The Hellgramite Method

"The Hellgramite Method" is the forty-second episode and the seventh episode of the third season (1988–89) of the American television series The Twilight Zone.

Opening narration[]

Miley Judson, an everyman who has strayed from the path, slipped and fallen, many times. A man who seeks solace from his problems at the bottom of a glass. A good man, at war with himself, slowly drowning in alcohol, swallow by swallow. Pulled down by the insidious undertow of an endless ocean of booze, helpless to stop doing the one thing he does better than anything else: drink.

Plot[]

Run-down alcoholic Miley Judson is sitting in a bar trying to light his cigarette when he is given a box of matches that advertises a method for quitting alcohol. He laughs it off and orders another drink, but when the bartender makes last call Miley realizes he brought in a pizza he was supposed to bring home for dinner—five hours ago. After he gets home his son asks if he is sick again, while his wife gives him an ultimatum. In lieu of divorce and losing his child, Miley decides on trying the Hellgramite Method, which was advertised on his box of matches.

Miley visits the home of Dr. Eugene Murrick who offers him a red pill. He takes the pill and Dr. Murrick sends him home as that is all it takes—for now. He returns to his favorite bar only to discover that alcohol has no effect on him anymore. After drinking enough booze to knock out a normal man, he doesn't even have a buzz. He then goes to Murrick to discover why he can no longer become intoxicated. It turns out that the pill contained a Hellgramite, a tapeworm that absorbs all traces of alcohol in a person, thus rendering the individual sober no matter how much they drink; but since it feeds on alcohol it will grow larger in his stomach and kill him if he continues to drink. The only solution is to starve the tapeworm, but to do so invites painful withdrawals. If he can endure the withdrawal pains, the tapeworm will eventually be forced into a hibernation state, thus giving a measure of freedom to the host. But if he ever drinks another drop of alcohol the tapeworm will re-awaken and grow.

At home, Miley determines to starve the tapeworm. In order to succeed and not frighten his family, he sends them away for a couple of weeks and dumps all of the alcohol in the house down the drain. As the days pass, he undergoes ever-increasing pain until he is in agony. Miley goes to Murrick and begs him for help, but Murrick feels no pity, as it is nowhere near the pain Murrick felt when he lost his family. A drunk driver was responsible for killing Murrick's wife and two children as they tried to cross the street. At home again, Miley is near the brink of insanity from the pain exposing his torso to reveal the worm shifting and moving under the skin.

Later at the bar Miley used to frequent, he approaches a man and offers him matches with the Hellgramite Method advertised on the box. He's now well-dressed and self-confident and he walks to the bartender and pays his tab. The bartender offers him a drink on the house but Miley declines and walks out of the bar into the sunlight.

Closing narration[]

Miley Judson happened upon the simple discovery that there is no sure-fire cure, no quick fix, no shortcut to either sobriety or peace of mind. Some people achieve it through an individual act of will, others find strength in numbers. What Miley Judson needed was a little something extra, something that could only be found...in The Twilight Zone.

Creature[]

A hellgrammite (with two Ms) is the larval form of a dobsonfly. Unlike the fictional tapeworm depicted in this episode, it is not a parasite.

External links[]

• "The Hellgramite Method" at IMDb