User reviews

This episode is very quaint now and, in parts, laughable too. However, it does deliver a nice message concerning the title. This is the sort of Zone to watch in a marathon or sandwiched between some others, it's light but has a nostalgic sort of appeal.

Hazel Court (Scream Queen from Hammer's first Frankenstein and several Roger Corman films inspired by Poe) and Mark Richman play an unlikely duo come together to face the unknown. I rather like the last shot of Ms Court and the last line delivered by Richman, but you'll have to watch it to see what I mean. One of the better of the very last episodes, as the series limped towards it's own fate with rubbish like The Encounter, Caesar and Me, and The Bewitchin' Pool.

This episode is not only a terrific mystery as to what the heck is going on (as many Twilight Zones are) but the interactions between the sheriff and the snobbish woman is quite entertaining.

Two strangers alone in a mountain cabin with possible space aliens outside? That's a neat story.

And the message about fear is another relatable moral, told in a most interesting way.

I'm surprised this isn't considered one of Rod's classic episodes.

This isn't a bad episode, but if you've watched The Twilight Zone long enough, you've seen the same basic plot done before a couple times. The idea of some sort of mystery force doing things to frighten us simple earthlings has appeared before. In this one a woman has sought refuge in the woods after suffering a nervous breakdown. She has reported seeing some bright lights and a trooper comes to her home. She is full of anger and belittles the "hicks" that live in the area and is eventually scolded by the young man who appears to be her intellectual equal (he even quotes Shakespeare). Fear, as the title indicates, is the central theme here. There is something out there that is big and impressive and threatening. The couple soon find themselves allied against the unknown. The trooper's patrol car is tipped over, the radio disabled, and huge fingerprints (that look like they have been painted on) appear on the side of the car. Later, the cruiser is back upright. I won't go any farther because the resolution would be unfair to the viewer. Let me just say that it is a bit schmaltzy.

This episode, second from the last, managed to capture the spirit of the earlier shows. Yes, I think (Peter) Mark Richman and Hazel Court looked nice together. They carry the whole episode, and do so very well. Hazel's character is introduced as a bit of a snob. Richman makes this observation while assuming she buys her clothes on 5th Avenue. Interesting. Wouldn't shopping on Park Ave have made her even more of a snob? Whatever. Hazel soon informs him that she's not a snob, but simply trying to escape the rest of the world. The story focuses on the fear of who (or what) is causing disturbances outside of Hazel's cabin. Watch to the end and find out! Again, I think Richman and Court made a nice couple. Any chemistry between them is depicted in a very subtle way. That was also nice to watch.

Solid episode with an unexpected twist. Characters were well acted and the cast members have great chemistry. Storyline was well developed and was able to build the suspense with minimum special effects.

This is a good one and another under the radar episode. This is the very last story Rod Stirling wrote for the show let alone episodes in the final season. It may not be one of the strongest send offs but it's better than a weak or lousy one.

The two characters are good there's good back and forth between them.

I like the sheriff who isn't a stereotypical small time sheriff but is really smart, does his job well, and I get the feeling does venture outside of town every once in a while. Really like that he's the voice of reason and the one that is really keeping his cool in the whim of danger.

The woman at first, she comes off a little unlikeable at first as she's guilty of antisocial behavior when she talks to the sheriff at first there's some snobbery. But she turns out alright as she does apologize as it was some old bad habit, she hasn't completely kicked off yet.

We also get some depth on her as she use to live in the city and had some big career in Fashion with popularity and all the other goodies; until it all just became meaningless and made her unhappy. That I feel gives the notion of popularity and glamour a sense of reality, showing how even with all that it doesn't equal happiness or even a better life. She moved to the town to get away from it all and start all over again but is still trying to figure out where to begin.

I really like the feel of isolation, the episode is like your cabin in the wood's horror. Just the use of the darkness which really create the atmosphere of fear. I like that we don't get to see the monster (at least not until the end); it's that less is more style you see in most horror movies and in pretty much most of this show. Were just given nuggets of clues from a mere giant shoe and fingerprint, to even certain strange noises we hear every once in a while. It really feeds our imagination as to what this thing is and from the evidence, we can't deny something strange is going on.

