Warriors of Virtue (1997)

This article looks at yet another film that had potential that was flushed down the toilet.

Just four years before the first part of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy was released, there was another fantasy film which, unlike Jackson’s trilogy, pretty much faded from memory as quickly as it arrived. That film was Warriors of Virtue.

The protagonist of our story is Ryan Jeffers (Mario Yedidia), who’s the waterboy for his school’s football team. He also has limited use of his right leg, which prevents him from playing on the team himself. He assuages his unhappiness about this by reading comics and adventure stories and by spending his time at the Chinese restaurant owned by his pal Ming (Dennis Dun).

During a football game, Ryan makes a play suggestion to quarterback Brad (Michael Dubrow), which Brad responds to by spitting on his foot. But this doesn’t stop Brad from making that suggested play anyway, which in turn leads to the team winning the game. Ryan is happy but saddened, as he was unable to make that winning play himself, while Brad gets all the glory. Ryan’s pal Chucky (Rickey D’Shon Collins) notices this and as the duo walk home, he calls Brad out on it just as he and his pals pass by. Brad looks pissed off, but offers Ryan a chance to hang out with them later that evening at the nearby water plant. Ryan is happy for the chance, but Chucky thinks this is a trick.

After venting a bit to his career-minded mom (Teryl Rothery), Ryan visits Ming again. The latter shows him a jar which he says has a cocoon inside, although it looks more like a small coconut. Ming says he found it on the road when he was Ryan’s age. Upon opening it, a creature flew out, although it came back down just a moment later. Ming explains that he interrupted the creature’s journey (how, I’m not sure) and goes on to tell Ryan that everyone has cocoons and must learn to fly—metaphorically speaking, I assume. Ryan mopes that it’s a bit hard for him, given his leg, but Ming hands him what he calls a manuscript. It explains the world of Tao, meaning finding one’s self, and includes representations of the five elements: earth, fire, water, wood, and metal.

That night, Ryan and a reluctant Chucky meet Brad and the others at the water plant. Brad bullies Ryan into leading them all inside the plant, which one would think would be locked up at night, and then shows them a narrow pipe that goes over a whirlpool. He dares Ryan to cross the pipe, and even performs the deed himself as incentive. A thoughtful bully? That’s a first. Chucky gets a funny line here by telling Ryan, “Let’s make like Tom and cruise.”

But over Chucky’s and even some of Brad’s friends’ objections, Ryan attempts to cross the pipe. As he starts out, Brad taunts him by saying that another pipe nearby could spill more water anytime. Sure enough, water comes out of that pipe, knocking Ryan into the whirlpool.

Ryan awakens in what looks like a forest. He’s soon attacked by what looks like someone wearing the same armor as the Orcs in Lord of the Rings. This guy brings Ryan to the ground with a spear to his back. Alas, the spear only hit Ryan’s backpack, which he quickly discards before running away. After a brief, scary encounter with a kangaroo-looking creature, Ryan realizes that he has the use of both his legs again.

He understandably dances for joy at this before bumping into a dwarf named Mudlap (Michael J. Anderson). The two struggle a bit before Mudlap is stopped by an arrow which pins him to a tree. The arrow is thrown by the beautiful Elysia (Marley Shelton), who appears and asks if Ryan is fine. She informs him that he’s in the land of Tao, and that those who attacked him earlier were soldiers of the evil Komodo (Angus Macfadyen). Elysia quickly takes Ryan away.

The orc-armored fellow who attacked Ryan arrives at Komodo’s lair (which looks like the one used by Jose Ferrer in Dune) with Ryan’s backpack. Komodo gives the backpack to his annoying minions before rewarding the underling who got it in the first place with the old “death by trapdoor” bit. The minions play with Ryan’s other belongings while Komodo becomes entranced with the manuscript he got from Ming, which his aide General Grillo (Tom Towles) points out has the symbol of Tao on the cover. Komodo quickly orders the capture of Ryan.

