Twilight Zone Snapshots Vol. 2

For Volume 1 click here

It's hard to stay away from The Twilight Zone for too long, especially when there are 5 booming seasons of awesome episodes that you need to see before you die. Not that I'm going to die anytime soon but hey, one of these days a crazy religious person will be right about the end of the world. While most people's bucket lists contain meaningful things like "Cure cancer" or "Go skydiving in the buff", mine contains mostly "Watch a lot of good TV shows that you missed" and also, "Kiss my cat a lot". So that means of course that I have a lot of catching up to do in the TV world and The Twilight Zone is a big part of this.

The After Hours

After my review of Tourist Trap, there was no way that I could do a 2nd volume of Twilight Zone snapshots and not include this one. I have to say that while I liked all the episodes I watched last time, none of them really spoke to me the way that I was hoping. The After Hours however kept on speaking to me. I think it was saying, "Marsha! Marsha! Marsha!" not to be confused with

The episodes follows Marsha a young woman shopping in a department store with the desire to buy her mother a gold thimble. After a strange elevator opens and takes her to a ninth floor that is mysteriously barren, Marsha meets a saleswoman who happens to have one gold thimble in stock. Things get weird fast and after Marsha pays for the thimble, gets creeped out and runs back into the elevator, she notices that the thimble is scratched and in poor condition. What a gyp! She tries to complain to management only to find that there is no ninth floor. That is when Marsha sees the mysterious saleswoman and realizes that she is actually a mannequin. Dun dun dun!

God, I love it. There so much to love about this episode that I'm finding it hard to keep it all contained. I just cannot get over how much I love the idea of this strange alternate realm where mannequins are real people. It plays into my irrational fear about the "after hours" lives of mannequins but it also doesn't necessarily make them terrifying. It's kind of like when we realize that Scary German Guy from The Monster Squad actually has a huge heart. The After Hours restores a similar sort of kindness in mannequins I think, and I appreciate that.

That isn't to say of course that the mannequins don't still have their scary moments. There's one moment in particular, when Marsha is freaking out and noticing all the mannequins around her when one of the mannequins hands moves. It's such a great moment of concentrated fear. It's like I was hoping for that to happen but not entirely convinced that The Twilight Zone could do it. And then everything hit its peak when Marsha goes back to the ninth floor with the saleswoman and we see an entire room of mannequins. This scene is spectacular and the way that each mannequin slowly comes to life is AWESOME.

I have no other word for you. I love this episode a lot and the ending is the cherry on top of that love. When the store manager looks in the camera at the end

..........yup, that was when I decided who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Right then and there.

The Hitch-Hiker

Reader Carol suggested the episode The Hitch-Hiker for its curious way of always freaking her out. After reading the brief plot outline I was hooked. A young woman driving across country continuously sees the same strange hitchhiker along every leg of her journey. Ack! I once told a story about hitchhikers, during my review of The Hitcher that you should probably read.

Alright again, I really only like that story because I love imagining myself alone and sad eating birthday cake in my friend's kitchen with her cat. But anyways, there is for some reason nothing creepier than driving alone late at night and seeing a person hitchhiking on the road. This episode is the epitome of that feeling. My only disappoint lays in the fact that I guessed the ending the minute the episode started. I blame this on the fact that I've seen one too many horror movies that deal with this same type of plot. See Dead End, Jacob's Ladder and Triangle for more information.

Despite that however, seeing that hitchhiker crop up all the time is quite unnerving isn't it? Nothing is more chilling though than the phone call she makes to her home at the end of the episode. Even though I knew the "twist", it was still a very creepy moment. I enjoyed seeing the shift in Nan and witnessing her acceptance but I still felt all sad and whiny about things. Plus, I can't imagine anything worse than driving across the country alone without turning on the radio. What were you thinking Nan?!

Eye of the Beholder was recommended to me by one of my very favorite people, Christine Hadden. This episode wins my praise by doing several wonderful things. For starters, the plot seems very simple. A woman whose face is completely covered in bandages is trying to have her horribly disfigured face repaired. But are things as simple as they seem? Don't forget this IS the Twilight Zone after all. The episode is not only strangely intriguing in the subtlest of ways, but it also employs some great acting and some even greater camera work.

