Some key episodes of the classic TV show The Twilight Zone are perfect short stories that are self-contained in 30 minutes or so. Others have plots that could easily be turned into full-length movies. This list is about the latter. It's our list of the Twilight Zone episodes that could be their own movies.
The Silence
In the episode from Season 2 of The Twilight Zone, two men make a bet that one of them can't keep from talking for one year. There is so much that happens in a year that it would be easy to stretch this plot out for a couple of hours and watch what a person must go through without speaking. The twist at the end makes it that much crueler for the silent man, and the payoff after all of it would be intense.
A Most Unusual Camera
The ability to see the future has always been something film audiences respond to and in the Season 2 episode "A Most Unusual Camera" that's exactly what the camera in the title does. It shows the future. It doesn't show far into the future, just a few minutes, really, but there is so much that an unscrupulous couple like the husband-and-wife thieves in the episode could do with those few minutes, including seeing their own demise.
I Shot An Arrow Into The Air
In the episode "I Shot an Arrow into the Air" from Season 1, there is certainly enough to make a full movie. With its M. Night Shyamalan-like twist at the end, it's a surprise it hasn't been attempted, honestly. Most of the more science fiction-like episodes are ripe for longer stories, like this one.
Mr. Dingle, The Strong
Like most Twilight Zone episodes, "Mr. Dingle, The Strong" is a morality play and the human in it fails every time. It's a great story and one that plays out twice in the episode, so turning it into a 2-hour movie, with Mr. Dingle struggling to prove the alien scientist correct, would be a cinch. It's one of the weirdest episodes of The Twilight Zone and one totally worth exploring more.
The Parallel
Parallel universes are all the rage in pop culture these days, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe embracing the concept fully (and maybe to its downfall). Twilight Zone creator Rod Sterling was way ahead of his time with the concept as he explored in this episode from Season 4 about an astronaut who finds himself in one.
The Trade-Ins
"The Trade-Ins" from Season 3 is The Twilight Zone's take on body swapping as an elderly couple is offered a chance to "swap" into younger bodies. In the end, only one can do it, and seeing that narrative play out over an entire movie would be an incredible look into how love can endure with one person living in a completely different way than their partner due to the younger body.
The Little People
There is always someone bigger and stronger than you and in "The Little People" that lesson is learned the hard way. There are a lot of lessons to be learned in the scenario that two space explorers find themselves in in this episode and a full-length movie could explore them all.
The Lonely
The plot of "The Lonely" from Season 1 is such a classic sci-fi story that it is ripe for a full film treatment. A man, alone on an asteroid, and his fembot companion. The episode has long been an inspiration for films since the 1960s and a direct extension makes a lot of sense.
Eye Of The Beholder
Inner beauty is more important than outward looks, as we've all learned over the years and as this classic episode from the show's first season so eloquently portrays. It might be tough to fully flesh out over a full movie, but the effort could very much be worth it. It's a potential mystery wrapped in a moral play worth exploring.
No Time Like The Past
Time machines and time travel have been part of Hollywood plotlines since the dawn of film and "No Time Like The Past" like the past explores a classic version of how it could be impossible to change the past no matter how hard you try. This episode could easily be its own movie following a man desperate to change the past the make the future better.
Of Late I Think Of Cliffordville
"Of Late I Think Of Cliffordville" is the perfect episode to develop into a full movie, especially in today's anti-corporate environment. There are certainly many people who want to see a corporate tycoon and greedy businessman get his comeuppance, as happens in this episode after and ill-thought-out deal with the devil.
To Serve Man
One of the best episodes of The Twilight Zone has been parodied by The Simpsons, Futurama, and many other places in pop culture. There are a lot of ways someone could develop this into a full movie, as so much of the plot has been explored in more depth over the years.
Mr. Denton on Doomsday
In a way, "Mr. Denton On Doomsday" inspired part of the plot of Blazing Saddles about a quick-draw artist in the Old West who is tired of being drawn on by everyone he meets. There is so much to explore with the morality of it all, it seems like it could be turned into a classic Western.
A Hundred Yards Over the Rim
Combining a classic Western with science fiction has been attempted over the years with varying success, but "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" is the perfect story to do it with. A man from the 1840s ends up in the 1960s. It's perfect for a movie.
A Thing About Machines
Rod Serling was always ahead of his time in his thinking. "A Thing About Machines" is an example of this. In the episode, a man goes to battle with all the machines in his life, which in the 1960s were considerably less ominous than the potential of computers in the 2020s and the rise of AI.
People Are Alike All Over
The morality of "People Are Alike All Over" is, sadly, universal, at least here on Earth. While the story takes place on Mars, it could easily play out anywhere in the universe and leave us all questioning why we make the decisions we make with people (or beings), we don't know or understand.
