The Dream Theatre presents... 'The Visitors' - A Tale from The Twilight Zone
(This was a dream I had several months ago. I've added some bridging materials and smoothed over some inconsistencies when needed...)
A black-and-white image of a Police Precinct. The camera trucks from right to left as a familiar voice over begins, finally settling on Rod Serling.
and living in harmony, and a way of enforcing those rules. So it is here, in the small,
sleepy town of Middleton, Colorado, where the local Police Department spends its
days handing out traffic tickets and investigating minor burglaries, but they're about
to discover the existence of societies, and laws, those who would break them and those
who would enforce them exist beyond the scope of their normal, everyday perception,
and into... The Twilight Zone."
There's an establishing shot of a busy, small-town main street before the camera cuts to a shot behind/over the shoulder of someone. He's stalking down the street with intent. We can't see his facial expression, but as he passes people, they'll say hello / tip their hat / blurt out a couple of words of small talk. The man ignores them and continues walking, maybe grunting something unintelligible.
Their faces respond with surprise. This is obviously someone they know well, and his behaviour is very uncharacteristic.
His journey ands as he enters a car dealership. The salesman sees him and smiles, a look of surprise on his face, before walking over.
"Well, now! Ozzie Reynolds! As I live and breathe! Finally trading up on that broken down tractor you call a truck, I see!" He starts guiding him over towards a number of new pick up trucks, but Ozzie shrugs the Salesman's hand off his shoulder angrily. It's at this time, we get our first view of Ozzie. He's a big, burly fellow, dressed slovenly in disarrayed working clothes. He's unshaven and his hair's a mess. His face is locked into a scowl.
"Not them," he snarls, before pointing over to the show room window, "THAT!" He's pointing towards a top of the line convertible, all chrome-plating and fins. His face smiles in an unsettling, caveman-like grin as he looks at the car. He's almost drooling in anticipation.
The salesman knows that such a purchase is beyond ol'Ozzie and he starts to try and cajole him away from it, whereupon, Ozzie picks up the first thing to hand and smashes the salesman across the face before lurching over towards the car, climbing in and driving it straight through the showroom window, leaving tyre-marks on the road as he screeches away. Bystanders look on, astonished at this unthinkable turn of events.
Cut back to the precinct house, as we meet our protagonist, a police detective played by Michael Ansara. He's being introduced by his chief to an out-of-town G-Man (Robert Lansing) who's been tracking a gang of spree criminals who've been cutting a swathe across the Southwest from Nevada, through Arizona and New Mexico and into Colorado. As Lansing briefs the two detectives, Ansara's younger partner is immediately excited by the chance for "some action!" but Ansara is less thrilled, and is immediately suspicious of the G-Man.
We get a bit of backstory on Ansara who used to be a big-shot Homicide Detective in Chicago, but after his fiancée was murdered by someone trying to get revenge on him, moved to the small town to get away from the violence. Before it can go much further, the dispatcher bursts in with new of what just went on at the car dealership. Lansing says, "It's them. They managed to get here ahead of me." They all hustle off.
Back in town, we find Ozzie at a diner sitting down to eat with a plate piled high with food, a cup of coffee and a big milk jug. He's wearing his handkerchief as a bib and his face is a mess. He has a beatific look on his face. The camera begins to pull back to get more of the scene. He picks up his coffee cup and waves it at a terrified waitress who refills it nervously.
All around him, the Diner is trashed as though there's just been a tremendous brawl and through the window overlooking the street, we can see the car from the showroom wrapped around a fire hydrant which is fountaining water into the air. Ozzie swills the coffee and thumps the counter, pointing at a pie display. The waitress hands him a pie which he greedily stuffs in his face.
The cops show up at a scene of utter chaos, and The G-Man attempts to take over, but The Detective doesn't like his attitude. Even moreso when he recognizes Ozzie. He angrily confronts the G-Man, "That's no spree-killer! That's Ozzie Reynolds! He's a local handyman! I've known him for over five years!" Their argument is interrupted by Ozzie emerging from the Diner waving a revolver. The G-Man goes to shoot him with a weird-looking gun, but the Detective wants to try and talk to him. As Ansara moves forward with his hands up, the Partner tells Lansing that Ansara's the best cop he's ever seen. Lansing sneers, "He's an idealistic fool who's going to get everyone killed. He has no idea what he's dealing with!"
