[KING'S CORNER] The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson (1997)

The Revelations of Becka Paulson (The Outer Limits) - 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: Steven Weber

Starring: Catherine O'Hara, John Diehl, Bill Dow, Steven Weber, Marilyn Norry

Written by: Brad Wright

Produced by: Brent Karl Clackson

Cinematography by: Richard Wincenty

Original Score by: Michael Clinco, John Van Tongeren

Synopsis:

Unstable housewife Becka Paulson accidentally shoots herself in the head, survives and suddenly becomes more intelligent. And strangely, a photo is talking to her.

Thoughts:

Usually I would start one of these articles taking about how Stephen King draws horror from a particular topic with his work or the themes he would explore like addiction, a loss of innocence or morality, but given how this particular adaptation that I am covering stars the recently departed Catherine O'Hara, it would be remiss of me to not pay tribute to her greatness. Although she was predominantly known for her work in comedy with a career spanning from 'SCTV', several films directed by Christopher Guest and her starring role on the highly popular show 'Schitt's Creek', she is also no stranger to horror. When working within the genre she would effortlessly cross the fine line that exists between the genres. 

In terms of comedy she was one of the greats of the genre as her introduction into any piece immediately drew a smile. You knew how funny she could be and she always delivered. That warmth she exuded extended beyond this genre adding a sense of levity in horror. Her most prominent role in the genre was in Tim Burton's classic 'Beetlejuice' (and its recent sequel Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice) as the deluded artist Delia Deetz. Most of her other roles within the genre on the big screen were limited to voiceover work as she featured in the likes of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas', 'Frankenweenie' and 'The Addams Family'. In the world of television she appeared in an episode of 'Tales from the Crypt' and most recently provided a more dramatic performance in 'The Last of Us' but this particular article is going to look at the adaptation of the King short story, 'The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson'. 

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The story was first published in Rolling Stone magazine in 1984 before being added to a limited edition version of Stephen King's anthology 'Skeleton Crew' in 1985. From there the story was taken and repurposed to feature as a subplot in King's 1987 novel, 'The Tommyknockers'. The original version of the story follows Becka Paulson, a housewife locked in a loveless marriage who accidentally shoots herself in the head whilst carrying out some Spring cleaning. She survives but starts to hear voices in her head that stem from the 3D picture of Jesus above her television who uses her paranoia to influence her into committing a terrible crime. There is no clear indication as to where King got the idea for this story but there are several news stories over the years about individuals who suffer head injuries leading to hearing voices in their heads. The most prominent one that comes to mind is the Son of Sam killer, David Berkowitz who claimed a demonic entity spoke through his dog Harvey encouraging him to murder people which isn't a million miles from this adaptation. 

Despite not being a well known story it was chosen to be adapted in the rebooted series of 'The Outer Limits' in 1997. The reboot came about in 1995 originally due to the growing interest in Science Fiction television with shows like 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' and 'The X-Files' being highly popular at the time. King had a strong affinity for the original run of the show, going as far as saying it was more frightening than 'The Twilight Zone' in his book 'Danse Macabre'. The new run tried to veer away from the monster of the week trappings of the original run to lean into something more in line with the drama behind the effect of scientific ideas on humanity. 

Whilst this episode doesn't entirely embrace that idea it is quite psychological as it looks at the aftermath of a bizarre accident. From the start it is presented in a very lighthearted manner as bumpkin housewife Becka (played by Catherine O'Hara) is unpacking the Christmas decorations for the year. In the process of doing so she finds her husband 's gun and accidentally shoots herself in the head. Despite this severe injury she slaps a plaster over the wound and goes about her day of domestic mundanity before she starts to hear voices from a picture in her living room. 

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The entire episode runs with this light hearted tone as director Steven Weber tries to draw comedy from the tragedy of it all. He is very up front with this but behind the laughter there is a sense of sadness surrounding the titular character. Becka is someone who is trapped in her life. She grew up with an abusive father who had complete control over her life, she has no say in her stale marriage to her postal worker husband (played by a despicably oafish John Diehl) who cares more for the bikini models in his "Sports for Sports" magazine than he does about her and even her favourite soap opera on tv dictates when she should put up her Christmas decorations.

Although O'Hara nails the light hearted aspects of the episode thanks to her brilliant comedic timing and her matter of fact cadence she is even more impressive in the dramatic side of her role. It elevates what on paper is a silly story about a woman going mad because she doesn't treat a life altering injury to something more in regards to what it says about female agency. O'Hara conveys this in a deeply sad idea with a great degree of nuance as she sleepwalks through her life waiting to be told what to do in her life. Even when she gets a shot in the arm (or in this case head) from a life altering event she has no control over the newfound voices in her head. 

Weber adds a festive glow to the episode brilliantly as it adds to the facade of normalcy in Becka's life as someone who has been waiting to die their entire life rather than choosing to live it their way. Although some humorous visual flourishishes throughout the episode don't entirely work they do provide it with a lot of energy. His work in front of the camera is just as impressive as he plays the suave "8X10 man" who sits above Becka's television. He is the picture perfect idea of what Becka wants from a man in her life but like all other men in her life he ends up controlling her. He showers her with affectionate comments to mask his manipulation. It is a clever twist from the source material which was a 3D picture of Jesus instead as it is more in line with the overall themes of inescapable toxic male dominance in Becka's life. The religious connotations from the source material may have proved to be a case of adding too many ingredients to the soup. 

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When talking about televisual adaptations of King's work 'The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson' is rarely talked about (or in some cases known) but it should as it is a real gem thanks to a terrific performance from Catherine O'Hara. She effortlessly leans into the arch aspects of the story thanks to her comedic background but also manages to deliver what is a tragically sad performance of a woman who lives and dies in domestic stasis with no control over her life. 

Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

-Joseph McElroy