Original Story by Robert R. McCammon | ||||||||||||||||||||
Teleplay by Philip DeGuere | ||||||||||||||||||||
Directed by William Friedkin | ||||||||||||||||||||
Original Airdate - October 18, 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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"Nightcrawlers" was a landmark episode in the history of the new Twilight Zone. Though the stories that had gone before were good, and some were great, "Nightcrawlers" was the first to pick up the audience by the scruff of the neck and hold them hostage while the story unfolded. Based on the Robert R. McCammon short story of the same name, it was truly the first breakout episode of the first season and cemented the appeal of the series to a great many viewers. The idea that defoliants might have created special powers in the soldiers who were subjected to it is brilliant, and is a perfect storyline for the NTZ. In the forward to the "Stories from the New Twilight Zone," Alan Brennert mentions that "Nightcrawlers" might also have been responsible for the eventual demise of the show, in a roundabout way. CBS had put the NTZ on at a later, more adult hour, during its first few months of broadcast, but decided to move the show to an earlier slot in mid-October, 1985. The first episode shown in this earlier slot was "Nightcrawlers," a story that had been developed specifically for that later timespot. Parents tuning in saw a diner full of people blown to bits, heard automatic gunfire with people shouting in the background to "Shoot him!", and saw a man get blasted away by phantom soldiers. While this may have only strengthened the appeal of the series to its fans (as it did in my case), it horrified the parents seeing it for the first time. The NTZ was banished from a lot of homes, based on this one episode. However, "Nightcrawlers" does not deserve this kind of reputation; the violence in it is perfectly suited to the story and is not graphic. It is a solid, mesmerizing piece of work that is a true classic. William Friedkin, director of "The Exorcist" and "The French Connection," has had a checkered career. The two aforementioned films are considered classics, but he has not done as well in his other ventures. With "Nightcrawlers" he rose to the occasion and crafted a near masterpiece. There is a tension in the episode that puts you on edge from the start, and I consider it much, much better than his work on "The Exorcist." I think it rivals "The French Connection" in suspense and tone. Scott Paulin has a very real presence as the Vietnam vet, Price. He is the main reason the episode works as well as it does. His tortured performance is as good as any I've seen. Paulin is also in another favorite of mine, "To Heal a Nation," the story of Jan Scruggs and the Vietnam Wall memorial, and though I haven't seen anything to substantiate this, I have the feeling that Paulin may be an actual Vietnam vet. If anyone can verify this, I'd love to know. He's an exceptional actor, no matter what he's in. James Whitmore Jr. is serviceable as the state trooper. His character is written as a little too predictable, but he plays the stolid cop well. Exene Cervenka might be the most pleasing surprise of the episode. The lead singer of the punk rock group X, as well as the ex-wife of Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy), she is excellent as the waitress who seems to have a psychic connection of some kind to Price. Robert Swan is homey and down to earth as Bob, the owner of the roadside diner where all this takes place. The phantom soldiers are very well done; they aren't shown in a full light, but are left in shadow and silhouette much of the time. My only quibble with the episode is that it seems to have been cut a bit too much. At odd times I feel that there is part of the story missing, and it runs a little too fast towards its end. It might have benefited from five or ten more minutes, giving the story time to gain its irreversible momentum. It's a small quibble, but I'd like to see what was cut from it, if anything. The teleplay is true to the short story, so this "feeling" might only be my imagination or may the result of editing. The only thing that makes it seem as if something was cut, is that the waitress calls Price by his name, as he's leaving, yet we never hear him say his name. |
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