Their faces respond with surprise. This is obviously someone they know well, and his behaviour is very uncharacteristic.
His journey ands as he enters a car dealership. The salesman sees him and smiles, a look of surprise on his face, before walking over.
"Well, now! Ozzie Reynolds! As I live and breathe! Finally trading up on that broken down tractor you call a truck, I see!" He starts guiding him over towards a number of new pick up trucks, but Ozzie shrugs the Salesman's hand off his shoulder angrily. It's at this time, we get our first view of Ozzie. He's a big, burly fellow, dressed slovenly in disarrayed working clothes. He's unshaven and his hair's a mess. His face is locked into a scowl.
"Not them," he snarls, before pointing over to the show room window, "THAT!" He's pointing towards a top of the line convertible, all chrome-plating and fins. His face smiles in an unsettling, caveman-like grin as he looks at the car. He's almost drooling in anticipation.
The salesman knows that such a purchase is beyond ol'Ozzie and he starts to try and cajole him away from it, whereupon, Ozzie picks up the first thing to hand and smashes the salesman across the face before lurching over towards the car, climbing in and driving it straight through the showroom window, leaving tyre-marks on the road as he screeches away. Bystanders look on, astonished at this unthinkable turn of events.
Cut back to the precinct house, as we meet our protagonist, a police detective played by Michael Ansara. He's being introduced by his chief to an out-of-town G-Man (Robert Lansing) who's been tracking a gang of spree criminals who've been cutting a swathe across the Southwest from Nevada, through Arizona and New Mexico and into Colorado. As Lansing briefs the two detectives, Ansara's younger partner is immediately excited by the chance for "some action!" but Ansara is less thrilled, and is immediately suspicious of the G-Man.
We get a bit of backstory on Ansara who used to be a big-shot Homicide Detective in Chicago, but after his fiancée was murdered by someone trying to get revenge on him, moved to the small town to get away from the violence. Before it can go much further, the dispatcher bursts in with new of what just went on at the car dealership. Lansing says, "It's them. They managed to get here ahead of me." They all hustle off.
Back in town, we find Ozzie at a diner sitting down to eat with a plate piled high with food, a cup of coffee and a big milk jug. He's wearing his handkerchief as a bib and his face is a mess. He has a beatific look on his face. The camera begins to pull back to get more of the scene. He picks up his coffee cup and waves it at a terrified waitress who refills it nervously.
All around him, the Diner is trashed as though there's just been a tremendous brawl and through the window overlooking the street, we can see the car from the showroom wrapped around a fire hydrant which is fountaining water into the air. Ozzie swills the coffee and thumps the counter, pointing at a pie display. The waitress hands him a pie which he greedily stuffs in his face.
The cops show up at a scene of utter chaos, and The G-Man attempts to take over, but The Detective doesn't like his attitude. Even moreso when he recognizes Ozzie. He angrily confronts the G-Man, "That's no spree-killer! That's Ozzie Reynolds! He's a local handyman! I've known him for over five years!" Their argument is interrupted by Ozzie emerging from the Diner waving a revolver. The G-Man goes to shoot him with a weird-looking gun, but the Detective wants to try and talk to him. As Ansara moves forward with his hands up, the Partner tells Lansing that Ansara's the best cop he's ever seen. Lansing sneers, "He's an idealistic fool who's going to get everyone killed. He has no idea what he's dealing with!"
Ansara tries to talk Ozzie down. At first, Ozzie's an enraged brute, but gradually, he starts to listen, his head tilting slightly sideways and his face going calm. For a second, it even looks like he's starting to get through, but the G-Man shoots, knocking Ozzie to the ground. Ansara and the G-Men tussle for a bit, but someone confirms Ozzie's still alive, and they begin loading him into an ambulance (which was already at the scene). The G-Man says he needs to go along with him, but Ansara insists they go back to the station first.
