear to be a bit cartoonish in execution but it sits well within the fairy tale flavour of the piece.
Upon watching the episode 'Gramma' it is clear to see why it is next to nearly impossible to adapt for film or television. Its internal nature means that there isn't a lot that can be done to present the story in a visual manner but May and Ellison do their best to realise it with ambition but the runtime allows it to be presented as a very functional piece of horror television. They should be praised for their efforts in presenting the story like Roald Dahl by way of H.P. Lovecraft but it doesn't achieve the chilling status of its source material.
Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
-Joseph McElroy