I Am the Doorway

"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.

Plot summary[]

A disabled former astronaut tells of the terrifying change he undergoes after being exposed to an extraterrestrial mutagen during a space mission to Venus. Arthur, the narrator, begins the story with his hands bandaged, and complains of a terrible itching both after the mission and currently. The change takes the form of numerous tiny eyeballs which break out on his fingertips. These eyeballs act as the titular doorway for an alien species, allowing them to see into our world, but, seeing from an alien perspective, they view humans as horrifying monstrosities which, Arthur perceives, they fear and hate.

Soon, the alien presence is not only able to see through this doorway, but take control of Arthur's shattered body, using him to commit terrible murders. In a desperate attempt to maintain his humanity, Arthur douses his hands in kerosene and sets them on fire, only to find out that once the doorway has opened, it cannot be so easily closed. He manages to make the alien presence go away for nearly seven years. But after the eyes reappear on Arthur's chest, he reveals that he plans to kill himself with a shotgun to prevent the aliens from committing any more atrocities.

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[]

• Stephen King short fiction bibliography
• "Cold Hands, Warm Heart."

References[]

External links[]

• I Am the Doorway title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database