The theme is about the nature and dealing with fear. Fear really has no power over one unless we give it power and is by its nature an illusion that disappears once confronted with logic and reason which are always powerful weapons against it.

Overall, I feel this is an episode that's at least worth a try, will both of them make it though the night, you'll just have to wait and see.

Rating: 3 stars.

Trooper Robert Franklin (Peter Mark Richman) pays a visit to ex-New York fashion editor Charlotte Scott (Hazel Court) at her remote cabin to investigate her story of strange lights in the sky. At first, Miss Scott is rude to the officer, but eventually admits that she only acts superior to hide the fact that she's a frightened woman. That night, Miss Scott experiences a new level of terror when she and Robert are subjected to a series of inexplicable occurrences.

The Fear, the penultimate episode of The Twilight Zone, is a slight return to form after the abysmal Come Wander with Me. It's message, that that being frightened is normal and it's how we react to fear that makes the difference, isn't particularly insightful, but the story itself is quite a lot of fun, as is the wonderfully cheezy comic-book twist. The episode is directed in style by Ted Post, who also gave us the amusing Mr. Garrity and the Graves (Season 5, Episode 32), the predictable Probe 7, Over and Out (Season 5, Episode 9) and the highly enjoyable A World of Difference (Season 1, Episode 23).

It's been bantered about for years. There are some TZ stories that could easily be mistaken for an ALFRED HITCHCOCK episode. This is one of them.

Director Ted Post did a super job with a two person cast, and lots of creepy middle of the night atmosphere. Post is best known for directing PEYTON PLACE and GUNSMOKE.

A remote mountain cabin is the claustrophobic setting, featuring reclusive Hazel Court (a staple in many classic Hammer horror films) who is visited by the UNKNOWN? Enter dead pan cop Mark Richman, and what a couple these two make. Between insults and arguments, there's a lot of strange things going on outside, especially Richman's police car being tipped over -- with giant finger prints on it? That scene was a delight for all is kids. In fact, cars with "finger prints" painted on them became a fad, thanks to this episode.

The ending is definitely a BIG surprise, and that's when it shifts from Hitchcock to TZ insanity. Exceptionally written by Rod Serling, who must have spent some "quality time" in a remote cabin to come up with this cult story.

One of a few episodes that comes off best when you see it late night. Season 5 Episode 35 remastered CBS dvd box set. The Definitive Edition.

Hazel Court, phenomenal actress of such horror classics like "The Masque of the Red Death" and "The Curse of Frankenstein" stars as an obnoxious and non-stop bickering lady in the penultimate episode of the "The Twilight Zone"; - this I simply had to see! But the honest truth is also that I'm a bit fed up with the series lately, and a story like "The Fear" is probably one that I would have given a slightly more favorable rating and review if it had featured in season one or two.

Court plays a stressed-out NYC fashion editor who seeks peace and quiet in a remote mountain cabin, but the sighting of enormous light flashes in the sky renders her terrified. Two-time war veteran and state trooper Franklin teaches her that it's perfectly normal to be afraid, as long as you act responsibly. Or something along those lines, at least, it's hard to take the moral of the story serious when it also deals with a giant cyclops! The plot twist at the end is decent, but it won't surprise you at all if you are familiar with the previous 150 Twilight Zone episodes. Mrs. Court is terrific, and she has good chemistry with actor Peter Mark Richman.

*Note: review subject line inspired by the lyrics of "The Fear" by Lily Allen.

Peter Mark Richman stars as Trooper Robert Franklin, who is checking up on a cabin inhabited by visiting big city fashion editor Charlotte Scott(played by Hazel Court) whom he dismisses as a snob after an argument, but the coincidental arrival of a UFO seemingly manned by a giant causes them much fear, though as it will turn out, it will become a question of who is really afraid of who... Run-of-the-mill episode has little originality or purpose, having been done before and better in the series. Though Richman in particular is perfectly fine, thin and even bland effort comes up short. Would prove to be the penultimate episode of the series as well.

In-between horrifying events the two characters always find time to philosophize and moralize to each other in a sort of bitter and cynical way, an annoying Serling staple. Nevertheless, it's wonderful pulp fiction cheese and it's a pity there isn't more of it in the show. Could have been an "Outer Limits" episode and that's (mostly) a compliment.