31 Days Of Horror: Day #18 - NIGHTMARE AT 20,000 FEET (1983)

"There's a man on the wing of this plane!" - John Valentine

"Nightmare At 20,000 Feet" - 4th segment from Twilight Zone: The Movie, (1983), Directed by George Miller

Grade: A 

This is a cheat, I know.  I'm reviewing just PART of a movie?  Well, it's because while I like 80% of the entire film (the Spielberg segment is just horrible), this is the only one deserving of being in a Halloween post.  And it's the best story in the entire movie.

Again written by one of my favorite authors, Richard Matheson, "Nightmare At 20,000 Feet" was originally done for the Twilight Zone TV series, involving an irate airline passenger who sees a gremlin on the wing of an airplane, but can't get anybody to believe him.  That version starred Captain Kirk and a fuzzy but evil teddy bear.

"GAHH!! This is the last time I use Priceline.com!!!"

While the original version of this story provided for a memorable TZ episode, the results were more campy than scary, and Shatner's trademark emoting was what provided most of the scares (not in a good way), while the Teddy Ruxpin on the wing generated more laughs than creep-outs.  Matheson said in an interview during the time that the episode aired that the interpretation of his story was a disappointment of sorts.  

Then in 1983, when a TZ revival happened with the movie, director George Miller went back and re-did the story, with impressive results.  John Lithgow replaced Shatner, and the gremlin was turned into a real "monster" with hellish, demon-like qualities.

"GAHH!! This is the last time I visit the 3rd Rock From The Sun!!!"

While both versions tell the same story, George Miller's vision evokes the most scares.  The thunderous rain outside the plane with constant lightning screeching across the sky at almost every single second, along with the sound design of noises throughout the plane's cabin and the eerie visuals of Lithgow's John Valentine seeing the monster outside the window, produce a sheer terror that wasn't present in the original.

Also, the main highlight here outside of Lithgow's incredible performance is Jerry Goldsmith's magnificent score.  This soundtrack CD was a highly sought-after collectible back in the day for this geeky blogger and his soundtrack friends. We went on massive flea market and dusty book store bin hunts for this score. (I ended up finding the cassette, but didn't buy it, which I really regretted later).

The score is fantastic, not just for this segment but for the entire film.  However, if it wasn't for Goldsmith's masterful vision, this "Nightmare" would not have had the impact it had.  It's an extremely spooky piece of music.  Just watch the beginning of this clip and listen as the music builds and the subtleties in Lithgow's face that make his performance incredible as he slips into total madness.

The segment has always been called the best story of the TZ movie, which is in a way unfortunate because while the other stories, save for Spielberg's, had spooky TZ qualities about them, none of them packed the wallop that this one did.  

This is another reason why I love the anthology format.  It's proof that a good story can be told on film in just 20 minutes or less, and the results can be just the same as watching zombies devour brains and innards, or watching a ghost take over a family's house on a security camera.

And of course, the story let us have this great little joke: