Rod Serling’s unique The Twilight Zone sequence yielded some of popular culture’s most iconic sci-fi and horror twist endings, which nonetheless affect tales in hit TV reveals over 60 years later. Amongst The Twilight Zone’s most influential twist endings embrace the cannibal shocker in “To Serve Man,” the glasses twist in “Time Sufficient to Final,” and the death reveal in “The Hitch-Hiker,” which have gone on to encourage comparable twists and parodies in different media. That features Ryan Murphy’s anthology spinoff to American Horror Story, which, extra just like The Twilight Zone, tackles a brand new horror story in every episode.
With American Horror Tales tackling a extra Twilight Zone-like anthology approach, it’s not too stunning that the present ended up borrowing some modernized twists for a few of its episodes. That notably occurred to be the case for American Horror Tales’ season 2 episode, “Facelift,” starring Judith Mild and Severance’s Britt Decrease, which accommodates themes and twists that hark again to one in all The Twilight Zone’s best twists. In fact, American Horror Story put one other darkish spin on its model of the terrifying story to distinguish it from The Twilight Zone’s season 2 traditional.
The Twilight Zone’s “Eye Of The Beholder” Twist Was Borrowed For American Horror Tales’ “Facelift” Episode
The Anthology Horror Present Borrowed The Twilight Zone’s Stunning Twist
Usually ranked extremely amongst The Twilight Zone’s best episodes, “Eye of the Beholder” focuses on a younger lady who undergoes a number of surgical procedures in an try to look “regular,” along with her face being solely hidden by bandages. Janet’s face is known as a “pitiful twisted lump of flesh,” with one physician even questioning why society ought to decide Janet’s outer magnificence so harshly. Earlier than assessing that her remedy failed, Janet convinces the workers to take off her bandages early, marking the twist reveal that she’s really a good looking lady by trendy societal requirements.
The Twilight Zone’s episode stays probably the most well-known takes on the “magnificence is within the eye of the beholder” proverb.
In the meantime, the docs and nurses are revealed to have extra surprising appearances, with noses resembling pig snouts, enlarged and twisted lips, drooping facial options, and sunken eyes that don’t replicate extra standard up to date requirements of magnificence. Ultimately, Janet agrees to hitch a village with individuals of “her variety,” filled with conventionally enticing individuals whom the society’s authorities deems ugly. With its story having been returned to on numerous events within the time since its 1960 debut, The Twilight Zone’s episode stays probably the most well-known takes on the “magnificence is within the eye of the beholder” proverb.
The “Eye of the Beholder” episode was additionally remade in The Twilight Zone‘s 2002-2003 revival sequence.
The Twilight Zone’s distinctive commentary on magnificence requirements, beauty surgical enhancements, and surprising reveals of pig-like facial options had been returned to for American Horror Stories’ “Facelift” characters 62 years later. In “Facelift,” an getting old lady agrees to endure a surgical process to make her look younger whereas fearing that she’s hideous. Earlier than surgical procedure, the physician reminds her that magnificence begins on the within, with the eventual unwrapping of her bandages revealing that she’s been given a pig-like look just like the docs in “Eye of the Beholder.”
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The Twilight Zone’s 10 Best Episodes Written By Rod Serling
There have been many nice writers who labored on The Twilight Zone, however the present’s unique creator Rod Serling penned a whole lot of its finest episodes.
Within the American Horror Tales episode, nevertheless, the girl given the pig-like facial look is used as a sacrifice by a cult of “stunning ones.” Their sacrifice of the “ugly swine” helps preserve the “stunning ones” eternally enticing, with “Facelift”’s ritual ending in her stepdaughter being embraced within the “stunning ones” clan and growing a surge of self-confidence. American Horror Stories’ “Facelift” twist ending provides the “stunning” group a extra villainous flip, whereas nonetheless emphasizing The Twilight Zone episode’s complicated themes about inside and exterior magnificence.
Why “Eye Of The Beholder” Nonetheless Has One Of The Twilight Zone’s Biggest Ending Twists
The Themes Of Arbitrary Magnificence Requirements Stay Related Right now
With “magnificence is within the eye of the beholder” nonetheless being an relevant proverb right now, the themes of The Twilight Zone’s season 2 “Eye of the Beholder” episode present perennial significance as effectively. The twist of the “ugly” affected person really conforming to societal magnificence requirements permits audiences to replicate on our personal constructs of magnificence, and whether or not they’ve been internally, naturally fashioned or taught to us in society. In the end, the tip of “Eye of the Beholder” displays the arbitrary nature of magnificence requirements and the way they differ between societies and the varied ideas of “otherness” in bodily appearances.
In American Horror Tales, that idea is taken to the subsequent degree by suggesting probably the most “stunning” individuals in up to date societal requirements should brutally sacrifice the “ugly” with a purpose to receive their attractiveness. The episode additionally emphasizes The Twilight Zone outing’s themes of 1’s personal “magnificence” and attractiveness coming from inside influences, because the stepdaughter embraces her magnificence and confidence as soon as lastly being accepted right into a group that uplifts her. These themes are simply as related right now as they had been in 1960, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see extra TV reveals return to The Twilight Zone episode’s twists once more.