Elysia is seen on a boat with Ryan. He informs her of the manuscript which she refers to as “the manuscript of legend”, which according to her leader Master Chung (Chao-Li Chi) can change how bad things have gotten in Tao. Chung was a leader of peace, but Komodo arrived on the scene to conquer by stripping the life springs of Tao of a mineral to keep him forever young.

She goes on to explain that only one spring remains, but even the title warriors are having a tough time keeping it protected. When Ryan asks about the Warriors, Elysia explains that they’re kangaroos who each represent an element: Laif, Warrior of Wood (who represents the virtue of Order); Chi, Warrior of Fire (virtue of Wisdom); Tsun, Warrior of Earth (virtue of Loyalty); and Yee, Warrior of Metal (virtue of Righteousness). Yun, the Warrior of Water (virtue of Benevolence) has left them following an earlier conflict.

They arrive at a village where Elysia introduces Ryan to Chung and a populace of muppets who say that Ryan’s arrival signifies hope. Ryan is soon captured by Komodo’s idiot minions Mantose (Lee Arenberg), Barbarocious (Ying Qu), and Dullard (Stuart Kingston), just as he and Elysia are becoming a bit smitten with each other. But Yun arrives to help Ryan out. Ryan recognizes him from when he first arrived in Tao, and asks about his backpack. Yun says he doesn’t have it, but believes Komodo does. Yun is hesitant to help out, but Ryan’s persistence wins him over. As they make their plans, Elysia clandestinely sneaks away.

In next scene, she arrives at Komodo’s lair, dressed in somewhat provocative attire and with what looks like guilt on her face. But Komodo tempts her with what he calls “medication”, no doubt to ease the pain of being exposed to his overacting at such close range. As he plots his strategy, he tells his minions, “Do not think thoughts!” With the posse he has, I’d say there’s little danger of that.

Yun, Yee, and Chi are soon led into a trap by Mudlap. They’re brought to Komodo and Elysia, who explains herself by blaming Yun for accidentally killing her brother. They’re sent down into the same trapdoor seen earlier, but manage to escape before the spinning blade below slices them up.

As they return to the Lifespring, Komodo arrives and fights with Chung. The fight ends with Komodo triumphant before he captures Ryan. Komodo states that thanks to Chung, he’s in hell (well, he’s in this movie, isn’t he?). With his dying breath, Chung tells Komodo that “to take a life is to lose part of yourself.”

In Komodo’s lair, he and Elysia basically tempt Ryan with the Dark Side (I don’t know how else to put it). To that end, Komodo tells Ryan to read the book, as he believes it will be a gateway to our world.

But blank pages are all Ryan sees when he opens it. Rather than say this, however, Ryan simply says, “Shit happens!” Both Komodo and Elysia slowly repeat this phrase, making this an all-the-more fitting metaphor for this movie.

In anger, Komodo attempts to kill Ryan, but Elysia pleads on Ryan’s behalf. She even physically stops Komodo from making a fatal blow before Barbarocious kills her for her trouble. Komodo retaliates by killing Barbarocious (there’s just no pleasing this guy). Ryan uses this as a chance to escape, and he’s next seen mourning Chung and his chances of returning home, while Komodo is doing the same for Elysia.

Mudlap shows up to apologize and Ryan rightly tells him to piss off. At the same time, Komodo arrives to take on the warriors himself. As he basically hands their asses to them, Ryan hears the voice of Obi-Wan, er, Chung. Ryan opens the book and sees words on one of the pages (which is also glowing, of course). It has the elements listed as well as a passage repeating Chung’s final words to Komodo.

Reinvigorated, Ryan goes to the village and taunts Komodo into using his power on him. This weakens him enough for the warriors to defeat him. As the quintet go to Ryan, they take care of Komodo’s remaining cronies by (I kid you not) saying that the fighting’s over now. If only all conflicts could be resolved this easily. Komodo himself appears, but now as a more meek fellow with apparently no memory of his wickedness. Thankfully, this also includes his awful overacting.