It is a true test of one's acting ability to completely portray a believable and well fleshed out character with just your voice. Here it is done however and it's done brilliantly. There's so much suspense built up to the moment where the bandages are removed and that scene is soooooo tedious and mind boggling. My favorite thing however, other than the reveal at the end, is the crafty way that the doctors' and nurses' faces are hidden.

I admit I again guessed the ending mere seconds into the episode's start (I can't help it if I'm like totally wicked smart) but it didn't prevent me from feeling completely engrossed. It's such a neat concept and so simple and it all works beautifully together. I can imagine myself watching this as a young one and flipping a giant shit when the bandages came off. Something tells me that my fears would be very different had that happened.

When I was in middle school, I used to think that the number 22 was following me. No matter what I was doing, the number 22 seemed to be plastered over every thing. It's not surprising then to see a Twilight Zone episode entitled Twenty-Two that seems to rely at least somewhat on this same kind of craziness. Twenty-Two was recommended to me by a number of people and one those people is Mikey Sarago, who pointed out that he hadn't seen it in years but he remembers it being especially creepy. I'm not exactly a person who passes up good old fashioned creepiness, so what was I waiting for?

In the episode, an overworked and stressed out stripper named Liz Powell, has a reoccurring nightmare while recovering in the hospital. In the nightmare, Liz always ends up in the basement of hospital, outside of room number 22--the morgue. Here, a sinister looking nurse opens the doors and says, "Room for one more honey", prompting Liz to scream and run back to her room where she soon awakens. It is later discovered that the hospital nurse who does work in the morgue does not resemble the one from Liz's dream. The doctor does find however that despite the fact that Liz has never been to the morgue, she is able to recount details flawlessly--like the room number which is indeed 22.

The ending of the episode is entirely awesome and try as I might I couldn't figure it out until a few minutes before it happened. I guess my smartness is slipping. Leading up to that moment however, Liz's nightmare IS fantastically creepy. I've been meaning to bring this up but another one of my favorite things about The Twilight Zone is how effortlessly it seems to make every episode feel like a nightmare. Here however, an actual nightmare is the focal point of the episode and true to form--the nightmare feels like a valid part of the atmosphere and the character's surroundings. Not much has changed in the hospital when Liz goes down to the basement but it's still a nightmare. I guess I just love how The Twilight Zone creates these great feelings of uneasiness and that uneasiness is at its peak here.

I also gives props to Twenty-Two for not being too predictable. I assumed this episode would be similar to The Hitch-Hiker but it's not, and also for a change, the ending isn't necessarily sad either. Not that I'd be terribly sad if something happened to Liz Powell though....she WAS pretty fricking annoying.

I love when these episodes end with good and simple morals. In this case--do NOT under any circumstances, drink and drive. Or wait a minute... is the moral do not let your wife drive because women are bad drivers and will almost certainly always get you stuck inside a fake town? Hmmm, yes I think that's it.

Here we have a couple who after leaving a party, wake up to find themselves in a strange house. There is fake food, fake cabinets and a fake telephone. To top it all off, the giggle of a small child can be heard from...somewhere. Further exploration of the town yields similarly frustrating results. Fake squirrels, fake trees and policemen and even fake grass---this town is whack!

It doesn't take a total genius to figure out where this one is headed but it's still the feeling of hopelessness and claustrophobia that wins my vote. There's also that horrible feeling of pity that we feel for the couple. Towards the end they get on a train and believe their problems to be over. They make jokes about what will happen when they go back to work and we as onlookers have a feeling that things will only get worse for them. We're right of course as we soon find that the train has gone in a circle and they are back where they started in fake land.

It's a fun little episode that reminds me of an Are You Afraid of the Dark episode and even of Fantastic Planet. And even though it's a little obvious what's going on, I suppose you still feel quite badly for the couple. Oh well, at least they're in nice outfits.

Got any favorite episodes that I haven't talked about yet? Tell me about them in the comments section!

