Exploring The Twilight Zone, Episode #51: "The Invaders"
The fate of the world rests in the hands of one lonely woman; not an Amazon warrior but a weathered farmer who has eked out her existence off the land in isolation for decades.
The Twilight Zone, Episode #51: "The Insiders" (airdate 01/27/61)
The Plot: In an isolated farm house, a woman faces down invaders from outer space.
The Goods: In a break from tradition, Rod Serling's introduction appears before the action begins. He says only a few words, just enough to set the stage for a lone woman facing danger.
When it comes, it's handled in a very quiet, restrained fashion. The woman hears a strange whining sound, and then what sounds like something crashing onto her roof. She heads up to investigate, discovering a flying saucer. And then something emerges, something alien, something strange ...
Something much smaller than we might expect.
The aliens look like toys, dolls dressed up to look miniature Robby the Robot(s). But they emit odd sounds, as well as some kind of invisible rays that cause the woman pain and make bumps rise on her skin. And the little fellas keep coming! They may be small, but they're fully capable of inflicting serious harm, one blow at a time. The woman is forced to defend herself, but can only draw from the few things she has at hand to do so.
"The Invaders" is a good premise executed with aplomb. The invaders are sneaky and relentless, posing a real danger to the woman that she can't escape without abandoning her home. All she can do is fight back with everything she has, namely, courage, determination, and fortitude, the same qualities that allowed her to survive in isolation for so many years.
The marvel is: It's a woman fighting a bunch of tiny toys! On the face of it, it should be ridiculous, but thanks to the stirring, entirely wordless performance by the Agnes Moorehead, the smart script by Richard Matheson, the strong direction by Douglas Heyes, and the original music by Jerry Goldsmith, the episode works, making for one of the most gripping and memorable "space invaders" shows I've ever seen. And the ending is a serious kick in the head.
This episode fully deserves a grade of A.
The Trivia: Only one person appears in the episode, the only time that happened. The flying saucer previously appeared in Forbidden Planet. The episode aired less one week after the second non-human (Miss Sam, a Rhesus macaque) rode into space as part of the Mercury program.
On the Next Episode: A man learns about the difference between other people's plans and their fantasies when he gains telepathic abilities.
Catching up: Episodes covered by Twitch | Episodes covered by Film School Rejects.
We're running through all 156 of the original Twilight Zone episodes, and we're not doing it alone! Our friends at Film School Rejects have entered the Zone as well, only on alternating weeks. So definitely tune in over at FSR and feel free to also follow along on Twitter accounts @ScreenAnarhcy and @rejectnation.