The warriors all thank Ryan before he suddenly finds himself back on that pipe in the water plant. Brad is seen cajoling him to cross, but this time Ryan does the smart thing and cruises off with Chucky. This is followed by Brad getting trapped on the other side as water from the nearby pipe begins to come in.

The film ends with Ryan at home, telling his mom that he loves her and hugging his dog Bravo, whom he begins to tell his adventure to.

Films about an outsider, especially a young one, wishing to fit in and going on the adventure of a lifetime are always appealing. This film certainly had that premise in its favor. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do much with it.

The world of Tao itself looks like it was simply shot on a studio backlot, and it doesn’t inspire any sense of awe in the viewer. Jim Henson’s classic series Fraggle Rock presented a similar set up, but you still felt that you were in another world when you watched that show.

The warriors themselves basically remind me of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, only not as fun to watch.

The cast does what they can, although Macfadyen hams it up so much that even green eggs can’t help him. The Ryan/Elysia scenes in particular had potential, as did the moments where she seems to be conflicted as to who to join. Sadly, this potential is tossed aside much too quickly.

Like the aforementioned Dune, this film can be described with one word: dull. It’s not as enchanting as The Wizard of Oz, it’s not as exciting as Star Wars, it’s not ambitious like The Dark Crystal, it's not romantic like The Princess Bride, it’s not epic like Lord of the Rings and it’s not funny like The BFG. Even Hook had the hilarious performances of Dustin Hoffman as the title character and Bob Hoskins as Mr. Smee to keep that movie afloat.

Warriors of Virtue did get a direct-to-video sequel in 2002, with Ryan and Chucky now played by different actors and the title warriors no longer kangaroos, but looking more like humans. This, to me, reflects the disappointment and lost potential I felt when viewing this movie.

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), part 2

The second half of this review focuses mainly on the tragedy that took place during the making of this film.

Let’s take a closer look at the Twilight Zone movie itself before tackling the elephant in the room regarding this topic.

The prologue, directed by John Landis, sets the tone perfectly and would truly do Rod Serling proud. Burgess Meredith’s narration is another nice touch.

The first segment, “Time Out”, also directed by Landis, certainly has a great premise, as the idea of an asshole who becomes a better person after getting a taste of what he’s dished out sounds like a great story. Obviously, the segment itself didn’t end on that optimistic note, but, originally, Vic Morrow’s character Bill was supposed to come across two children while he was in the Vietnam setting. He redeems himself by collecting them and carrying them to safety across a river just as American choppers are blowing up the village behind him. The segment was to end with Bill holding the kids and promising to keep them safe. But (again, for reasons I’ll get to shortly), the finished film had a more abrupt, downbeat end.

Spielberg’s segment, “Kick the Can”, is pleasant enough, and the late, great Scatman Crothers was always worth watching. It certainly has an uplifting tone, but there’s nothing else to make it truly special. This makes it come across especially disappointing, as the segment was Spielberg’s followup to his masterwork E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial.

“It’s a Good Life”, Joe Dante’s installment, actually got critical praise. Truthfully though, while it’s appropriately bizarre, I found it a bit dull compared to Dante’s classics like Piranha, The Howling, and the two Gremlins movies.

Finally, we get some great stuff again with George Miller’s take on “Nightmare on 20,000 Feet”. As in the original episode, which was written by the legendary Richard Matheson, and starred William Shatner as the freaked-out passenger, and is rightfully regarded as one of the series’ finest installments, it’s a bit of a miracle that a remake could do it justice. But John Lithgow’s great performance and the intensity Miller generates from beginning to end makes this segment, if not superior to that piece of landmark television, proudly stand alongside it. This would actually lead to a hilarious in-joke years later when Shatner guest-starred on 3rd Rock from the Sun.

