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So, every time I watch episodes of The Twilight Zone, I get really freaked out, far more than mere horror movies, etc. Anyone else have this reaction? If so, do you have any theories of why The Twilight Zone is so damn scary?

Hawkwings wrote:So, every time I watch episodes of The Twilight Zone, I get really freaked out, far more than mere horror movies, etc. Anyone else have this reaction? If so, do you have any theories of why The Twilight Zone is so damn scary?

Any episode of the Twilight Zone, or only specific episodes? Certain episodes were specifically designed to be frightening, of course, so that's a perfectly understandable reaction. The famous "bandages" episode, for instance, seems intended to scare the audience when the faces are finally revealed, and the very first episode, with the man exploring the deserted town, is basically a psychological horror piece with a "twist" explanation tacked onto the end. The series as a whole, though, is so diverse that I find it difficult to believe you're scared by literally every episode.

sorry, wasn't clear. Only certain episodes. For example, the one where the kid builds fusion bombs, that's obviously not that scary.

A kid capable of building a fusion bomb doesn't scare you? Impressive.

the nerves of steel

Gun > Kid, no matter what they can build

Hawkwings wrote:sorry, wasn't clear. Only certain episodes. For example, the one where the kid builds fusion bombs, that's obviously not that scary.

I sure don't remember any episode featuring that plot. Or are we talking about Pen Densham's half-assed "revival" hosted by Forrest Whittaker which seems to have passed into a well-deserved oblivion?

The only thing that scares me about TTZ, is the new incarnation - because of its generally weak stories; overemphasis on the supernatural - & these have dubious moral "lessons", punishing people for no reason ie arbitrariness.
There are occasional good stories, and I wouldn't have seen all the episodes.

Patrick Degan wrote:

Hawkwings wrote:sorry, wasn't clear. Only certain episodes. For example, the one where the kid builds fusion bombs, that's obviously not that scary.

I sure don't remember any episode featuring that plot. Or are we talking about Pen Densham's half-assed "revival" hosted by Forrest Whittaker which seems to have passed into a well-deserved oblivion?

I'm pretty sure that was an episode of the Outer Limits. Some college students figures out cold fusion and proceeds to build fusion bombs. Holds school hostage, police try to stop him and fail.

I like the old series, not really seen the new version with Forrest Whittaker. But I was always more into the '90s comeback of The Outer Limits, until it ran out of steam in the early '00s. That had some genuinely nasty stories and the narrator always delivered a smackdown, though it did have one or two nice endings to keep you from getting too moribund.

The twilight zone was one of the earlier shows designed to fuck with your head. It's supposed to mess with your perceptions of reality and what's normal, so it's going to be a bit more disconcerting then some shows.

hmm, I think that was the Outer Limits, with the cold fusion. Apparently I'm getting the two shows mixed up, but they are very similar, at least the episodes I've seen.