The Andrenn Channel: Halloween Special

The Halloween Season keeps on rolling, and we’ve got a very special edition of the Andrenn Channel here. Our second show added to the channel is none other than the cult classic and world renowned…Twilight Zone! Now when covering Twilight Zone, no one man can contain it to a few paragraphs per aspect, so Obviously I’m going to try and condense this as best as I can. Also, we’ve got a new addition to the Channel’s system of adding, now, I say my favorite episode of this series as well.

Plot description

There is never a real specific plot to the Twilight Zone. Really, it’s just Rod Sterling Narrating a different twisted tale after another. The stories can range from cheesy and dumb, such as most of the alien episodes (with the exception of “The Monsters are due on Maple Street”) or downright horrific and terrifying to their core. I dare say that some episodes rival the best horror films of all time.

One thing you have to remember when watching this show is that it’s old. Now I’m talking about the classic Twilight Zone here, I won’t be adding that piss-poor reboot from the 80’s and early 2000’s. No, this is classic 50’s and 60’s horror/sci fi thrills. Funny looking men in obviously rubber suits. Similar to Night of the Living Dead, that low quality and shit effects only enhance the show and make it better.

Usually the stories end on either a strange cliff-hanger, which is never picked up, or end in a very dark way that often kills any happy ending. One thing this show is not, is happy. There are never happy endings or touching scenes. This show embodies what horror should be about, the plot, the scares, and twists and turns that are creepy and cool. This is of course before the 80’s slasher wave brought in the love connection to all horror films and made “tragic couples” popular.

Though I don’t care for the more sci fi oriented episodes, the horror ones are often classic and golden and have great plots with strong twists and chills.

Character

Notice how I said Character, no Characters. That’s because Twilight Zone has so many new stream of characters I could never hope to even get a few without feeling I missed some of the best. So I’m going to make this easier and simply focus on the show’s “Main character” of sorts, the narrator. Rod Serling wrote most of the episodes, so it seems only fair he narrate them.

His voice often carries a monotone simplistic tone that can almost seem creepy at times. He seems so casual and relaxed, after you just saw someone jump out a plane or even more chilling. That voice just sneaks up on you and you don’t always expect it. Still, he does a great job of conveying a story through his words and shows his love for each and every story.

Favorite Episode

This was incredibly tough, it really comes down to either The Howling Man or The Monsters are due on Maple street. But in the end, the Howling man wins. The creepy atmosphere is great, but what really bring it home is the perfect amount of build up. The howl, it chills the bone and frightens every kind of sense.

The story is of a man who seeks shelter for the night, I can’t quite remember why, but anyway-he finds a church of sorts and asks, soon begs, for shelter. The men seem certain to keep him locked out, but he finally convinces the leader of the church to let him stay the night.

There is also a man, howling in the church. The man is held within a chamber and begs our main character to be let free. At first he seems hesitant, but after the church leader tells him the truth: that the man in there is the devil whom is sealed with the staff on the door, our protagonist thinks the leader is crazy and sets the man free.

Of course, it turns out to really be the devil after all! We then cut to the future, or…present, whichever it was, where the man is telling his story to a maid for his hotel room. He tells her not to take the staff off the room door (whichever room it is) for he’s got the devil locked back up inside, after years and years of searching for him. Just as she hears a howl, she removes the staff from the door as the episode ends.

The build up and suspense is dead on with films like Halloween and The Omen, and really, this episode alone could be made into a full length film and it would probably be amazing. Of course the final narration is a perfect cap off for this amazing episode.

Why it goes on the channel

Nowadays in a horror genre gone wrong, where gore and violence are all that qualify to make a horror movie, Twilight Zone stands out as the true heart of what horror is. The suspense is always great and some of the best episodes are built on the classic “False climax” ending. Where once we think the episodes is done and nothing freaky happened, bam, something freaky happens.

While Twilight Zone may not always be a 5 star perfect show, even just a few handful of episodes would be enough to get it on the Channel.

There you have it, the latest addition to the Andrenn Channel. I would have posted this late September, when I wrote it, but I thought “what better time to post this then the Halloween season?”

Now tomorrow is the next Zombified edition of Cover Talk and following that is 2 catch up reviews. I’m also working on another idea I didn’t announced in the Halloween post.

But until I see you again, grab your boom stick and blast those zombies to kingdom come.