Craven really makes crazy use of the sound design here to illustrate how full of chaos Dillon's life is – here 3 kids are crazy, spilling milk, screaming over each other, bringing snakes into the kitchen, you name it. Her husband is useless, unable to turn off a malfunctioning washing machine, demanding Dillon mend his clothes when she's clearly busy with other stuff. Even the neighborhood is loud, with constant lawnmowers droning, cars going by, dogs barking.
The noise gets so insane, it almost becomes unwatchable. That is until Dillion discovers an amulet buried in her yard that allows her to start and stop time at will. If she screams "Shut up!" at her family, they freeze in place and free her up to do whatever she wants to do, whether it's eat breakfast in peace or go grocery shopping without harassment. All she has to do to bring them back is say, "Start talking."
Dillon is good as the frazzled mom, employing some of the same offbeat mannerisms she's known for in her more famous roles, but tweaking it a little to be even more off kilter than usual.
Of course this is THE TWILIGHT ZONE, and there is an ominous twist ending dealing with the nuclear arms race and the cold war, which reminded me how large the specter of nuclear war loomed even as late as the mid 80s.
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