Twilight Zone: The Movie

Why do most so-called reviewers retell the story? What's the point? I thought the term "review" meant to comment on the story, the production of the movie, the acting, etc., not to retell it. What a waste! Most "reviewers" apparently are incapable of going beyond the sights seen to thoughts entertained because they've had little or no experience in having their own thoughts. With present schooling being the mind-numbing experience that it is, this is not too surprising. So sad.

Unsettling nightmare-ish perfection throughout! I'm a huge Twilight Zone fan having seen all the original episodes in the last year. This is definitely worth the $3.23 for the rental and I'd pay to own it. Each story is unique and reminiscent of excellent episodes; some like this deserves praise and awards! It's outrageous horror doesn't get more nods in any form, plus Joe Dante is one of the best directors ever!

Our film begins with a prologue directed by John Landis ("Kentucky Fried Movie", "An American Werewolf in London" and "Animal House") with two buddies (Dan Ackroyd and Albert Brooks) who play TV trivia and do their own scare contest in the car while driving. In the first story also by Landis, a racist man (Vic Morrow) discovers that he travels back in time in the 40's, 50's and 60's where he becomes the three races he hates the most and becomes the hunted. The second story is directed by Steven Spielberg is a gentle tale of a wise old magical man (Scatman Crothers) who helps a group of senior citizens to live their youth again, the third tale directed by Joe Dante ("The Howling', "Pirahna" and "Gremlins 1 & 2") is a bizarre story of a teacher (Katherine Quinlan) runs into a strange young boy with special magic powers and meets his stranger family. Finally the last story directed by George Miller ("Mad Max Trilogy") is about a nervous airplane passenger (John Lithgow) who seeks a creature on the wing of the plane whom is hellbent on destroying the aircraft. Superb anthology of horror, sci-fi and fantasy tales is based on the memorable TV show of the same name is a fantastic one from four great directors. The stories except the first one are based on classic Twilight Zone episodes while the first tale is an original piece, this is the movie that got me hooked into watching the TV show in the first place. It's a great movie in it's own right and this was Vic Morrow's last movie whom died during shooting of the movie, the narration by Burgess Merideth is excellent and also stars Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson from "The Simpsons") and Dick Miller. This is one of my favorite movies ever since i was a kid and a must see for anyone who loves "Grindhouse", "Creepshow 1 & 2", "Heavy Metal" and other anthology movies.

I got tired of all the comments about remaking old episodes and decided to share how good this movie is. The Twilight Zone movie is very fun to watch. As you've probably read it's split up into several different plots/episodes but there's no credits it just rolls right into the next situation with a little narration. It is well directed with names like John Landis and Steve Spielburg you can understand why. The movie starts off with a couple friends (one of whom is Dan Akryod )driving down a cross county road at night guessing tunes off the radio and talking stories. The dialogue between them is pretty classic not to mention Creedence Clearwater Revivals MidNight Special playing in the background just sets the mood great. Everything just seems so normal and the spontaneity makes you feel like you're there. Akryods friend says do you wanna see something scary? he says alright. So he turns off the headlights and its pitch black, you can't see the road at all - Akroyd says hey turn the lights back on this isn't funny. His friend laughs and turns em back on saying its a straight road and they were really safe. Again this really gets you comfortable with Akroyds character as the passive one of the two. Where it gets driven home is a few minutes later when Akroyd asks his friend if he'd like to see something REALLY scary? He convinces him to he has to pull the car over to show him so they do. His friend says alright what is it? Akroyd holds up his finger hinting just a sec, and turns as if to put on a mask or do some magic trick. When he turns around he has a hideous face and you realize it isn't a mask at all ! He grabs his friend and chokes him to death. The camera pans up off the car still running on the side of the road and the classic twilight zone tune plays to the title. And all this happens before the title ! Needless to say anyone who likes interesting and new perspectives should check this movie out. There's not a lot of blood, it isn't a gorry film, it's an intelligent film with at least something for everyone to see at least once. By the way the gremlin segment is absolutely one of my favorite sequences in any movie ever. Again,don't miss this one just because someone told you it has episode remakes in it, please watch it ! -christopher haggerty

This is not a bad film, but it lacks something. Maybe by today's standards this film has no shock value. There is no juice or jump to this one. It is a film my wife does not even remember. I will not call it a bad film, but with all the build up after the classic TV show this film disappoints.3/10

Prologue: a driver has a big surprise with his passenger (8) Segment 1 ("Time Out"): a bigot man hates Jews, Black and Asian people. One day he will live in the World War II, hunted down by KKK and attacked in Vietnam War and feel the effects of his hatred. Good episode with a surprising conclusion (7). Segment 2 ("Kick the Can"): In a nursing home, the elder inhabitants learn that their minds can keep them young. Reasonable episode only with a great homage to "The Twilight Zone" (Episode 3.21) "Kick the Can". (6). Segment 3 ("It´s a Good Life"): a traveler hits a boy in a bicycle with her car and takes the boy home. Soon she learns that the powerful boy brought her home indeed. Good episode with a silly and disappointing conclusion (7). Segment 4 ("Nightmare at 20,000 feet"): a writer is scary to fly and soon he sees a monstrous creature destroying the airplane engines during a stormy night. Certainly the best episode (8). Divided in prologue and four segments, "Twilight Zone: The Movie" is a tragic and cult movie. Tragic since Vic Morrow, the unforgettable Sgt. Saunders of "Combat!" series, died in a weird accident when the helicopter crashed on him and two children while making a scene. Directed by four great directors - Joe Dante (segment "It's a Good Life"); John Landis (prologue/segment "Time Out"); George Miller (segment "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"); and Steven Spielberg (segment "Kick the Can") - and with great names in the cast - Vic Morrow, Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Kathleen Quinlan, John Lithgow among many others, "Twilight Zone: The Movie" is highly recommended for fans of sci-fi and horror. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "No Limite da Realidade" ("In the Limit of Reality") Note: On 31 July 2023, I saw this film again.

