Nightmare as a Child

This is a little more human episode. Are we dealing with the memories, repressed at childhood, or are we seeing the supernatural at work. Whether the young woman is actually experiencing this or thinking it doesn't matter. It is in her psyche and she must try to come to grips with it. The little girl's presence is certainly eerie, but this is about loneliness and fear and reclamation. The acting performances are quite good and the little girl is better than most. Serling loved to work the the ghosts of people's pasts, but usually it was some thing that they had done and they are now being punished for. This has a little of the lady caught in the bus station. Those observing would say she was on the brink of insanity. The difference comes in; the understanding. A good episode.

Janice Rule stars in this Twilight Zone story about a woman who has blocked out a memory of a terrible tragedy from her childhood. She went away after the murder of her mother, but now is back and is actually teaching grade school.

Outside her apartment she meets a most strange little girl played by Terry Burnham who keeps bringing up some repressed memories of what happened. Just in time as Sheppard Strudwick who knew her back as a child and exudes more and more menace as the episode goes on.

It's rather obvious what's going on here, still Rule, Burnham, and Strudwick deliver some fine performances.

I've seen just about every episode of the Twilight Zone, and I can say with relative confidence that this one scared me the most (and still does). Yes, it's pretty obvious what's really going on by the time it's revealed but people who say this is a detriment to the story misunderstand that this is really a suspense story not a mystery. The main source of anxiety on the viewer's part is the question of "when will Helen figure it out? Will it be in time?" The moment of realization for Helen is paired with the scariest cut in Twilight Zone history (in my opinion). The acting is really great and the casting was perfect.

Helen Foley (Janice Rule) meets a little girl who clearly knows a lot about her. Helen is uneasy in the little girl's inquisitive presence. Then an older man called Seldon (Shepherd Strudwick) appears on the scene. Both visitors are concerned with the memory of Helen.

A very psychologically infused episode that would have been harder to figure out at the time. As is the case with many other entries this kind of theme has been done a lot since (and if you think about it there's a TZ a bit like this in series five , but done with a middle- aged adult not a child).

Fairly good but without any gleaming hallmark of TZ greatness.

Janice Rule went on to be a psychoanalyst in the 1970's,as well as continuing her long acting career,but this would hardly qualified her.

This is one I like, it's not quite a favorite of mine but good all the same. It's another really different entry in the series (but then again that's part of what the show is about) it kinda feels more like an anthology tale for "Alfred Hichcock Presents" as it's more of a psychological suspense thriller, but I like tales like that for the show it's kinda a breather from the usual fare.

I really like the dynamic between both Helen and Markie. Markie is an interesting character as she seems to know about every exact single detail of Helen and her past, it made me wonder if the kid was psychic because no one could ever know those intimate details unless Helen disclosed them to the girl which she never did as she's never seen her in her life.

You can say in a way it's kinda the reverse in the dynamic between Councelor and Student because this time it's the kid that is Helen's Councelor. Like any councelor Markie is really trying to get Helen to open up, help her remember her lost childhood. It's a little tense as the kid is constantly challenging Helen and Helen is still blocking or in a state of denial which makes the interplay a bit realistic because most victims of a certain trama in their lives have trouble opening up but most of all dealing with their internal issue.

It's really suspenseful because I honestly felt Helen had to remember not just to save her sanity but her life. Though it got even more suspenseful when the guy came into her loft. I honestly felt uncomfortable and concerned for Helen's life when he came in, I honestly didn't trust the guy because of three things: 1. It's a little too coincidental that he would suddenly see her on the street one day, those kinds of coincidences don't exist. 2. If he knew a lot about Helen's past why wouldn't he disclose all the details? 3. His smile didn't like the look of it, it's a crocodile smile.

Time for Helen is not on her side and her only way out is though the past.

Rating: 3 stars