I love your site! Haven't made it all the way through yet, but just thought of something that used to scare the crap out of me as a kid. Remember TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE?? People always cite that story at the end, with the alien on the wing of the airplane. But what always got me was the third story, about the kid who lives in a cartoon world. A woman takes him home after she hits him with her car, and he traps her there with his creepy cartoon family.
Two things specifically stick out. In a room upstairs he shows the woman his sister, whose back is facing them. He says something like, "She doesn't talk much," or something, and when the camera pans around, you see that she has no mouth. So scary!!! The other is when he orders his uncle to do a magic show, and he pulls a terrifying, snarling, bloody bunny out of a hat.
Please add these to your list! I wonder if everyone will remember this!
UNK SEZ: Thanks Sarah, Aunt John and I were just watching this one the other day on T.V.! I have to agree with you that the JOE DANTE directed segment "It's a Good Life" is the absolute highlight of the movie (in fact, I could do without the first two segments completely.) You can thank effects genius ROB BOTTIN (THE THING) for that rascally rabbit and all the other surreal creatures that pop up unexpectedly throughout. By the way, this segment was based on a classic episode of the series and you can spot original kid star BILLY MUMY (LOST IN SPACE) hanging out in the diner at the beginning!
That was my favorite segment fromn the movie too. When the movie came out I was the same age as the evil little boy and I thought he was sooooo cute!
by the way, the sister with no mouth is RUNAWAYS lead singer/FOXES actress Cherie Curry and the other sister Ethel is Nancy cartwright who does the voice of Bart Simpson.
This was a staple of my younger days, either watched on Showtime, or on the worn out VHS copied from when it aired on Showtime. The sister with no mouth never really freaked me out, but rather, Ethel getting eaten in the cartoon by the giant alligator was what got me. I think it had to do with my father (that bastard) always bringing it up when I'd sit in front of the TV on Saturday mornings watching too many cartoons.
Thanks dad. Scarred me for life.
Very interesting. While I was not a young child when I saw the film that is certainly the scariest episode in the movie. But looking at it now I actually find the story inspiring in a sort of esoteric way. It is the story of the person who wakes up in the midst of the dream we all share, and realizes that everything is a reflection of our own inner vision. This story has been told countless ways in numerous films, 'Dark City', 'The Truman Show', 'Willy Wonka', 'The Matrix'. That the boy has a teacher at the end is the helpful part, far less terrifying than the ending of the original story, and original Twilight Zone episode.
This scared me too, good call.
I love scary bunnies..