If you enjoy Twilight Zone and Night Gallery, this fine made-for-TV anthology will be right up your alley. It consists of three stories that each hit a different spot on the TZ spectrum, all with screenplays by horror/fantasy veteran Richard Matheson.
1. Second Chance. Ed Begley, Jr. plays a student who rebuilds an old car, which takes him back in time with unexpected results. This is one of those gentle, "what if" episodes that TZ did so well. Don't expect any scares. The original story is by Jack Finney, who wrote two memorable novels on the subject of time travel, and also the classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
2. No Such Thing as a Vampire features a post-Steed Patrick Macnee as a doctor whose wife is suffering from the symptoms of vampire attacks. This has some scary moments and a very clever ending that would have felt at home on TZ or Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
3. Bobby is the story of a woman who can't cope with the loss of her young son, so she does everything in her power - including occult power - to bring him back. As anyone knows, you always get more than you bargain for when you make deals with the devil! This segment has a stalking terror element that may remind you of Matheson's "devil doll" segment in the earlier "Trilogy of Terror."
Of course, there are goofs, and 70s production values (day-for-night photography, etc.). Also awful 70s shag carpets and very obvious stunt doubles. But it's still loads of fun to watch and holds up well. The DVD has loads of extras, including 36 music cues by Dark Shadows composer Robert Cobert, deleted scenes, and a complete, 50-minute pilot called "Dead of Night" that Dan Curtis pitched to ABC back in 1969. You can also Dan Curtis doing a pretty decent Rod Serling impression in his guide track for the opening narrator.
1. Second Chance. Ed Begley, Jr. plays a student who rebuilds an old car, which takes him back in time with unexpected results. This is one of those gentle, "what if" episodes that TZ did so well. Don't expect any scares. The original story is by Jack Finney, who wrote two memorable novels on the subject of time travel, and also the classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
2. No Such Thing as a Vampire features a post-Steed Patrick Macnee as a doctor whose wife is suffering from the symptoms of vampire attacks. This has some scary moments and a very clever ending that would have felt at home on TZ or Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
3. Bobby is the story of a woman who can't cope with the loss of her young son, so she does everything in her power - including occult power - to bring him back. As anyone knows, you always get more than you bargain for when you make deals with the devil! This segment has a stalking terror element that may remind you of Matheson's "devil doll" segment in the earlier "Trilogy of Terror."
Of course, there are goofs, and 70s production values (day-for-night photography, etc.). Also awful 70s shag carpets and very obvious stunt doubles. But it's still loads of fun to watch and holds up well. The DVD has loads of extras, including 36 music cues by Dark Shadows composer Robert Cobert, deleted scenes, and a complete, 50-minute pilot called "Dead of Night" that Dan Curtis pitched to ABC back in 1969. You can also Dan Curtis doing a pretty decent Rod Serling impression in his guide track for the opening narrator.