Horrorfest 2015: Cravenfest - The Twilight Zone: Shatterday

In the mid 80s the classic TWILIGHT ZONE series was rebooted and ran for 3 years with brand new episodes. This was probably at least in part due to the presence of the big screen version of the TWILIGHT ZONE co-directed by 3 of the biggest directors working at the time: Steven Spielberg, John Landis, Joe Dante and George Miller and bringing the series back into the popular consciousness.

So, it was only fitting that another big director got the debut episode (and several others) of the new series – Wes Craven!

The series opens with two Wes Craven directed segments in one episode, the first of which is SHATTERDAY, starring none other than Bruce Willis and written by Harlan Ellison. So right out of the gate, you can see the sheer amount of talent stacked up in this production.

I wasn't sure what to expect. After the disappointment of the other anthology series, NIGHTMARE CAFÉ, I was afraid this would be a cheese fest. It's anything but. This 1980s TWILIGHT ZONE is truly worthy of the famous name, even if it lacks the presence of Rod Serling himself.

The premise of SHATTERDAY is simple: overworked businessman Bruce Willis accidentally calls his own home number from a bar, only to have himself pick up on the other end. At first the two Willises are confused to discover they exist in the same time and place, but it isn't long before they're fighting over which one gets to stay.

One Willis is safe at home. The other is out in the world. The one who is out in the world sets about closing bank accounts and doing things like that to force the Willis at home out of the house so he can take over. But the Willis on the street just gets more and more frantic and eventually sick while the Willis at home becomes more and more confident and put together.

It's a heartbreaking metaphor for growing up – the old, messy, disappointing Willis gives way to the mature, together, reasonable Willis, but it's sad to see him go.

It's cool to see Willis in a dual role, especially since he becomes so unhinged. The cool and collected Willis is what we expect to see, but the one who is spiraling out of control is a real treat. It's too bad he's never really forced to go crazy in movies anymore, because it really shows he not only has star power, but also legitimate talent.