X
- 1983
- PG
- Warner Bros.
- 1 h 41 m
- 1983
- PG
- Warner Bros.
- 1 h 41 m
- 1983
- PG
- Warner Bros.
- 1 h 41 m
- 1983
- PG
- Warner Bros.
- 1 h 41 m
Twilight Zone: The Movie
44
6.7
Where to Watch
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
44
13% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
63% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
25% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
44
13% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
63% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
25% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
A mixed bag of four short films done in the style of famous '60s TV show. Two work; two don't. [July 22, 1983]
Ultimately it's left to Mad Max wizard Miller to steal the show with an extraordinary remake of Richard Matheson's story about an airline passenger who spies a demon noshing the starboard engine.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 46 User Ratings
6.7
59% Positive
27 Ratings
27 Ratings
33% Mixed
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
9% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 46 User Ratings
6.7
59% Positive
27 Ratings
27 Ratings
33% Mixed
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
9% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
This is a great homage to the TV series and, perhaps, the ONLY movie we will ever need from the Twilight Zone. I still can't believe Vic Morrow died filming a scene for this movie. I think this, his last performance, was perhaps one of his bests. A movie to watch over and over again.
Report
This is a pretty great movie for the most part, and really underrated. Only one of the segments kept me from giving this a 9 or 10, which is the segment by Steven Spielberg. It is well-shot, and isn't HORRIBLE, but it is pretty dumb, and doesn't even try to be scary. The rest are pretty well made, especially the last two, which use great special effects!
Report
The first two are total stinkers, but things pick up with Joe Dante's creepy, claustrophobic, and very funny study of a brattish kid who lives in a cartoon universe, and come slamming home with George Miller's final sketch about a paranoid airline passenger.
The beauty of Twilight Zone -- The Movie is the same as the secret of the TV series: It takes ordinary people in ordinary situations and then (can you hear Rod Serling?) zaps them with "next stop -- the Twilight Zone!"
"Wanna see something really scary?" asks Guest Star Dan Aykroyd at film's end. The Miller and Dante episodes are. So is the epic waste that informs much of this movie. [20 June 1983, p.73]
The film, which opens today at the Sutton and other theaters, is composed of a prologue, written for the movie, plus four separate stories, each of them either based directly on a script from the television series or suggested by one. A lot of money and several lives might have been saved if the producers had just rereleased the original programs.
The original tv series was sometimes frightening, sometimes enlightening, and sometimes a bit too allegorical, but it was almost always entertaining. Serling gave us more in 25 minutes than Spielberg & Co. give us in nearly two hours. [24 Jun 1983, p.1]
Twilight Zone: The Movie is more known for the horrific deaths that plagued the production of the movie rather than the film itself so I never felt reviewers of the time really gave it a real shot. No, it isn't amazing, but it does do things well. Like many episodes of the series, it is creepy (maybe because 3 of 4 segments are redos from the original show) and it is well acted with visually great set pieces. The segments themselves are a mixed bag though, the first segment (Time Out) which is completely original, is probably the worst. John Landis and Steven Spielberg actually get schooled in the directing dept. by Joe Dante and George Miller because their segments are so much better than the former.
If you like the original Twilight Zone, you should watch it. I enjoyed it pretty well and I love the original series. Temper expectations and you should be fine.
Report
While the first two segments are kinda lackluster(this first one is intriguing, until you find out what happened behind the scenes...), but the last two segments are indeed brilliant, plus a nice little end gag that refers to the prologue.
Report
Well-intentioned, but to even have a tribute for the pioneering anthology series wouldn't make sense as its tales convey timeless messages which have already been executed immaculately during its original run in the 1950s. The series allows audiences to watch the multitude of episodes to focus on while this film can only focus on four.
Worse still, they are not the most profound episodes to be chosen to represent the legacy of Rod Serling's innovations as a creator.
The unfortunate production issues and tragic events that transpired during the making of this film have caused the first two segments to pale in comparison to the last two.
Film buffs and aspiring filmmakers should take note of its fantastic special effects and some of its ticklish suspense.
Report
Awards
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
Young Artist Awards
• 2 Nominations
Fantasporto
• 1 Nomination