The Old Man in the Cave
"The Old Man in the Cave" is one of the rare times The Twilight Zone really explores a dystopian future (albeit the future is 1974 in the episode that aired 11 years earlier). The future here could easily fit into a modern movie as the innocent survivors are under the thumb of and Wizard of Oz-like leader who is getting his information from a computer that may or may not have the ability to make the correct decisions.
Mr. Garrity And The Graves
The Season 5 episode "Mr. Garrity And The Graves" from The Twilight Zone plays out like the first act of a truly awesome horror movie. Audiences don't actually get to see all the consequences of the dead returning to life and that leaves a ton to explore in a potential movie and one that could be truly great. This is one of the episodes that really should be turned into a movie without hesitation.
Valley Of The Shadow
In "Valley Of The Shadow" a man finds himself in a strange town where the townspeople have a wide breath of crazy technology that does things he could only dream of. Of course, this turns into a nightmare for the man and it also seems like it could easily be the plot of a modern sci-fi horror movie, right?
A World of His Own
The plot line of "A World of His Own" is a twisted romantic horror story that would be amazing to see played out over the course of a couple of hours. The original episode is about an hour, but there is very little build-up or suspense before the twist is revealed and there could be - and should be - so much more to it.
Black Leather Jackets
Aliens disguised as a biker gang sent to prepare for an invasion of Earth could be the premise for an entire TV series, let alone a stand-alone film. That's the basic summary of "Black Leather Jackets" and it's so perfect for either a movie or a series. It's Sons of Anarchy meets The Adventures Of Buckaroo Bonzai.
The Last Flight
In a way, the larger implications of "The Last Flight" have been told in the reverse in the oft-forgotten '80s sci-fi flick The Final Countdown. Instead of an aircraft carrier going back in time to World War II, a World War I pilot moves forward in time to the 1960s. Let's see this on the big screen!
Cavender Is Coming
There aren't a lot of Twilight Episodes you could turn into a comedy, and that makes "Cavender Is Coming" perfect for an attempt. The original episode was one of the many that feature a star early in their career as Carol Burnett plays a clumsy woman who can't seem to find happiness in life or work so an angel is sent to help her.
A Short Drink From A Certain Fountain
A story about an older man who is so desperate to keep his younger wife happy that he resorts to an experimental medical procedure that will make him younger. The only hitch is that he continues to younger and younger and younger. "A Short Drink From A Certain Fountain" is perfect for a horror movie, or even a rom-com.
Escape Clause
The Twilight Zone was never afraid to take on the idea of selling one's soul for some kind of immortality and "Escape Clause" is the most classic example. A man sells his soul for just that and the consequences for him are as you would expect. Still, watching him get there is quite the ride and would be great over a longer movie.
Walking Distance
Many of us find ourselves looking back on our childhood through rose-colored glasses, but would we really want to go back to those times? Nostalgia plays a huge role in pop culture these days, especially for Gen Xers at the moment, but that doesn't me we all want to go relive the 1980s. "Walking Distance" examines all this and it's something we all need to think about.
Perchance to Dream
As it is, the episode called "Perchance to Dream" is seemingly one of those perfect short stories that doesn't need more. A man in a doctor's office is afraid to fall asleep and goes crazy as a result. But how did the man get to this place? What led him to the doctor's office? Why is he so afraid? Let's build this out a little more!
The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street
"The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" is one of those key episodes of The Twilight Zone that people need to watch as they are getting into the series. In a way, the plot of the show, how much it takes to distrust your neighbors when you are faced with outsiders, was explored in the Tom Hanks classic The 'Burbs, but a more serious look at it would be fascinating.
Two
What if you were one of the last two people on earth? It's a classic question, could you get along with the only other person? We don't really have time to find out in this classic episode of the show, starring Charles Bronson and Elizabeth Montgomery, so maybe a movie would also to know better how we would really be with only one companion.
A Quality Of Mercy
They say you don't really understand someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes and that is exactly what "A Quality Of Mercy" sets out to explain. A US Army officer in World War II makes a decision to attack a unit of wounded Japanese soldiers only to find himself thrown back in time as a Japanese officer facing the same decision on the other side. That would make a cool movie!
It's A Good Life
"It's A Good Life" is one of the most famous and beloved episodes of the show. It's about a young boy with special powers who makes everyone in his life miserable as they are forced to do whatever he wants them to do. Stopping him seems impossible, but a full-length movie may afford the time to see how it could be done.
What You Need
Greed and selfishness are always topics that make for great movies and those are what "What You Need" is all about as an insatiable man won't stop trying to get more out of a mysterious salesman. It leads to his own twisted death before he learns his lesson. Maybe a movie could bring the selfish man around.