Lansing's in an interrogation room, and Ansara storms in. He throws down a manila folder with a bunch of photos and reports in it. He says he knows Lansing's been lying. That the government has no idea he's there or who he is. That the reports wired in from the other towns have no indication of a 'spree gang', but of local residents suddenly going crazy. He waves Lansing's weird looking pistol in his face, "And this! This isn't any government issue weapon I've ever seen! Who ARE you really?"
Lansing remains in stony silence as Ansara fumes before storming out, slamming the door of the interrogation room.
Lansing remains in stony silence as Ansara fumes before storming out, slamming the door of the interrogation room.
There's a short scene at the hospital where the doctor and a uniformed cop are looking at Ozzie's unconscious body, strapped to a hospital bed. They're both absolutely puzzled and none of it makes any sense. Eventually the doctor leaves, "I'll let you know if anything changes."
The uniformed cop sets up in a chair outside the door.
A pretty nurse comes along and the cop and her flirt briefly before she goes in to check on Ozzie. As she checks his IV, we see his eyes snap open (It's all very dramatic, with shadows cast through venetian blinds) and his body begins to twich and convulse. She turns and her eyes go wide.
Cut to outside. There's a clatter of metal and he stands up and bursts into the room. The nurse rudely shoves him out of the way. She grunts rudely that she dropped a tray and when he tries to flirt, she pushes his hand away and stomps off. The cop scratches his head, shrugs and sits back down. Women, eh? What can you do?
Meanwhile, back at the station, Lansing examines his handcuffed wrists. Calmly and emotionlessly, he breaks both of his thumbs and slips out of them before using a small device in his belt buckle to open the door of the interrogation room. He then sneaks out of the station, takes back his gun and moves into the street and steals / requisitions a car from a passer-by. Ansara's just in time to see him drive off.
The rest of the story gets a little disjointed from this point and is almost entirely set in the hospital. Lansing's after the nurse and Ansara and the Partner are after Lansing. Lots of posing in dark hallways and stairwells with dramatic light and shadows. We learn that the 'Spree Criminals' are aliens who inhabit human forms and that Lansing is the last survivor of his people, who were wiped out by the aliens, and who has spent his entire life tracking them down and wiping them out, with this being the last one. The nurse appears and flirts with Ansara's partner (who's not up to speed on the whole alien thing) with malign intent.
The final dramatic conflict happens in the hospital's shadowy basement, full of nooks and crannies and corners. For a hot second, it looks like Ansara's going to get the drop on Lansing, with the Partner getting the drop on Ansara, but Ansara turns the table on the partner. Lansing wants Ansara to get out of the way, so he can get a clean shot, but Ansara insists that he can talk "his Partner" down. Ansara asks the alien why he'd be satisfied with this skinny kid when he could have a body like Ansara's. The alien is tempted and makes an appearance as a horrible cockroach thing crawling out of the kid's mouth and leaping into Ansara's body. But before the alien can do anything, it collapses.
Lansing runs over and with the last remnants of his mind, Ansara explains his plan. Before heading to the basement, he ducked into a supply closet and took a phial of poison and a syringe. He injected himself with poison so that, when the alien tried to take him over, he's be trapped inside a dying body. Ansara begs Lansing to dispose of the alien, and Lansing feeds Ansara's body into the hospitals incinerator/crematorium. His last words to him are, "You've got all the skills to be a good cop. You just need to learn to be a better person."
The uniformed cop sets up in a chair outside the door.
A pretty nurse comes along and the cop and her flirt briefly before she goes in to check on Ozzie. As she checks his IV, we see his eyes snap open (It's all very dramatic, with shadows cast through venetian blinds) and his body begins to twich and convulse. She turns and her eyes go wide.
Cut to outside. There's a clatter of metal and he stands up and bursts into the room. The nurse rudely shoves him out of the way. She grunts rudely that she dropped a tray and when he tries to flirt, she pushes his hand away and stomps off. The cop scratches his head, shrugs and sits back down. Women, eh? What can you do?
