#TwilightZone:TheMovie

[adamwatchesmovies]

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)

Twilight Zone: The Movie was an interesting experiment, but not an entirely successful one. This film is like a mechanical duplicate of your best friend. All the pieces, or an equivalent of them, might be there, the memories might be plugged in and the look might be right, but something's missing.

Based on the popular television series, this anthology film is composed of 4 stories, with one “wraparound” tale to introduce and close the picture. Each segment features different characters and is helmed by different directors.

First up is Time Out, the only segment not based on an episode of the show and also easily the weakest. In it, an angry, bigoted man named William Connor (Vic Morrow) goes on a racist tirade and is suddenly transported back through time to Nazi-occupied France, to Vietnam, and then Ku Klux Klan rally where he gets to experience first-hand true hatred and injustice.

This segment's problem is that it’s too obvious. The ending is also not particularly Twilight Zone-y, which sometimes featured twists, but not ones like this story. Perhaps the troubled production was to blame and it’s a tragedy that director John Landis had to hastily rework the story to following deaths on-set but even with the planned conclusion, this wouldn’t have been a memorable story.

Next up is Steven Spielberg and Kick the Can. Sunnyvale Retirement Home welcomes a new resident, a mysterious man (Scatman Crothers) named Mr. Bloom. He encourages the residents to take an optimistic look at life and remember their childhoods. What happens next will never be forgotten.

This second segment is an improvement over the first, but feels out of place in a Twilight Zone Movie. "Movie" implies high drama, big special effects, shocking developments. This is a low-key story, a feel-good tale that’s neat and inline with some of the more whimsical episodes of the show, but easily forgotten. I liked it, but mostly because it’s different from the rest. There’s not much to say.

Now, the segments start getting juicier. Joe Dante spearheads It’s a Good Life, in which a mild-mannered schoolteacher (Kathleen Quinlan as Helen Foley) accidentally runs over a young boy’s bicycle (Jeremy Licht plays Anthony). When she brings him back home, she notices that his family act very strangely, catering instantly to Anthony’s every demand. What is going on with this child?

This segment excels at what you associate with The Twilight Zone; it’s scary but too captivating not to watch and so bizarre you can't guess what is coming next. The ending takes you for a loop, it’s unsettling, and well written. There is a tendency to over-rely on the special effects. The creatures we see are cool and distinct. There’s an inspired TV Cartoon version of Hell but implying what it shows would've been doubly effective.

George Miller brings us the final story, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet. In it, a nervous airline passenger (John Lithgow as John Valentine) looks outside his window to discover a hideous gremlin tearing at the engine.

This color remake of the original episode greatly improves upon the gremlin's design. It now looks frightening and mischievious instead of like a big silly teddy bear. Unfortunately, the story takes a misstep by making its protagonist too much of a quack. There’s no escalation in John Valentine. When we first see him, he’s locked up in the washroom trying to soak the rivers of sweat streaming down his face. When he goes ballistic, it’s no surprise. It’s the second-best segment after It’s a Good Life, but it’s frustrating to see a story that improves some aspects of the original while missing others. It’s just not as suspenseful or scary as what we saw in 1963.

The wraparound story feels like something borrowed from Tales from the Crypt than Twilight Zone. It’s amusing but nothing special and much stronger at the beginning than at the end.

Twilight Zone: The Movie shows why big names and big special effects don’t automatically make a better film. It’s entertaining throughout but doesn't improve on the show except when it comes to the special effects. If you’ve never seen the show, this is a good introduction. If you’re already a fan, you’ll be disappointed. All in all, it’s ok. I’d recommend it but mildly. It’s not one I’ll be revisiting anytime soon and unlike the show, doesn’t have a timeless quality about it. (On DVD, August 17, 2016)