The Twilight Zone Vortex 2016 Halloween Countdown #23: "Young Man's Fancy"

The Twilight Zone excelled in telling tales of terror, exploring the darkest aspects of human existence in myriad ways. To celebrate the Halloween season, we’re counting down the 31 most frightening and unsettling moments from The Twilight Zone, one for each day of October. We’ll be revisiting some of the episodes we’ve already covered and looking ahead to episodes from the final three seasons of the series. -JP

#23 - Mother is Here to Stay, from “Young Man’s Fancy,” season three, episode 99

Written by Richard Matheson, directed by John Brahm, starring Alex Nicol, Phyllis Thaxter, Helen Brown

Richard Matheson’s “Young Man’s Fancy” is one of the most disturbing episodes of the series. Matheson works from the premise that a grown man is unable to get on with his adult life and out from under the shadow of a domineering mother only to sideswipe the viewer with a truly unexpected and unsettling twist ending. Matheson was always interested in subverting the viewer’s expectations and he manages to do so brilliantly in this episode. Phyllis Thaxter gives a strong performance as the young woman attempting to pull her new husband away from what she believes to be the grip of his dead mother. Her emotionally wrought performance heightens the horror of the final revelation. Matheson was the master of the domestic horror story and found a number of ways to illustrate the horrible things that occur in the “normal” household. “Young Man’s Fancy” also bears repeat viewings as Matheson places many subtle clues to the story’s final twist within the narrative. Prolific Twilight Zone director John Brahm is at the helm for his episode and his steady, understated style is perfectly suited to the mournful tone of the story.

Trivia:

-The twist ending to “Young Man’s Fancy” is just one of the Richard Matheson’s many exceptional twist endings for the series. Other Matheson episodes with memorable twist endings include “The Invaders,” “Nick of Time,” “Mute,” and “Spur of the Moment.”

-Rod Serling’s opening narration for “Young Man’s Fancy” is unusually long. Serling’s introductions were frequently rewritten and often shortened before filming and many of the original introductions can be found in Martin Grams’ book The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic (OTR, 2008).