Writing on the wall

It's sheer luc k when your daughter vanishes, her f rightened voice speaking somewhere behind the walls of the house, late at night… '





That is, if your neighbor just happens to be an expert on inner-dimensional travel, beyond capable to guide you through the process of figuring things out by drawing lines on the wall so she can be pulled back to the real world, on ce again …





And f or those unaware , the " They're " in "They're Here" w as already around for two decades : although in POLTERGEIST that helpful male neighbor is a short lady with an intentionally grating voice ... A nd LITTLE GIRL LOST, from the third season of Rod Serling's THE TWILIGHT ZONE, was written by Richard Matheson , who later penned the television movie that would get POLTERGEIST producer Steven Spielberg on the map: JAWS is for killer fish what DUEL is for Mack Trucks, after all. And to connect LITTLE GIRL LOST even fu r ther to S pielber g : the episode was directed by Paul Stewart, the butler from CITIZEN KANE in charge of torching Charles Foster Kane's boy hood sled ... Two were used for filming and, years later, the remaining "Rosebud" would be purchased by Steven himself, a n Orson Welles fan .

Little Girl Found 20 years later

So with Spielberg and Matheson having scratched each others backs (DUEL gave Richard a nice push as well ), maybe a deal was worked out so the 1982 film's frantic third act could borrow heavily from what made up the entire ZONE premise …





Ironic that Spielberg would, the following year, produce a cinematic TWILIGHT ZONE ... T he best segment being the William Shatner classic NIGHTMARE AT 20,000 FEET recasting John Lithgow, directed by George Miller, and originally written by Richard Matheso n , thus epitomizing his ZO NE contributor legacy .

good

edgy turmoil

n out of f ocus

, more developed

tightly

films

to be made

Though not his best addition, LITTLE GIRL LOST is quite, providing a sort of cursedvibe throughout –equally shared by father, wife, neighbor, unseen daughter and especially that intrepid pooch… Leading to a glimpse into the other side: a, celestial shadowland that might have been better left to the viewer’s imaginationwithin the contained Stage Play buildup –written, acted, directed and allowing one of the best horror(and then horribly remade) years later. Now that's recycling!