John Lithgow’s 1983 Horror Debut Took Fear of Flying to New Heights

In a film that’s sullied by real-life tragedies, Twilight Zone: The Movie is a genuinely entertaining horror-science fiction anthology that honors the striking themes of Rod Serling’s original The Twilight Zone series. Produced byJohn Landis (An American Werewolf in London) and Steven Spielberg, the film also called upon Joe Dante (Gremlins, The Howling) and George Miller (Mad Max) to fill up the other two directors’ chairs. The script contained only one original story written by Landis, called “Time Out,” while the others were remakes of the Twilight Zone episodes, “It’s a Good Life” and “Kick the Can.” Closing out the film is “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” a tense tale about a hysterical passenger who is convinced he sees a gremlin on the wing of the plane. Cast as the segment’s lead role, John Valentine, was relative newcomer John Lithgow, whose rendition of the character is the epitome of a nervous wreck.