The After Hours (1986)
| "The After Hours" | |
|---|---|
| The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series) episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 28a |
| Directed by | Bruce Malmuth |
| Written by | Rod Serling Rockne S. O'Bannon |
| Original air date | October 18, 1986 |
| Guest actors | |
|
Terry Farrell : Marsha |
|
"The After Hours" is the first segment of the twenty-eighth episode of the second season (1986–87) of the revival of The Twilight Zone.
This episode is a remake of The Twilight Zone classic episode that originally starred Anne Francis. It differs from the original in that the characters Marsha meets are more menacing, and the tone of the episode is much heavier on suspense. The episode also differs in that rather than remembering what she is and accept her fate as Marsha did in the original, the other mannequins force Marsha back into her true form so that another mannequin can take her place.
Opening narration
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How fortunate for Marsha Cole to squeeze into the mall even though it's closing. Someone should remind her though: Doors that keep others out, can also seal you in...the Twilight Zone
Note: This opening narration is only found in the original airing and not on the DVD-release of the episode.[1]
Plot
A sweet, naïve young woman frantically runs up to a mall's doors, hoping it will still be open. A worker takes pity on her and lets her in. As she comes inside, a man starts following her, but keeps his distance. She enters the only store open. She asks for help and a woman pops up at the counter. She tells the woman she is looking for a doll and the woman goes off looking for it. A little boy in a tuxedo with a toy spider pops up, scares the young woman and calls her Marsha. A lady in an evening gown comes up and apologizes for his rude behavior and dismisses it when Marsha asks how he knew her name. He, in turn, begs Marsha to take him with her when she goes.
The woman pops back up with the doll and Marsha pays for it. She goes on to explain that the doll is for her landlord's kid because she felt so grateful after he let her rent her apartment, with no money, and found her a job, only being around for a month. Suddenly, the man following her appears outside. The woman starts asking for identification, aggressively. Marsha says her name and that she works for a local company. The woman says that all just happened in the last month, and asks where she was before then. Marsha runs away and the woman follows. Marsha gets on the elevator and discovers the man following her. He raises his hands to reveal mannequin hands, not human.
Marsha then runs out of the elevator to the sounds of mannequins calling her name, telling her to stop running. They find her and tell her she's a mannequin just like them. She runs away, but then her leg turns into a mannequin leg...then her arm. She still tries to run, but her other leg and arm turn mannequin. The others tell her she had her month to be a human, now it's someone else's turn. The next day, Marsha, as the mannequin, is in the display, while the mannequin she ran past the night before, is moving and on her way to enjoy her turn...
Closing narration
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Imagine standing forever still, unable to act, to speak, to touch a reassuring hand. If you were released from such a fate, even for a while, wouldn't you hope to forget that in reality, you're only on a short leave of absence...from the Twilight Zone?
