The Steven Spielberg film festival picked up again with Twilight Zone: The Movie. This oddity from 1983 is a theatrical version of the classic television show from 1959-1964. I call it an oddity because it had some of the best talent available in Hollywood working on it and yet the results are completely disappointing.
The movie was produced by Steven Spielberg and John Landis so the responsibility for the lackluster results lands on their shoulders. First of all they chose to include only one original story the other three are poor remakes of classic episodes. Next they added an unnecessary prologue and epilogue that seems to be there just so they could put Dan Akroyd in the movie. Then they chose to have Burgess Meredith do the voice over introduction to each story, which is fine since Meredith was well connected to the old show, but they chose to use Rod Serling's closing narration which just reminded the viewer how good the original was and how poor this remake is.
Landis directed the first segment and it has an interesting idea, a bigot who is forced to experience events through the lives of those he hates. But the editing is abrupt and the idea is not fully developed as far as I am concerned. Plus it looked like a made for TV version of Serling's later series, The Night Gallery. This episode is infamous do to the on set helicopter crash that killed Vic Morrow and two child actors.
Spielberg directed the next episode based on the original story "Kick The Can". This is the least interesting of the four episodes. I think it because of the new ending and the child actors trying to act and talk like senior citizens. It's just not a very engaging story.
Joe Dante directed a remake of the classic episode "It's A Good Life". The original from 1961 packed all the horror you could imagine in 22 minutes of crisp B&W storytelling. Joe Dante's remake is bloated at 30 minutes and full of over the top technicolor special effects that just don't work. There is only one creepy image in the whole scene.
They saved the best for last with George Miller's version of "Nightmare At 20,000 Feet". This story works for two reasons; John Lithgow's excellent portrayal of a man being terrorized by his own fears and something "out there' and Miller's excellent use of camerae angles to build a sense of chaos and things out of control.
Overall Twilight Zone: The Movie seems like a big vanity project. they made it because they could and they hoped to bank on the name to make some bucks.
At the Movie House rating *1/2 stars
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