The reason the initial “Time Out” segment ended differently than originally intended was because on July 23, 1982, during filming of the sequence in which Bill flees the village with the two children, the helicopter used for the sequence lost control due to its close proximity to the explosions used. As a result, it crashed onto Morrow and the children, killing them instantly. Not surprisingly, the scenes that were previously shot with the children were removed from the film.

This sadly was not the first time a death occurred during the filming of a movie. However, this incident made headlines when it was revealed that the children, seven-year-old Myca Dinh Le and six-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen, had been hired illegally by Landis. The sequence was shot in California’s Indian Dunes park at 2:30 in the morning, and by California law, a special waiver was required to allow the children to work at such an hour. But Landis suspected (correctly, no doubt) that after getting such a waiver, the social worker that would have come to the set to represent the children would’ve had the authority to force him to remove the entire sequence as being too dangerous for them.

But Landis, who began his showbiz career in stunt work, insisted on having the sequence and elected to hire the children illegally and pay their parents out of petty cash in order to avoid putting the children on the payroll. This desire would lead to him becoming the first film director being charged with a fatality that occurred on movie set.

The subsequent investigation led to the below statement being issued by the National Transportation Safety Board in 1984.

"The probable cause of the accident was the detonation of debris-laden high temperature special effects explosions too near a low-flying helicopter leading to foreign object damage to one rotor blade and delamination due to heat to the other rotor blade, the separation of the helicopter’s tail rotor assembly, and the uncontrolled descent of the helicopter. The proximity of the helicopter (around 25 feet off the ground) to the special effects explosions was due to the failure to establish direct communications and coordination between the pilot, who was in command of the helicopter operation, and the film director, who was in charge of the filming operation."

The tragedy led to numerous lawsuits and indictments of Landis, associate producer George Folsey Jr, helicopter pilot Dorcey Wingo, production manager Dan Allingham, and explosives specialist Paul Stewart. Spielberg, who co-produced the film with Landis, was named in the lawsuits subsequently filed against Warner Bros., but was never charged with anything, as he was traveling around the world promoting E.T. at the time the tragedy occurred. The lawsuits themselves would result in millions of dollars being rewarded to the families of the children as well as Morrow (whose daughter is actress Jennifer Jason Leigh).

The following trial, which began in 1986, saw many witnesses testifying against Landis, who was known for being harsh with crew members. Indeed, Wingo, who actually flew choppers during the Vietnam War, expressed misgivings about the segment beforehand, as did other crew members.

In a tragic irony, Morrow himself stated some time before filming that he had a premonition that he would die in a helicopter accident. Actor Dick Peabody, who worked with Morrow on the TV series Combat! later wrote that his last words before filming were: “I’ve got to be crazy to do this shot. I should’ve asked for a double.”

Folsey reportedly informed the parents of the children not to tell any firefighters on the set that the children would be in the scene. In addition, he hid the presence of the children from a fire safety officer who also happened to be a welfare worker.

Myca’s father, Daniel Lee, stated at the trail that Landis instructed the helicopter to fly lower during filming. The parents of both children testified that they were told the kids would be in no danger in the sequence that was being filmed, and that there would only be loud noises.

The affair would lead to second assistant director Andy House requesting his name be removed from the finished film.

The nine-month trial ended in 1987 with Landis and the four other defendants being acquitted on manslaughter charges, to the disappointment of many. Landis publicly admitted he was wrong to illegally hire the children, but stated that he could not have foreseen such a tragedy.

Spielberg subsequently cut off ties with Landis due to his handling of the accident and its aftermath. Originally, Spielberg was set to remake the classic episode “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street”, but the incident prompted him to remake the less intense “Kick the Can” instead. Some have speculated that the tragedy also played a part in Spielberg’s decision to make his next film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which involves Indy rescuing children from danger.

