Review of Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) by Zack F — 02 Feb 2008

This was a big disappointment to me. I absolutely love the television show. I own the complete series and have seen every single episode, most of them more than once. This was a competently made movie, but it was just strange.

It begins with a prologue, featuring Dan Ackroyd and Albert Brooks. What follows is somewhat disturbing and an okay little piece, but what immediately follows is awesome. The famous theme song is played, slightly redone by John Williams, and the famous opening is shown, this time in color and with narration from none other than former TZ star Burgess Meredith, because of Rod Serling's unfortunate death.

Being a fan of the show, this is actually the highlight of the movie to me. The first of four segments is called Time Out and is directed by John Landis, fresh off of American Werewolf in London. It's the story of a racist who is transported back in time to be the subject of numerous acts of racism.

It's okay in its own right, but as far as the irony goes, it's certainly sub-par for The Twilight Zone. It comes off a little rushed, I think. The second segment is a remake of the episode Kick the Can, this time directed by Steven Spielberg.

This is far different from the original and I like the original far more. They both recount the story of old men and women desperately yearning for their youth, but the movie version doesn't end when it should, and instead drags on into sheer awkwardness.

The third segment is another remake, this one of It's a Good Life, directed by Joe Dante (Gremlins, The Howling). And this is just weird. The original is about a boy who rules a town because he has mind powers.

It's a simple story but it's done so effectively and with some Serling satire on how no one wants to stand up for themselves and everyone lives in a status quo. This one takes another angle and has the boy dominate people with a television.

It's just a display of cheesy 80s special effects, which I usually find charming, but they're just weird here. And what's this one trying to say? That television dominates our lives?! It really is unfortunate Rod Serling died so young.

The final segment is another remake, this one of the classic Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, but this time it's 15,000 feet higher for whatever reason. John Lithgow is fantastic in the William Shatner role, a man recovering from a nervous breakdown who sees a creature on the wing of a plane.

It's a simple "Boy Who Cried Wolf" story, but you're not sure if he sees the creature or if he's having another breakdown. The only thing that plagues the original episode is poor special effects (seriously, the creature looks ridiculous).

And being 20 years later, that is greatly improved. I don't think this is quite as good as the original episode, but it compares. Overall, a below average movie, but that may be my disappointed bias speaking.

Perhaps I'll see it again some time.