Twilight Zone: The Movie

1983
PG
1h 41m

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

42K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

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Dystopian Sci-Fi Supernatural Horror Horror Sci-Fi

Four horror and science fiction segments, directed by four famous directors, each of them being a new version of a classic story from Rod Serling's landmark television series.Four horror and science fiction segments, directed by four famous directors, each of them being a new version of a classic story from Rod Serling's landmark television series.Four horror and science fiction segments, directed by four famous directors, each of them being a new version of a classic story from Rod Serling's landmark television series.

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 8 nominations

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
As Vic Morrow was waiting to film what would turn out to be the scene that killed him, he allegedly said to a production assistant, "I must be out of my mind to be doing this. I should've asked for a stunt double. What can they do but kill me, right?!" While he was filming Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974), he insisted on having a $1 million life insurance policy before he would shoot any scenes involving the helicopter in which he was due to ride. He was very insistent, and when asked why, Morrow allegedly replied "I have always had a premonition I was going to die in a helicopter crash!"

Goofs
An exterior shot of the airplane in Segment #4 shows the landing gear to be in the down position. The pilot later comments that the plane would be landing in twenty minutes, far too long for gear to be down prior to touchdown.

Quotes
Car Passenger: Hey... you wanna see something really scary?

Alternate versions
CBS edited 8 minutes from this film for its 1986 network television premiere.

Connections
Featured in At the Movies: Twilight Zone: The Movie/The Survivors/The Grey Fox/The Ruling Class/The Evil Dead (1983)

Soundtracks
Nights Are Forever
Performed by Jennifer Warnes
Music by Jerry Goldsmith
Lyrics by John Bettis
Produced by Bruce Botnick with James Newton Howard
[Segment #1: playing when William enters the bar]

User reviews182

Review

Featured review

8/10

Very good

An affectionate homage to the old TV series. Three old episodes were updated and a new one was written. It's also narrated by Burgess Meredith who starred in quite a few of the original TV series episodes.

It starts off with a quick little prologue with Albert Brooks and Dan Aykroyd. It's quick, funny and provides a nice little jolt.

The first segment was newly written for the movie. It involves a bitter and racist man (Vic Morrow) getting a taste of his own medicine. This episode is clouded by the three deaths it caused--Morrow was decapitated by a helicopter blade and two Vitenamese children were crushed. John Landis (who directed this) was found not guilty in the deaths. As it stands this isn't very good. It's simplistic and heavy-handed--like a bad Zone episode.

The second one is directed by Steven Spielberg. It involves an old man (Scatman Crothers) gently bringing to life the old people at a retirement home. I'll be the first to admit that this is way too syrupy--but I have a fondness for it. The acting is good, it has a great music score and, I admit, it leaves me a little misty-eyed.

The third is directed by Joe Dante. It's a remake about a little boy who can make all of his wishes come true. It's well-directed with some truly incredible special effects and a good performance by Kathleen Quinlan. But it's seriously damaged by a silly happy ending (the original didn't have that). Billy Mumy (the star of the original) has a bit part and Dante regular Dick Miller shows up as Walter Paisley.

The fourth is the best. It's directed by George Miller and is a remake of the William Shatner episode where he spots a gremlin tearing apart the plane he's flying on. The gremlin in the original looked pretty ridiculous--like a teddy bear. Here John Lithgow plays the passenger and the gremlin is more than a little scary-looking. This segment moves and has a few great jolts. Also Carol Serling (Rod Serling's wife I believe) has a bit part.

All in all an enjoyable film. I liked it when I saw it in a theatre in 1983 and it still holds up today. I give it an 8.