Meanwhile, back at the station, Lansing examines his handcuffed wrists. Calmly and emotionlessly, he breaks both of his thumbs and slips out of them before using a small device in his belt buckle to open the door of the interrogation room. He then sneaks out of the station, takes back his gun and moves into the street and steals / requisitions a car from a passer-by. Ansara's just in time to see him drive off.
The rest of the story gets a little disjointed from this point and is almost entirely set in the hospital. Lansing's after the nurse and Ansara and the Partner are after Lansing. Lots of posing in dark hallways and stairwells with dramatic light and shadows. We learn that the 'Spree Criminals' are aliens who inhabit human forms and that Lansing is the last survivor of his people, who were wiped out by the aliens, and who has spent his entire life tracking them down and wiping them out, with this being the last one. The nurse appears and flirts with Ansara's partner (who's not up to speed on the whole alien thing) with malign intent.
The final dramatic conflict happens in the hospital's shadowy basement, full of nooks and crannies and corners. For a hot second, it looks like Ansara's going to get the drop on Lansing, with the Partner getting the drop on Ansara, but Ansara turns the table on the partner. Lansing wants Ansara to get out of the way, so he can get a clean shot, but Ansara insists that he can talk "his Partner" down. Ansara asks the alien why he'd be satisfied with this skinny kid when he could have a body like Ansara's. The alien is tempted and makes an appearance as a horrible cockroach thing crawling out of the kid's mouth and leaping into Ansara's body. But before the alien can do anything, it collapses.
Lansing runs over and with the last remnants of his mind, Ansara explains his plan. Before heading to the basement, he ducked into a supply closet and took a phial of poison and a syringe. He injected himself with poison so that, when the alien tried to take him over, he's be trapped inside a dying body. Ansara begs Lansing to dispose of the alien, and Lansing feeds Ansara's body into the hospitals incinerator/crematorium. His last words to him are, "You've got all the skills to be a good cop. You just need to learn to be a better person."
As the flames flicker over Lansing's face, he reflects on himself and Ansara. For centuries, he's lived on hatred, and it's made him cold and cruel and unconcerned with other people. Meanwhile, Ansara never stopped caring about people and trying to help them, even at the cost of his own life despite suffering terrible tragedy of his own.
Ansara's last words are replayed as Lansing looks down at Ansara's badge. The Detective's name is clearly visible, 'John Jones'.
Ansara's last words are replayed as Lansing looks down at Ansara's badge. The Detective's name is clearly visible, 'John Jones'.
Cut to the Partner coming to consciousness and rubbing his head, "What happened? Did we get 'em?" A hand reaches down to help him up and he looks upward. The shot switches to the partner's POV as a blurry image gradually comes into focus to see Ansara's face.
"We certainly did, kid. It's all over. Still missing the chance to see some action?"
"Not on your life!"
"We certainly did, kid. It's all over. Still missing the chance to see some action?"
"Not on your life!"
There's a shot from behind of the two men walking away from the furnace out of the basement towards a well-lit staircase.
"And so, just as one man who had lost everything found himself trapped in a
dead end by his lust for vengeance, so another was able to offer him a second
dead end by his lust for vengeance, so another was able to offer him a second
chance at life. A way out that leads through... The Twilight Zone."
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NOTES:
NOTES:
The original dream was a lot less coherent than this and I've applied a lot of narrative gap-filler and patching to turn it into a narrative rather than a series of sequences, impressions and ideas. Still, all the original dream ideas are still here. Michael Ansara and Robert Lansing doing a 'pre-make' of the movie 'The Hidden' (1987) which turns into a backdoor origin story for DC Comics Martian Manhunter character.
The Ozzie character was a weird fusion of Jack Elam and Vince Vaughn's character from 'Men in Black' and Michael Ansara's partner was a weird mix of Donald O'Conner and Burt Ward. The Alien Cockroach was a combination of the Alien from The Hidden and the Outer Limits' 'Zanti Misfits'.
The Ozzie character was a weird fusion of Jack Elam and Vince Vaughn's character from 'Men in Black' and Michael Ansara's partner was a weird mix of Donald O'Conner and Burt Ward. The Alien Cockroach was a combination of the Alien from The Hidden and the Outer Limits' 'Zanti Misfits'.
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