Season 1, Episode 29
Written by Rod Serling – Directed by Alvin Ganzer – Starring Janice Rule, Terry Burnham, and Shepperd Strudwick
A woman is visited by a strange young girl who seems to know an unsettling amount about her past and may hold the key to memories of a childhood trauma.
“Nightmare as a Child” has a wonderfully creepy premise that, at least initially, works better for me than its execution.
Helen Foley is a schoolteacher who arrives home to find a strange young girl named Markie outside her apartment. Helen invites her inside, but it quickly becomes apparent that this isn’t an ordinary encounter. Markie knows things about Helen that she shouldn’t, particularly about a traumatic childhood memory that Helen has spent years unable to fully remember.
Unfortunately, the episode takes a long time getting anywhere with that idea. Markie repeatedly asks Helen whether she remembers something, Helen doesn’t understand, and another piece of information is slowly revealed. The pattern becomes repetitive, particularly because the mystery isn’t especially difficult to read. I often felt like I was waiting for Helen to catch up with things the episode had already allowed me to suspect.
Janice Rule keeps it from completely stalling. She begins the episode as an ordinary schoolteacher concerned enough about a little girl to offer her hot chocolate, but gradually transforms into someone clawing through her own sanity. Her fear becomes increasingly physical as pieces of the past begin forcing their way back into her consciousness.
Then the final stretch suddenly finds the momentum I’d been waiting for. The episode shifts from a slow psychological mystery into something much closer to horror and a thriller. For a few minutes, I wasn’t entirely sure where Helen’s memories ended and reality began.
There may be a touch of The Twilight Zone magic involved in what Helen experiences, but there doesn’t necessarily have to be. The episode leaves room to wonder whether we’re seeing something metaphysical or simply Helen’s mind forcing her to confront something she buried long ago.
“Nightmare as a Child” has an effective premise, an excellent performance from Janice Rule, and a surprisingly powerful conclusion.
Twilight Zone Verdict: Good
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