The ironic thing about this movie is that three of the four "remade" episodes were not written by Rod Serling (and the first one is only loosely related to a Serling-based story that starred Dean Stockwell and Leonard Nimoy). It's more like Richard Matheson - The Movie than anything. This kinda gives you an idea of what the creative folks associated with this project really thought of Serling. Still, I found all the stories at least mildly entertaining. The opening/ending sequence is lame (more worthy of a Night Gallery comedy skit, and Serling didn't have much to do with that, either). The first segment ends rather abruptly, and it's awfully overstated, but Morrow is interesting to watch as a man driven to the brink. The second segment, Spielberg's Kick the Can, is okay. It's very...Spielberg is the way to put it. A lot of "awe and wonder", and it seems a lot like an episode of Spielberg's "Amazing Stories," but the adult actors and their child-versions are talented enough that they manage to do something with it. The third segment is a typically Dante-ish live-action cartoon, with a mediocre denouement. But half the fun of any Dante movie is getting to the end, and the weird off-kilter cartoon-like world is a perfect example of the director's style. I'm not as impressed by the last segment as some. Lithgow is good, and the cameo from Carol Serling is welcome, but this one just seems to drag and the creature looks more like some Giger-ish Alien than any concept of a gremlin. I didn't expect the teddy bear from the original, but this one seemed to be there to show off the F/X. Tz:TM also features one of my favorite musical scores of all times (yes, even the Kick the Can bit), and I just enjoy sitting through the end credits listening to it. Overall, a enjoyable little flick. It could have been better, perhaps with a series of lesser-known directors stepping in rather than the Big Four of Miller, Landis, Dante, and Spielberg. Their efforts tended to overshadow any actual tribute to Serling that was intended.

Well-intentioned feature film about the classic series adapted by four noted directors(Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, George Miller, and John Landis) who re-tell three episodes from the series('Kick The Can', 'It's A Good Life', & 'Nightmare At 20,000 Feet') along with one original(about a bigot played by Vic Morrow who gets his comeuppance), yet film is a complete bomb; three remakes are totally inferior and pointless(despite one good performance by John Lithgow), the framing story with Dan Aykroyd & Albert Brooks is unfunny and leads nowhere, especially in the crass ending. Worst thing about it is how the original(Ho-Hum) segment proved fatal, resulting in the death of actor Vic Morrow and two children, in a flashback scene that was never used. Director John Landis was tried but not held responsible for the accident. A horrible tragedy regardless, and one that really brings the film down to the bottom, along with the other flaws. Should have never been made in the first place...

Five episodes realized as tribute to Rod Serling's Twilight zone, made by four known directors . It's is divided into 4 parts , three of them real remakes from classic television series, though starts in a prologue stars Albert Brooks and Dan Aykroyd . The best directed by John Landis is the first, where a bigot (played by Vic Morrow who died during filming by a helicopter crash accident) who becomes pursued of evil Nazis, Ku Klux Klan and American soldiers in Vietnam. The second segment directed by Steven Spielberg is a silly story about old people living in a retirement house who turn into little boys, thanks a strange visitor (Scatman Crothers). The third directed by Joe Dante concerns about a young woman (Kathleen Quinlan) encounters a kid with rare powers and some people (Kevin McCarthy, William Schallert,among them) closed at a strange house. And fourth episode titled 'Nightmare at 20.000 Feet' deals with a terrified passenger(John Lightow) who watch a creepy monster making rare issues on the wing of the plane. The picture contains good special effects in traditional style without excessive computer generator as usual nowadays. The master Jerry Goldsmith composes a magic musical score particularly reflected on the second episode titled 'Kick the can' . Colorful and imaginative cinematography especially in the third segment titled 'It's a good life'. Rating : Acceptable and passable, the picture will appeal to fantastic genre buffs. The classic long-running television series is formed by 156 episodes and its narrator , of course, Rod Serling. Later on, in 2002 are realized 44 new episodes with Forest Whitaker as host.

"TZTM" is a blown opportunity. Not that it's a bad film. Just a disappointment considering all the material to choose from. Only the final story is worthy of a repeat for this film. After a nifty pre-credit opening we settle in for some good scares but have to wait nearly 90 minutes for them. Story one is now known only as the sequence in which Vic Morrow was killed. As a bigot fed-up with minorities getting the promotions he feels he deserves, Morrow is thrust out into the zone where he is treated as a minority would be. It's an interesting premise by writer/director John Landis that ends abruptly and unsatisfactorily no doubt due to the horrific accident during filming. But why do an original? Zone fans want to see their favorites updated. Steven Spielberg helms story two called "Kick the Can" which is a nice enough story but nothing special. Things get moving in story three with Joe Dante's tale of a child who can read minds and will things to happen. Good effects but, again, nothing special. But it's the last story, "Nightmare at 40,000 Feet" that saves the film with John Lithgow as a VERY nervous plane passenger who sees a creature outside his window damaging the engines. It's scary and exciting....as we expect from the Twilight Zone.