You unlock this door with the key of imagination.
Beyond it Is another dimension...
A dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind.
You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas.
You've just crossed over into the twilight zone.
Anne!
Anne!
Anne!
Wait!
Anne!
This is the face of terror.
Anne Marie Henderson, 18 years of age, her young existence suddenly marred by a savage and wholly unanticipated pursuit by a strange, nightmarish figure of a woman in black who has appeared as if from nowhere and now, at driving gallop, chases the terrified girl across the countryside as if she means to ride her down and k*ll her, and then suddenly and inexplicably stops to watch in malignant silence as her prey takes flight.
Miss Henderson has no idea whatever as to the motive for this pursuit.
Worse, not the vaguest notion regarding the identity of her pursuer.
Soon enough, she will be given the solution to this twofold mystery, but in a manner far beyond her present capacity to understand, a manner enigmatically bizarre in terms of time and space...
Which is to say, an answer from... The twilight zone.
What in the name of...
What is it?
Anne just came riding back as though the devil were chasing her.
Really?
I wonder what's wrong.
Anne?
Anne, honey.
Bob.
What happened?
Darling, what is it?
What is it?
Honey, what is it?
What happened?
Anne. What happened?
Take it easy.
Try to get your breath.
Take a deep breath, Anne, and tell us.
What happened, Anne?
There was a woman out there.
Woman? Who?
What woman?
I don't know.
I don't know, I never saw her before.
Well, what did she do?
Anne.
She chased me.
She... She was on horseback...
Take it easy, take it easy.
And she chased me.
She tried to cut me off and run me down.
All right.
I think if she caught me she would have k*lled me.
What? Anne!
Oh, god, the way she looked at me.
Where was this, Anne?
I don't know.
Try to remember.
Hadn't you better get on the phone, get somebody to look for her?
Out in the meadow?
Near the hills?
Daddy.
All right, I'll take care of it.
It's over now, baby.
Darling, what a fright you must have had.
Come on, now.
Now it's all right.
Get your breath.
Take the gardener with you, you may need help.
Yes, when you find her, bring her to the house immediately. Immediately!
I was so frightened.
She just rode at me with such a look of hatred.
But you'd never seen her before?
No.
Get the police.
It was just unexpected.
One second, I'm all alone and then, I look up and there she is on this hill, glaring down at me.
Then she started down that hill whipping that horse and screaming at me.
Shh, darling, you don't have to tell us any more.
Try to forget.
I can't forget.
I don't understand... Who is she?
Why was she chasing me?
We'll find out.
Your father's calling the police.
I don't know where she came from.
Was it a warning?
A warning?
Are you telling us everything?
You're sure she wasn't carrying a sign that read:
"Cancel that engagement party.
"don't marry that investment broker.
Yours truly, fate."
That's not funny, bob.
I'm sorry, I was only trying to cheer you up.
Thank you.
All set.
We'll find her.
Feeling better?
Yes, daddy.
Good. Wouldn't do to have a red-eyed fiancee at the party tonight.
It certainly wouldn't.
Tell us about this woman.
You have no idea who she might be?
No, daddy.
She must've ridden onto our property by mistake.
Mistake?
That's right, mrs. Henderson.
If she'd ridden by mistake why should she att*ck Anne?
Did she say anything to you?
She just kept screaming at me but I didn't know what she was saying.
I couldn't understand her.
All I know is she wanted to k*ll me.
You're just assuming that.
No, she wanted to k*ll me, bob.
I doubt if she followed you home.
What if she did?
Let's hope she did.
Save us the trouble of looking for her.
Where exactly did this happen?
Anne?
Daddy, aren't you going to look?
Whoever it is, Reynolds will let them in.
I know that, but...
Come on, where did this happen?
Look, I told you, daddy, on the meadow near the hill. Please.
Yes, Mr. Mitchell?
I said I want to see Miss Henderson.
I'm sorry, sir...
That's no mysterious woman, unless she's a baritone.
Sounds like...
I want to talk to her.
David.
I'll take care of this.
Daddy?
Oh, dear, I thought that was all ended.
It is, mother, I didn't...
Anne.
You keep away from him.
I will, mother.
I want to talk to her, now get out of my way.
You are not at liberty...
Reynolds, I'll take care of this.
You're not welcome in this house.
I came to see Anne.
She doesn't care to see you.
You're making all her decisions now?
Would you prefer that I call the police?
Call who you will, I'm here to see Anne.
What does it take to convince you, prosecution?
Just a few words from your daughter.
Hear them, then...
If that's the only way we can be rid of you.
Anne, it is over between you and him, isn't it?
Yes, I just don't want to talk to him that's all.
It's not too late.
David, please.
Anne, it's not too late.
Only a blind man could convince himself of that.
I wasn't talking to you.
That's right, I was talking to you.
Tell me you don't love me and I'll go.
Tell me!
David.
Her silence is your answer.
Are you convinced now?
I said, from your daughter.
I'm giving you one minute to finish your little diatribe.
If you do not leave immediately...
Immediately...
I shall have you removed by force and thrown into jail for illegal entry.
Anne, look at me. I love you, Anne.
Do you know how long I've loved you?
All our lives, Anne.
You'd throw it away for him?
He doesn't even know you.
We belong together.
We belong together, you know that.
Don't let your father force you into this.
Don't make this mistake with your life.
Break your engagement.
I can't, David.
You broke ours.
Please, Anne, please, marry me.
We always knew we'd be married, even when kids, we knew it.
You belong with me.
Please, don't.