As money talks in Hollywood, it shouldn’t be surprising that Landis, who was riding high at this time thanks to his successes with National Lampoon’s Animal House, The Blues Brothers, and An American Werewolf in London, was allowed to continue directing even during his trial. Some of the films he made around this time, such as Spies Like Us, Three Amigos!, and Coming to America were successful. He also famously directed the music video of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” during this period. These days, Landis is mostly directing TV, including episodes of Psych. But the accident put a mark on his career that neither he nor the pubic has ever truly forgotten.

He would later say in 1996, “There was absolutely no good aspect about this whole story. The tragedy, which I think about every day, had an enormous impact on my career, from which it may possibly never recover.” Indeed, this was not a case of stunt people dying in the line of duty. These were performers, two of whom were not even professional actors, who tragically lost their lives despite assurances that there was no danger.

Obviously, I don’t believe Landis intended this to happen and I believe the tears he reportedly shed at his trial when he took the stand were genuine. But this doesn’t change the fact that this horrible event would never have occurred had Landis gone through the proper legal channels in the first place.

This would lead to a major shakeup when it came to safety on film sets. The Directors Guild of America began to publish regular safety bulletins for its members, and set up a phone number allowing directors to get instant answers to any safety questions they may have. Any violations for safety procedures on film sets now result in disciplinary action from the Guild as well. Likewise, the Screen Actors Guild established a 24-hour hotline which its members can use if they believe a scene to be unsafe.

While there have been deaths on movie sets since this time (a famous example is the death of actor Brandon Lee, who died in a freak accident while filming The Crow), such incidents reportedly dropped nearly 70% between 1982 and 1986.

Despite these events, Twilight Zone: The Movie was completed and released on schedule, but I suppose it’s not an exaggeration to say that the tragedy, more than anything, led to the film’s less-than-enthusiastic reception, as critics gave it mixed reviews with most of the praise for Dante and Miller’s segments. But one could say that, as unintentional as it was, the film also led to better rules being enforced when it came to safety on film sets. Hence, this is a movie with a legacy that’s two-fold.

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)

This is the first part of a look at the film from the classic TV series of the same name.

Even before this day and age of seemingly endless reboots and reimaginings, the idea of remaking something for the big screen wasn’t (if you’ll pardon this) new. After all, classic series such as Batman, The Munsters, and Star Trek had all appeared on the big screen by the 1980s. In those three cases though, the casts were the same as those of the beloved TV shows the movies came from. By 1983, Steven Spielberg had gotten enough clout to join up with three of his pals/fellow directors, John Landis, Joe Dante, and George Miller to make a feature length movie based on the legendary anthology series The Twilight Zone, which aired on CBS from 1959-1964.

While I plan to go more into what transpired behind the scenes in part two of this article, each member of this quartet directed one of the four segments which comprise the movie. The movie’s prologue and its subsequent first segment, written and directed by Landis, would be original works, while the remaining three segments, directed by Spielberg, Dante, and Miller, respectively, would be remakes of episodes from the series.

Our film begins with two chums (Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks) driving down a lonely road one evening. They’re singing the song playing on the car’s tape player until the tape inside jams and the driver (Brooks) states that the radio doesn’t get much reception in their current location. To liven things up, the driver turns off the car’s headlights for brief moments… in the dead of night. It’s a good thing cell phones weren’t around yet, or he would’ve decided to do the equally stupid thing of texting while driving. The passenger (Aykroyd) decides to pass the time by playing trivia. They begin by rattling off the theme tunes of classics shows such as National Geographic and Bonanza. The conversation then turns to (naturally) The Twilight Zone, with both of them recalling episodes, one of which they’re in disagreement over whether it was a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits installment (interestingly, a similar exchange would occur years later in Spielberg’s comedy The Terminal).

