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A ventriloquists dummy is naturally creepy, so what if it reallydidcome to life?
Some of the most effectiveTwilight Zoneepisodes made an already scary scenario even scarier.
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet first aired on October 11, 1963.
But imagine if itdidhappen.
Imagine the horror of looking out and seeing a creature out of your worst nightmares waiting there.
Okay, worst nightmares might be something of an exaggeration.
The premise of the episode is simple: When Bob looks outside, he sees a monster.
When anyone else looks, they see nothing at all.
Its origins are simple, too.
I looked out the window and said, Jeez, what if I saw a guy out there?
From that thought sprung Mathesons short story Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, first published in 1961.
But hes cured now.
Does he see a monster on the wing?
The final twist is that thereisno twist.
Hes a sane hero, not a deluded psycho.
Its a brilliantly executed installment that could have taken on a different form.
But would it have been as indelible as the version we got?
Its not hard to see why, either.
Millers version doesnt pack the emotional punch of the original.
But, technically, its remarkable, combining swooping camerawork, a truly scary monster, and black humor.
Its best joke: that flying is a nightmare at 20,000 feet even before the monster shows up.
Lithgows characters response: The same thing happened to me!
