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DO NOT OPEN TILL DOOMSDAY
Miriam Hopkins, Melinda Plowman.
An alien monster in a box poses a serious threat to the marital bliss
of a young, newlywed couple.
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QUICK SCAN...
An "Outer Limits" episode for those who like their
viewing to be creepy, kooky, and all together ookie. The episode's
central premise, involving a space alien, holding shrunk down
people captive in a compact box, is VERY strange. If you enjoy
"Sunset Boulevard," you'll probably dig this episode.
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SYNOPSIS...
In the 1920's, when the groom opens up a gift, he screams. Now, it's
the present. Newlyweds are staying in the honeymoon suite in the Flapper's
mansion.
In the suite, a blob in a box checks them out through a peephole.
Then as the husband goes to the car, the bride looks at the box, getting
zapped inside the box and disappearing.
The bride's dad visits and is zapped into the box where he talks with
his daughter. The flapper's husband, unchanged since the 1920's, is
also trapped. The dad and bride emerge from the box, but dad gets
zapped back. The newlyweds escape.
REVIEW...
DO NOT OPEN TILL DOOMSDAY, directed by Gerd
Oswald, is a bizarre, disturbing Sci-Fi tale.
A young couple comes to a small town to get married. After a quick
ceremony, the Justice's wife recommends the bridal suite at the home
of an old friend, (literally), of hers. Stressing it's privacy, the
Justice's wife adds, "Heaven itself couldn't find you there."
The young couple decides to go for it.
The old lady, with the room to rent, is played by Miriam Hopkins.
Her exaggerated makeup and 1920's flapper style of dress make her
one strange bird. As directed by Gerd Oswald, Hopkins gives a full
out performance, bringing to mind Gloria Swanson in the classic film,
"Sunset Boulevard" .
Eventually we learn that Hopkin's groom has been inside a box with
the monster since the 1920's. The old flapper plans to give the alien
monster the young husband, in return for getting her groom out of
the box. Needless to say, things do not work out quite as she planned.
A word about the alien monster. It looks like a slimy lump of clay,
and has one eye. Not surprisingly, no one takes responsibility for
this stupid looking monster in the credits.
Director of Photography, Conrad Hall ("Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid") does his usual fine work here. His clever use
of light and shadow in photographing, (in vivid black and white),
the old flapper's house, which is a monument to the twenties, creates
an entertainingly creepy mood. The music, by Dominic Frontiere, is
appropriately spooky, without overdoing it.
The screenplay, by series producer, Joseph Stefano, is strange and
freaky, while still, somehow, allowing us to suspend disbelief.
My favorite scene is when the old flapper's house disintegrates, at
the end of the episode. Combining shimmering imagery, film images,
and sparklers, Jim Danforth, Paul Le Baron and Ralph Rodine, of Project
Unlimited Inc., effectively convey a house going out of existence.
DO NOT OPEN TILL DOOMSDAY will be rather watchable for most Sci-Fi
fans. Those, however, who demand really cool alien/monsters, may not
want to watch this episode until doomsday, if at all. On the other
hand, those who prefer witty, clever monologues should rent Spalding
Gray's performance video, "Monster in a Box". The "monster"
in this case turns out to be a book manuscript, but hey, at least
it's not a lump of clay!
 
 
 
 
 
 
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