But the passenger decides its his time to pull something scary. He asks the driver to pull over in order to see it, and the latter complies with a slightly annoyed shake of the head. The passenger turns his face away for a brief moment, and the driver’s huge smirk changes when the passenger turns back revealing this:

The driver is promptly attacked and the camera pans away from the car as the classic Twilight Zone theme is played. As Rod Sterling had passed in 1975, a new narrator was obviously needed for the movie. Happily, we learn that a great second choice was found as we hear the voice of Burgess Meredith giving the classic intro accompanied by the imagery seen in the show’s title sequence.

The first segment, entitled “Time Out,” begins with Bill Connor (Vic Morrow) entering a bar to meet with his pals Larry (Doug McGrath) and Ray (Charles Hallahan). Bill states that he can’t stay long because his wife’s relatives are coming over, although this doesn’t stop him for hitting on the bar’s waitresses. But what’s really pissing Bill off is that he just got passed over for a promotion. Sure, he acknowledges that the guy who did get it has been with the company longer than he has, but Bill uses the fact that the guy is Jewish to go off on a rant against not only Jews, but black people and “Orientals”. Larry briefly adds fuel to that fire with his smart-ass remark that Jews don’t run everything because Arabs won’t let them. Bill’s ranting pisses off the three black gentlemen sitting at the table next to them and embarrasses Larry and Ray. But Bill just angrily darts off.

Once outside, though, he’s not in the bar’s parking lot, but what is Nazi territory during World War II. Bill is quickly halted by two SS officers who rummage though his wallet. Bill can’t understand what they’re saying as he doesn’t speak German, but demands an explanation.

This demand is answered with the SS men attempting to take him away. Bill escapes, taking a bullet that grazes his arm. He makes his way to the upper floor of an apartment building. However, his attempts to ask the family inside for help are met with the lady of the house shouting to the SS men below that he’s inside. Bill goes outside and makes it to the ledge of the building, allowing the SS below to use him for target practice.

A shot prompts Bill to fall off the building, landing on a dirt road, surrounded by the Ku Klux Klan. One of the Klansmen (John Larroquette, pre-Night Court and pre-serving on Doc Brown’s Klingon ship), tells Bill that they now have him, calling him the n-word. With a cross burning in the background, the Klansmen toss a rope over a nearby branch, preparing to hang Bill. He vehemently states he’s done nothing wrong, but the only response he gets is to shut up while repeatedly being called the n-word. Bill breaks loose, sending a Klansman into the burning cross. With the other Klansmen and their bloodhounds in pursuit, Bill dives into the nearby river. The Klansmen shoot at the river repeatedly.

After a few moments, Bill reemerges, now in jungle surroundings. He keeps himself hidden while a group of Viet-Cong and a serpent pass by him. But when he reveals himself to passing American troops, they reply by firing in his direction. One of them tosses a grenade. The subsequent explosion sends Bill back to WWII-era France, where he’s promptly spotted and shot in the leg by SS men. They take him to a train, and after putting a Star of David on his suit, toss him into a compartment with other prisoners. Bill gets to his feet and sees Larry and Doug in the parking lot looking for him. He shouts for their help but they don’t notice him as the train takes him away.

The second segment, a remake of the classic episode “Kick the Can”, begins with the Sunnyvale Retirement Home being visited by Mr. Bloom (Scatman Crothers). He gets an idea of the less-than-happy atmosphere in the place when he sees a man once again being turned down by his son for a chance to spend the weekend with him.

That night, while the residents are watching Jeopardy!, Bloom attempts to lift everyone’s spirits when he tells them they’re never too old to run and dance as they reminisce about their youth. This is over the objections of resident Leo Conroy (Bill Quinn). Bloom states that he loved playing Kick the Can when he was younger and he promises that he’ll wake everyone up for a game.

Sure enough, while Conroy sleeps, Bloom gathers the others that night. The game playing creates such joy in the players that they soon realize they’ve transformed into younger versions of themselves. While they’re enjoying this renewed youth, they realize that their families would no longer recognize them (let alone the fact that little children can’t exactly sleep in a retirement home). Bloom allows them to return to their original ages. Conroy sees this and realizes that one person, Mr. Agee, is still a young boy (Evan Richards). Conroy asks to go with him, but Agee turns him down, saying he needs to find his own way.

