The Twilight Zone and the works of David Lynch might not be identical twins, but they could certainly be long-lost siblings. Both are known for their uncanny ability to distort reality, blending the mundane with the macabre, and turning dreams into nightmares. Rod Serling’s anthology series often served up moral allegories and psychological horror draped in mid-century aesthetics, while Lynch’s filmography is drenched in dreamy dread, surreal juxtapositions, and the creeping sense that something just isn’t quite right. If you squint, many Twilight Zone episodes already feel like they could have been ripped straight from the pages of Lynch’s personal notes.

Though Serling’s world is more narratively buttoned-up than Lynch’s sprawling, often impenetrable puzzles, the thematic overlap is impossible to ignore. There are plenty of episodes that mirror Lynch’s obsessions -- loss of identity, small-town façades hiding rot beneath, dreams bleeding into reality,...