Twilight Zone Snapshots

Last night left me suffering with that awful disease called indecision. You know the dull, aching sensation that forms somewhere in the right part of your brain that prevents you from making any kind of worthy decision about SOMETHING. I'd been battling it all day; which colored wrapping paper to buy, what delicious cupcake to get and now, which movie to watch. After going back and forth between about 5 different titles, I suddenly decided to be spontaneous (I had watched Harold and Maude earlier that day and was inspired) and so I picked none of them and settled on watching a few episodes of The Twilight Zone instead.

People are often aghast when I tell them that I've seen very few episodes of what many dub as the best horror-themed show that ever was. I can't help it if the opening music freaked me out too much as a child to really adventure into its awesomeness okay? Never mind anyways because tonight I'm fixing it and finally watching some episodes while I guzzle red wine.

Up first I've picked the aptly named episode The Dummy after I remembered reading about it on Miss Sardonicus' wonderful list. Let it be known that I really fucking hate dummies. Who invented these vile creatures? Who thought, "Yes! A scary, wooden, talking puppet is EXACTLY something that should be created for fun!" ?? Whoever they are, I would like to punch them in their throat. Let me tell you a story about puppets. Once when I was little I got a puppet as a Christmas present. It was a marionette and had gross puppet hands and it freaked me out. Like it really freaked me out. I was so horrified that when I got home, I threw it in my closet and never laid eyes on it ever again. The end.

This episode reaffirms my belief that dummies descend from Satan and should never be allowed anywhere in any form. This particular dummy named Willie is about 55 times creepier than all other dummies.

I blame his bushy eyebrows. Ventriloquist Jerry has apparently developed a type of schizophrenia according to his psychologist and agent because he believes that Willie is more than just a dummy--he's alive. Jerry imagines Willie moving on his on, and talking on his own. Is he though? Or is Jerry really crazy?

The best thing about this episode is how subtle everything is. The creepier moments I find are in the beginning when Willie changes positions quietly and slowly. One minute he's facing the back of the dressing room and the next he's turned and staring straight at Jerry! It's a strange thing that you both expect and are surprised about. At any rate, this whole idea of whether or not Jerry is crazy or not, is nicely juggled up until the very end. Good old Twilight Zone and its willingness to never leave you disappointed. Let's just say, if I was scarred by Willie's face in the beginning of this, then nothing and I mean NOTHING beats the "dummy" at the end.

From one creepy doll situation to another, why do I torture myself like this? It's the wine, it must be the wine! Living Doll was recommended to me a few times after announcing that I'd be watching Twilight Zone episodes. Apparently it was chilling and eerie and all of that great stuff that someone who likes chilling and eerie stuff should like. Count me in I thought, evil talking dolls? Yes and yes!

Living Doll follows a doll named Talky Tina after she is brought home for small child Christina's enjoyment. She appears normal at first only saying over and over again, "My name's Talky Tina and I love you" but once Stepfather Erich gets a hold of her, she starts saying different things. Things like, "My name's Talky Tina and I think I hate you"--you know mean stuff like that. Later she even calls him on the phone from inside a trash can and says, "My name's Talky Tina and I'm going to kill you". Chilling indeed.

I love the fact that a large portion of well known horror movies can be traced back to The Twilight Zone. Obviously Child's Play took a note or two from Living Doll and hey why not? Talking dolls that are conceiving of the notion of murder inside their tiny plastic heads is something that one should grapple with as much as possible. Living Doll is simultaneously funny and scary--just the kind of horror I like the most. Of course...I'd be lying if I said I laughed more than I winced...

The third episode I've chosen is Mirror Image and was recommended to me by my good friend The Mike of From Midnight With Love and stars Vera Miles. I can't tell a lie in this instance...any former Psycho stars are very capable of placing a Twilight Zone episode on my must see list. Here is a tale of doppelgangers and alternate universes, one of my favorite things because the doppelganger is always mean and nasty. I wonder if there will ever be a pleasant doppelganger? Someone who just smiles and welcomes you for tea and biscuits? Although I suppose that kind of puts a cramp in the plans for the battle over who gets to survive in this world and who doesn't.