The story ends with a changed Conroy kicking a can while the residents are in happier spirits and Bloom leaves to help others in need.

The third story, a remake of the episode “It’s a Good Life,” starts with Helen Foley (Kathleen Quinlan) heading to a new town for her new job. She stops at a bar to ask the bartender (Dick Miller) for directions. During that time, she intervenes when a boy named Anthony (Jeremy Licht) is pushed around while playing an arcade game. But as she leaves, she accidentally hits Anthony’s bike and promptly offers him a ride home. En route, he tells her that today is his birthday, although his parents don’t care. Still, they’re both all smiles over the fact that they’re now friends.

At Anthony’s home, Helen meets his parents (Patricia Barry and William Schallert), his sister Ethel (Nancy Cartwright, before voicing Bart Simpson) and his uncle Walt (Kevin McCarthy). Anthony asks that Helen stay for dinner and his family is all for this. Although clearly taken aback, Helen accepts while Anthony gives her a tour of the homestead. In the meantime, the others rummage through her purse (such gracious hosts, huh?).

The house itself adds to Helen’s growing sense of discomfort as every room in the upper floor has a TV playing a cartoon. In one room is Anthony’s other sister Sara (Cherie Currie), who Anthony says was in an accident. We then see that Sara has no mouth.

While waiting for dinner to be served, Helen uncomfortably sits at the TV in the family room next to Anthony, watching a cartoon, naturally. He actually has to remind his mother where the food is. Said food consists of burgers with peanut butter, which Helen assumes is Anthony’s birthday dinner. When she points this out, Ethel reacts as if she didn’t know there was a birthday, prompting Helen to understandably want to bolt. But the family insists that she watch Walt perform his hat trick. He nervously pulls (what else?) a rabbit out. Helen attempts to leave as a more monstrous looking rabbit appears. Anthony tells the monster to go away, which it does. Helen attempts to leave again before they both intercept a note Ethel put in her purse saying Anthony is a monster.

When the others point the finger at Ethel, she informs her that Anthony is keeping them all prisoner so he can have a family, as he killed his real parents. This leads to Anthony sending Ethel into the cartoon playing on TV, where she’s eaten by the cartoon monsters (if only they could do that to Bart).

Anthony vents that everyone is afraid of him (gee, I wonder why). This leads to him sending Helen and himself to another plane of existence, and sending the others back to where they came from. Taking pity on him, Helen offers to teach him how to find better uses for his power. The story ends with the two driving off in Helen’s car.

The movie’s final act is a remake of the show’s classic “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” episode. An extreme neurotic named John Valentine (John Lithgow) is on an airplane during a thunderstorm. As the attendants return him to his seat following a panic attack, he notices a monster on the wing of the plane. This causes another attack, although when he tries to show others on the plane, they see nothing.

It’s not long, though, before he looks out and sees the creature again, now attempting to disable the plane. Eventually, Valentine tries to break his window but another passenger stops him. But Valentine takes the guy’s gun and shoots the window open, causing the cabin to depressurize. He fires at the monster, which manages to rush him and dispose of the gun. It leaps off into the sky as the plane makes an emergency landing.

The story and the film end with the shaken passengers being disembarked, while Valentine is taken away in an ambulance. The authorities do make note of damage to the plane’s engines, though.

As Valentine is driven off, the ambulance driver (Aykroyd) plays the same song heard in the prologue before asking Valentine if he’d like to see something really scary (oh, no, don’t tell me he’s going to force him to watch Nothing But Trouble).

I agree with the majority that the movie’s saving graces are the prologue and its final act. The other three installments have their good points as well, though. I’ll go into more detail in part two of this article, but there may have been a reason why the film as a whole turned out the way it did.