The histories of the best Stephen King movies and best Stephen King TV shows teach us that there is no perfect way to adapt the author’s work. Short stories, novellas, and novels have all been source material for different mediums, and the success rate of staying super faithful versus making significant changes varies wildly and depends on a large number of different factors. As such, jumping to conclusions or opinions about any developing project can be tricky… and yet, I still can’t help but have concerns about the big King story of the week, which is that “Autopsy Room 4” from the 2002 collection Everything’s Eventual is being made into a film.
That particular development headlines this week’s edition of The King Beat, but it’s just one of multiple stories to keep an eye on, as there has also been some great news on the Stephen King home video front and an exciting revelation about the upcoming MGM+ adaptation of The Institute. There is a lot to discuss, so without further ado, let’s dig in!
Autopsy Room 4 Is Being Adapted As A Feature, But What May Be The Best Possible Adaptation Already Exists
If you aren’t already familiar with it, “Autopsy Room Four” is one of Stephen King’s freakiest short stories. Protagonist Howard Cottrell, an ordinary middle-aged man, wakes up in a haze and discovers that he is not only completely paralyzed, but that his body has been transported to a morgue where an autopsy is about to be performed. Despite all outward appearances, he isn’t actually dead, but the medical procedure does threaten to end his life, so before it is too late, he must find some way to alert the doctors to the fact that he is still alive. It’s a thrilling tale that ends up having a fun ending – and a feature film adaptation is now in the works.
Deadline is reporting that director Ranjeet S. Marwa and producer Jon Levin (whose previous credits include the Netflix adaptation of Stephen King and Joe Hill’s In The Tall Grass) are in the midst of preparing a movie based on Autopsy Room Four. The project is still very much in the early stages and not much is known about the vision… but being familiar with the source material, I must admit that I have some concerns about the idea of expanding the story into a feature-length narrative.
Part of what makes “Autopsy Room Four” work so well as a short story is that it quickly establishes high stakes for the lead character and a ticking clock: Howard is introduced in a life-or-death situation and thinking fast is his only recourse for survival. The extreme tension in his dire circumstance comes from the immediacy of danger, and that can dissipate if the pacing isn’t properly handled. If the narrative is inflated so that it can be feature-length, that effectiveness is potentially threatened – hence my worry about the project.
To be honest, what may be the perfect adaptation of “Autopsy Room Four” already exists. The short story was utilized for the seventh episode of the 2006 anthology series Nightmares & Dreamscapes, and the 44-minute runtime is a perfect fit. It isn’t a perfectly faithful take on the source material, as it notably takes the audience out of the specific sensory perception of the main character (something that King doesn’t do), but the changes are smart and the episode doesn’t overcook the story. I’m not sure a film version will be as effective.
Sadly, Nightmares And Dreamscapes isn’t available to stream online, so those of you not familiar with the show can’t instantly know what I’m talking about – but you can watch it by purchasing a copy of the series on DVD.
Months After First Being Announced, Graveyard Shift’s 4K UHD From Kino Lorber Finally Has A Release Date, And You Can Pre-Order It Now
If you’re like me and ever-attempting to build the ultimate Stephen King collection, you may have noticed that there has been a bit of a lull in the home video market. A new 4K UHD Collector’s Edition of the 2013 remake of Carrie arrived on store shelves in March courtesy of Scream Factory, but things have been super quiet since then. The last development we heard about was nearly six months ago when it was announced that Kino Lorber was producing a new restoration of the 1990 movie Graveyard Shift… and only now do we have actual details about the release, including a date and pre-order information.
Graveyard Shift first made its way into the HD era just a few years ago when Scream Factory put out the first Blu-ray edition of the film, but that release is now out of print because of the brand new package in the works. The new two-disc set will carry over all of the existing special features while also including a new remastering and an original audio commentary track featuring film historians Howard S. Berger and Marc Edward Heuck. You can check out the full specs below:
Disc 1 (4K UHD):
- Brand New HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative
- NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger and Marc Edward Heuck
- 5.1 Surround and Lossless 2.0 Audio
- Triple-Layered UHD100 Disc
- Optional English Subtitles
Disc 2 (Blu-ray):
- Brand New HD Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative
- NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger and Marc Edward Heuck
- Interview with Director Ralph S. Singleton
- Interview with Actor Stephen Macht
- Interview with Actress Kelly Wolf
- Interview with Actor Robert Alan Beuth
- Theatrical Trailer
- 5.1 Surround and Lossless 2.0 Audio
- Dual-Layered BD50 Disc
- Optional English Subtitles
For those of you not familiar with Graveyard Shift, the film is based on the Stephen King story of the same name and follows a group of blue collar workers who are hired to work late and clean up the dank, disgusting basement of an old mill in Maine. They discover extreme rot and filth, but it’s nothing compared to the extreme rodent problem (and I mean extreme). To be perfectly honest, it’s not my favorite King adaptation – but it does feature a fantastic over-the-top performance by Brad Dourif as The Exterminator.
Graveyard Shift on 4K UHD will be released by Kino Lorber on February 25, 2025, and the set is currently available for pre-order on the boutique distributor’s official website for about 40 percent off its MSRP price and includes a limited edition slipcover. I already pre-ordered my copy, and I recommend that you do the same.
The Institute Producer Suggests The Upcoming Show Will Have Its Own Tie To The Shining
A few weeks ago, Stephen King fans everywhere got a special early look at what is being cooked up for the upcoming series IT: Welcome To Derry, and it inspired me to do a bit of speculation. Given that the developing HBO original is set in the 1960s and is adapting a specific part of King’s monster-filled epic, I find myself wondering if the show might ultimately establish a link between the world of IT and The Shining/Doctor Sleep. Nothing has been confirmed on that specific front… but in a funny twist of fate, this week has provided the news that another 2025 Stephen King TV adaptation, MGM+’s The Institute, will definitely have a connection to the author’s beloved third novel.
According to Variety, a special preview of The Institute was premiered at the event Content London late last week, and it was during a panel with the show’s producers that a firm link was mentioned between the new adaptation and The Shining. The story centers on a group of kids with psychic abilities (both telepathic and telekinetic) who are kidnapped and brought to a covert government facility for experimentation, and it was when referring to the special powers that the young characters have that series co-creator/producer Benjamin Cavell dropped a specific reference to a different King book:
Kids with ‘The Shine’ are being kidnapped by some shadowy organization that we don’t fully understand. But the kids ultimately are able to find a way to rescue themselves. There isn’t some external force that comes and saves them, the kids have to band together and through their own ingenuity and ability, find their way out.
In The Shining, the titular power is possessed by young protagonist Danny Torrance, and it gives him precognition, the ability to mentally communicate with others across long distances, and tap into the supernatural world. In Stephen King’s The Institute, which was first published in 2019, these aren’t the specific skills of protagonist Luke Ellis or the other kids he’s locked up with in the eponymous facility, so it will be interesting to see if the adaptation ends up tweaking details so that the show more directly lines up with the canon. For those curious, the book doesn’t include any references to Danny Torrance or The Overlook Hotel.
A date has not yet been announced for The Institute, which features a cast including Ben Barnes and Mary-Louise Parker, but the show is on track to debut on MGM+ in 2025 – one of as many as six Stephen King adaptations set to be released in the calendar year.
That brings us to the end of this week’s King Beat, but it’s only a goodbye for now. I’ll be back here on CinemaBlend next Thursday with the latest roundup of all the big news from the world of Stephen King, so be sure to head back here for all of the latest scoops. In the meantime, you can learn about the long, long history of the author’s works in Hollywood with my 90+ feature series Adapting Stephen King.
