Twilight Zone: The Movie

I have a certain nostalgic fondness for this film.  It was released when I was in my late teens, and for those of us who were fans of the original series, this picture was a very big deal indeed; this was the first time the iconic series had been revisited since production ended on the original back in 1964.  (Since then, of course, the series has been revived three separate times on television, so perhaps the Twilight Zone brand isn't quite as special and unique any longer, as it was when this film was released.)

Unfortunately, this film will forever be shadowed by the fact that Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed in an on-set accident during the filming; a truly senseless tragedy that should NEVER have happened.  "Time Out," the segment starring Morrow and the first of four separate stories that make up the picture, was completed despite the accident.  But due to these circumstances I find that I don't even want to watch it; I just want to skip over to the second segment.  

Critics generally seem to feel that the second segment ("Kick the Can") is overly sentimental and the weakest in the film, but it never bothered me all that much.  (The original series, after all, did have its share of sentimental moments itself).   I think everyone will agree, however, that the final two segments are the best---these are remakes of "It's a Good Life" and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," which are a couple of the most famous episodes from the original series.

I do enjoy the film,…

It's a mixed bag of an anthology film – Joe Dantes's remake of "It's a Good Life" is the absolute highlight, with an outstanding cast – Kevin McCarthy, Nancy Cartwright, Bill Mumy, and the wonderful Dick Miller as "Walter Paisley" – and boasting a highly memorable special effects set-piece involving the famous magic trick of pulling a rabbit from a hat. The remake of "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" is decent, but somewhat redundant (John Lithgow is good but can't outdo William Shatner's original sweaty paranoia). Director John Landis's effort is merely ok, and mired by the real-life tragedy during filming of the story. Steven Spielberg's effort, however, is absolutely awful – maudlin and overly sentimental to the point of nausea. Overall, inferior to the original series, but not a complete disaster.