![]() Justin never sees a gremlin terrorizing the plane’s wing but after the plane crashes in an atoll, a toy gremlin (resembling the 1963 version) washes ashore. “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet” has a gremlin as well…sort of. The gremlin in the 1963 is bear-like in nature, while the one in 1982 is more skeletal. But as Bob later realizes, the “man” on the wing is more of a gremlin. “There’s a man on the wing!” both Bob and John iconically holler to the rest of the plane in their episodes. While it’s a dark and stormy night in every version, it’s only in the first two that there is also a monster threatening the plane. The GremlinĮvery installment of this story deals with some kind of danger to the plane. It also reveals that oftentimes the gap between sanity and insanity is razor thin. The condition of all versions’ protagonists makes it particularly difficult for anyone else aboard the plane to want to verify their claims. Justin specifically says that he knows what losing his mind feels like and this isn’t it. In 2019, Justin is an investigative reporter and recently suffered a mental breakdown after being traumatized in Yemen. John is an absolute mess aboard the flight and the mere sight of him, sweaty and nervous, makes everyone else on edge. But he is afraid of flying – really, really, really afraid of flying. In the 1982 version, John Valentine hasn’t recently suffered a mental breakdown that we’re aware of. Naturally, this leads his wife and the airplane staff to not believe him when he starts going on about a danger to the plane. Bob had a mental breakdown on an airplane and now he’s got to face down his fear again. InsanityĮvery installment of this story asks the same question: is our protagonist crazy…or the only sane person in the world? In the 1963 version, Bob Wilson is on the plane specifically because he’s coming home from a sanitarium. That’s when he discovers a seemingly predictive podcast. In 2019, Justin Sanderson (Scott) is also alone but he does call his wife prior to takeoff. In the 1982 installment John Valentine (Lithgow) experiences largely the same thing, though he is not with his spouse. While trying to relax in his seat, he sees a monster of sorts on the plane’s wing, trying to destroy the engine and take down the plane. In the 1963 episode, Bob Wilson (Shatner) has boarded an airplane with his wife. ![]() ![]() And on an airplane, there is virtually no escape. Horror works best when the characters being terrorized have no escape. It’s a fantastic setting for horror because there are few things that make someone feel more helpless than flying through the sky in a cramped aluminum tube. Both “Nightmares at 20,000Feet” episodes and “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet” are set almost exclusively in airplanes. ![]() Here is how “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet” compares to the previous two “Nightmares.” Airplane Horrorįirst, the most obvious thing that all three incarnations share. The 19 “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” stories share a lot in common, while the 2019 version is quite a diversion. The Adam Scott-starring airplane horror piece “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet” is a modern update of both the original series’ episode and the 1982 The Twilight Zone: The Movie’s John Lithgow-starring followup. The most famous of those installments is 1963’s William Shatner classic “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.” And it’s exactly that episode that the very first episode of Peele’s Twilight Zone takes on. ![]()
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