Demon Days
Doctor Strange director goes to Outer Limits
No episode of the 1960s science fiction anthology series The Outer Limits has influenced as many storytellers as Harlan Ellison’s “Soldier”, credited with inspiring James Cameron’s Terminator and its many film progeny. But another Ellison- scripted episode may soon be making its way to cinema screens – “Demon With A Glass Hand”, about a time- travelling amnesiac battling alien invaders for his memory. Scott Derrickson ( director of Marvel’s upcoming Doctor Strange film) is the man tasked with developing the adaptation by MGM.
“I loved The Twilight Zone when I was a kid, but The Outer Limits was more to my tastes,” Derrickson tells Red Alert. “It was meatier, more cerebral, more scientifically rigorous... MGM had the property and had talked to me about it a long time ago. So I went back and watched the entire series again. What was interesting about seeing ‘ Demon’ again was how surprised I was it hadn’t been stolen from more. I realised why when I saw it – you can’t really steal from it unless you steal all of it. The story’s so intricately designed that it’s not like you can just take this one little element from it and have that much. What makes it work is the whole narrative itself. The fact that ‘ Soldier’ spawned such an impressive cinematic legacy, it’s interesting to me that what I think is the superior story – ‘ Demon’ – hasn’t been done yet. There is something about the Harlan Ellison story where the narrative itself is the gem. It’s not just this cool little idea or concept. It’s just a great story.”