Twilight Zone the Movie

Twilight Zone the Movie Poster

In 1983, Twilight Zone the movie was released.  Starring Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, John Lithgow, and many more, the movie provided the viewer with 4 short vignettes, three of which were re-makes of earlier Twilight Zone TV shows.  The movie received mixed reviews.  Roger Ebert went so far as to rate each segment individually, giving the last two segments good reviews.  The movie was a box office success, early tripling its $10 million dollar budget.

The movie starts out with a short prologue that has Dan Aykroyd as the passenger in a cab being driven by Albert Brooks.  Just when you think it is Albert Brooks that is the wacko, Aykroyd turns into a monster and attacks Brooks, after which begins the Twilight Zone theme music and the first vignette.  The four vignettes were as follows:  "Time Out", about a bigot who ends up finding out what it is like to be a minority the hard way; "Kick the Can", about an old timer who helps a group of retirement home residents return to their childhood, only for them to realize being young is not all it is cracked up to be; "It's a Good Life", about a woman named Helen that ends up meeting a bratty, confused, omnipotent being named Anthony, who after a horrific ordeal with him, convinces him to tutelage;  "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," a story whereby a man swears he sees a creature from his seat window tearing up the engine on a moving jet plane.