TWILIGHT ZONE: ROD SERLING'S LOST CLASSICS is the twin presentation of two previously unfilmed scripts by TWILIGHT ZONE creator Rod Serling, here given the 1990s treatment (colour, famous actors) and released as a double bill. The host is none other than James Earl Jones, doing a passable Serling imitation, and the good news is that the classic intro is present and correct.
A pity, then, that the '90s-era presentation of these stories is below par, with too much focus on emoting and over the top acting which makes the whole experience more than a little cheesy. What I would have preferred was something more low key and realistic, but what we get is typically glossy and overblown. The first story, THE THEATER, sees CARRIE star Amy Irving playing a woman who goes to see a Cary Grant flick at the cinema, only to find her own life story playing out on the screen. Eventually, she begins to witness events that have not yet taken place. The reliable Gary Cole co-stars, but the whole story feels sentimental and unappealing.
The second tale, WHERE THE DEAD ARE, is a riff on H.G. Wells's THE ISLAND OF DR MOREAU, but suffers from poor direction where everything takes place at night so that you can't see what's going on. It's a historical story in which surgeon Patrick Bergin goes off to investigate weird goings-on on a remote island and discovers old-timer Jack Palance at the heart of a conspiracy. Palance is great here and the story has potential, but the execution is merely so-so and rather underwhelming if I'm honest.
A pity, then, that the '90s-era presentation of these stories is below par, with too much focus on emoting and over the top acting which makes the whole experience more than a little cheesy. What I would have preferred was something more low key and realistic, but what we get is typically glossy and overblown. The first story, THE THEATER, sees CARRIE star Amy Irving playing a woman who goes to see a Cary Grant flick at the cinema, only to find her own life story playing out on the screen. Eventually, she begins to witness events that have not yet taken place. The reliable Gary Cole co-stars, but the whole story feels sentimental and unappealing.
The second tale, WHERE THE DEAD ARE, is a riff on H.G. Wells's THE ISLAND OF DR MOREAU, but suffers from poor direction where everything takes place at night so that you can't see what's going on. It's a historical story in which surgeon Patrick Bergin goes off to investigate weird goings-on on a remote island and discovers old-timer Jack Palance at the heart of a conspiracy. Palance is great here and the story has potential, but the execution is merely so-so and rather underwhelming if I'm honest.