A new feature film inspired by the works of prolific horror author Stephen King is on the way. Deadline reports today that King’s short story Autopsy Room Four is getting adapted by British director Ranjeet S. Marwa and veteran Hollywood exec Jon Levin (In the Tall Grass).
King himself has given the greenlight on the project, which will be written and directed by Marwa.
Autopsy Room Four will “delve into the mind of a man who, after a life-threatening accident, wakes up to find himself trapped in an autopsy room. As he confronts his own mortality, the story navigates themes of fear, survival, and the unknown.”
The short story itself was initially published in King’s Six Stories in 1997 and appeared in the anthology Robert Bloch’s Psychos later that year. In 2002, it was collected in King’s collection Everything’s Eventual.
Notably, this isn’t the first time the short story was adapated. Autopsy Room Four was previously part of TNT’s Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From The Stories Of Stephen King in the summer of 2006.
Alex DiVincenzo previously wrote of this adaptation, “Perhaps the most compelling episode of Nightmares & Dreamscapes, “Autopsy Room Four” draws inspiration from Louis Pollock’s 1947 short story “Breakdown.” The plot concerns a man (Richard Thomas, who starred as the adult version of Bill in 1990’s It) who has been pronounced dead but is still conscious as he’s brought into the morgue for his autopsy. Trapped inside his own mind, he’s completely immobile but able to think – and feel. Thomas narrates the character’s inner monologue, piecing together the events leading up to his presumed death. Salomon directs from a script by Smith, embracing a dark sense of humor without sacrificing tension.”
In other words, this short has the potential to really bring some intense horror fun, but claustrophobes beware.
Stay tuned for additional news on this adaptation of Autopsy Room Four as they arrive.
