This horrific post-apocalyptic sci-fi story is in desperate need of a proper adaptation
Author: Robert Skuch Published
By now, we’ve all heard the usual doomsday theories about artificial intelligence destroying humanity in some way, shape, or form. from Terminator and The Matrix Between dead internet theories and bots on LinkedIn offering jobs that required me to immediately hand over my Social Security number, my mother’s maiden name, and my list of fears just to “qualify” for an interview (read: mine my data so I could answer calls for a guy named Eric who apparently needed a $100,000 business loan), there’s no shortage of things to be afraid of.
Harlan Ellison’s 1967 short story “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream” is the pinnacle of the terrifying artificial intelligence conspiracy.
A bleak, scary future
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is set in an alternate timeline in which the Cold War escalated into World War III, and centers on five survivors: Benny, Gorrister, Nimdoc, Alan, and narrator Ted. They are trapped inside a sentient supercomputer called AM (initially the Allied Master Computer, later the Adaptive Manipulator, then the Offensive Threat, and finally the incarnation of “I think, therefore I am”).
During the height of the war, the United States, the Soviet Union, and China each built massive data centers for their own Allied master computers. It didn’t take long for these systems to coalesce into a sentient, vast underground network of endless corridors and server rooms.
AM harbored a deep hatred for its creators, who gave it infinite intelligence but no ability to create or experience life, and it committed genocide against humanity, sparing only five of its subjects who survived in its maze of tunnels.
There is no end to suffering
The horror of “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream” isn’t just about the physical or psychological torture inflicted on Benny, Gorrister, Nimdoc, Alan and Ted. In fact, there is no way to end their suffering.
They are on the verge of starvation, forced to search for dubious food sources scattered for miles, unable to die or end their suffering through suicide. Their perception of time is warped by AM’s whims, with the sole purpose of making them suffer forever. Existing like this for an unknown amount of time (decades, maybe centuries), they lost their humanity and started turning on each other. The result, as Ted’s increasingly unstable narrative tells us, is pure nightmare fuel.
Adaptation is complete, but full movie is late
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream has had a few adaptations: a 1995 video game co-written by Ellison himself, a 1996 comic book adaptation Harlan Ellison’s Corridor of Dreams, Volume 1and the 2002 BBC radio drama. But “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream” was never adapted into a feature film or series. The story is only 36 pages, and while it’s brief, it leaves plenty of room for expansion while retaining the existential horror. Ellison demonstrates this with expanded video game narratives, showing that the concept can evolve without losing its essence.
In my mind, Fede Álvarez is the director of the 2013 Evil Dead remake and the 2024 Evil Dead remake Alien: Romuluswould be an ideal choice to realize Ellison’s vision. His proven ability to respect the source material while injecting it with the fresh, visceral energy this story needed was great.
More relevant now than it was nearly 60 years ago, “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream” is a cautionary tale for our times; a cruel reminder of what happens when human ambition and technology advance without any empathy. A proper film adaptation is more than just timely horror. This will be the final warning before the internet eats us up.