Anywho, Vera Miles plays Millicent, a young woman waiting at the bus station late at night. Soon she starts noticing some peculiar things, like how the ticket man insists she's been up to talk to him at least 5 times when she hadn't, or how an identical suitcase to hers was checked when she hadn't checked it. Neat little creeps like that. Then in a moment of shock, Millicent goes to the bathroom and in the reflection behind her sees her own self sitting on the bench!

Luckily for Millicent, she stays on top of weird metaphysical theories and remembers how she once heard about alternate universes and how we each have a twin in the "other universe". Sometimes our two selves converge and one of them must overpower the other to stay alive or something to that degree.

The episode is one of those fantastic one set places that fills with you an odd sense of suffocation. It also plays on the idea that Millicent has simply gone crazy, but as with most Twilight Zone episodes we know that is not the case. Perhaps if she was anywhere else but the Twilight Zone then maybe, but not here. I think that is what I love most about The Twilight Zone. There's none of this wishy washy--"Oh, you think this is a fantastic ghost story? Well too bad because the main character just has schizophrenia, ZING!" Nope. Here in the Twilight Zone the weird will always be weird and it's never explained away into a world of logic. I love that. I really, really do.

Number 12 Looks Just Like You was recommended by Christine Makepeace of Paracinema and I was intrigued instantly upon reading the brief synopsis. This episode seems to vary slightly from others in that it isn't twisty and full of surprises and scary things waiting to get you rather, we examine an issue much more pressing and thought provoking. This episode takes place in the future, where people wear leotards and stretch pants and no furniture seems to exist. I love how people's ideas of the future always contained leotards--let's pray that they were right. Anywho, in the future when all humans turn 18 they are transformed into a beautiful person. You get to pick from a few different faces that are all equally beautiful and embody that little thing called perfection.

Our hero is Marilyn who reads books and realizes what a travesty the idea of transformation is. How can she be herself when she is made to look like somebody else?

Why must she be conformed, why why why? Everything that Marilyn asks is spot on and chills your blood. The threat of your individuality being taken away is something I'll never get used to thinking about. On the small scale this happens with things like school uniforms and Now That's What I Call Music Volume 80 and on the large scale you get plastic surgery and Stepford Wives activity.

At any rate, I really enjoyed the episode. Virtually all the characters are played by the same 3 people and it really is just sort of neat isn't it? They all look the same, act the same, the only thing that sets them apart are the little name tags they wear. The episode was meant as a commentary on the idea of beauty developing at the time and as Rod Serling points out the over abundance of cosmetics and plastic surgery. Although the idea of everyone looking the same seems crazy, our current mindset of what is considered beautiful, perfect and ageless make that idea seem not so impossible after all. And that is rather terrifying.

And finally we close with The Masks, an episode I had been yearning to see after seeing a still again at Miss Sardonicus and after it had been recommended by Andreas of Pussy Goes Grrr. I've spoken about masks before and how horrible they are for things like running around your yard or chasing teenagers through the woods but what about the kind of masks we do not wear? Such is the question of this episode which follows a dying old man and his horrible, heartless family who comes to bid him well (and to bid his will hello).

Jason Foster's one wish before he dies is that his family members wear creepy and scary masks until the stroke of midnight. If they do not, then they do not receive any inheritance. Each masks represents the "opposite" of what each individual is but we know from judging their character that the masks really represent who they truly are.

Ugliness, heartlessness, avarice--it's all there and embodied in each mask, while James' own mask merely represents death.

So what happens at the stroke of midnight? I'm sure it's not difficult to guess but this episode is a rarity in that we beg for the horrible outcome. We cannot wait to see what happens when each foul character takes off his or her mask and when they do, we practically jump for joy. This one may not be very scary but it certainly ends on a note of satisfaction. Of course, the episode does get high marks for having some of the creepiest looking masks and "masks" that I've ever seen.

So that does it for these snapshots. I think I quite like this idea for a reoccurring feature at the 'Gest. What do you think? Have any favorite Twilight Zone episodes that you'd like to recommend? Do so in the comments section and I'll be sure to check them out for next time!