Time. Get out.
I'm not through yet.
You're through.
Anne, please...
Anne...
David, please...
Hold steady, mr. Mitchell.
Daddy, no.
Easy.
I think you'll go now.
Don't think that I won't use this.
On the contrary.
Daddy, please, please don't hurt him.
Is this what you want?
Your father to break us up at the point of a g*n?
Anne...
Mitchell!
Please, Anne, please.
Now you'll have the common courtesy and sense to leave this house.
You know, I almost feel sorry for him.
But not quite, hmm?
Not quite.
A good stiff drink is in order.
Amen.
Anne?
Anne?
What?
That lawyer phoned again.
Did you hear me?
I said that lawyer phoned again.
I couldn't care less.
Will that help?
Yes, it'll help if I drink enough of it.
It's ambrosia.
They're going to take the house away from us, Anne.
Are they really?
Yes.
Well, they can have it.
That's all it means to you?
That's all.
The home you were raised in.
Raised? You mean lowered.
Spoiled, squeezed to death with a velvet glove.
Are we starting that again?
We started it the day I was born.
You, me, and daddy, dear daddy.
I won't hear you debase his memory.
Debase his memory...
How cornball can you get?
How dare you...
How dare you!
How dare you talk like that about your own father who gave you everything, everything!
That's right, gave me everything.
I never had to earn a bit of it.
I didn't have to work for anything.
Never had to bother acquiring such useless traits as judgment, discrimination.
No, who needs them?
Cheers.
You blame your father for...
Yes, I blame my father.
Oh, he was strong, wasn't he?
Strong, so efficient, so meticulous and I was his baby.
16, 17, 18 years of age and I was his baby with all the keen insights of a baby.
All the capacity to understand, the ability to judge.
So I made a mistake...
A little mistake just enough to ruin my life.
Anne, don't.
Ah, how wonderful.
I am finally being disciplined at the age of 43.
What about the house, Anne?
I don't care about the house.
I care.
That's your misfortune and none of my own.
Do you know what I saw today?
Do you?
I don't know.
I saw a ghost, mother...
My own.
What?
Intriguing, isn't it?
To be haunted by one's own self.
Positively intriguing.
What are you talking about?
I'm talking about ghosts, mother.
Phantoms, visitations.
Reminders...
From the past and the future.
I went out riding today.
Out where I usually go, beyond the meadow.
I was on a ridge and I saw this young girl ride toward me.
Me.
Me, mother...
As I looked at 18.
Do you remember?
The day of my engagement party? Do you?
June 13, 1939.
I even remember the date.
Remember how I came in terrified because some woman had att*cked me?
And daddy, dear daddy had them search for her in vain.
Well, I was that woman, mother.
I am that woman.
Wanna know something funny, something marvelously funny?
That's not the only time I've seen her.
Bizarre, isn't it?
I keep seeing her again and again.
Keep seeing myself again and again on that day, that one particular day.
You know the expression "go chase yourself"?
That's what I've been doing...
Chasing myself.
Do you remember what Robert said to me that day?
"maybe it's a warning," he said.
He thought he was joking.
Well, it was a warning.
I was warning myself not to marry the wrong man.
But I married him anyway, didn't 1?
And now I have paid the price.
I have become that grotesque phantom that frightened that poor childlike girl half to death 25 years ago.
A sterile, alcoholic phantom married to a man who's run this estate into ruin.
If only I had known I was being warned.
Warned about what?
Huh?
No answer for your loving husband?
Huh?
Oh, she... She's turned her back on me.
I wonder what this signifies.
Lack of respect?
You might have the courtesy just once...
Would you...
Would you get out?
Do I have to draw you a map?
Get out of here, get out!
Two minds but with a single thought:
Alcoholic dissolution.
You've not far to go.
It's disrespect?
It's disrespect, my girl.
Can't have that, you know.
Now that...
Your old daddy's gone and buried I'm the man of the house now.
Man? Man?
That's right, my darling.
Sweetheart, lovely.
Man, and you must look up to me with respect.
You can go to the devil.
Now, we must have respect.
We must have a little respect.
After all, I am your adored one.
Your true love...
Your, uh... True love, your adored one.
Anne?
Are you all right?
Mm-hmm.
I saw you go out and I thought maybe you didn't feel well.
Oh, I'm fine.
Lovely night.
Yes, it is.
Are you warm enough?
Mm-hmm.
Your father throws quite a party.
Yes, he does.
He's really in a marvelous mood.
Daddy's always in a good mood when he gets his way.
What?
Nothing.
You know, I think I am a bit chilly.
Do you suppose you could get something to put over my shoulders?
Of course.
Oh, oh, David!
Oh, Anne, Anne, I love you.
I love you, come away with me.
Oh, David, David, I want to...
Now, Anne, now, decide! There's no more time.
Oh, David, you are my true love.
My adored one, make me happy please, make me happy.
Oh, I will, I will, I will.
Oh, Anne.
Anne...
I love you.
I love you, come away with me.
Anne!
Anne!
Wait!
Come back!
This is the face of terror.
Anne Marie Mitchell, 43 years of age, her desolate existence once more afflicted by the hope of altering her past mistake...
A hope which is unfortunately doomed to disappointment.
For warnings from the future to the past must be taken in the past.
Today may change tomorrow but once today is gone tomorrow can only look back in sorrow that the warning was ignored.
Said warning as of now stamped "not accepted" and stored away in the dead file in the recording office of the twilight zone.
And now, Mr. Serling.
Next time on the twilight zone, a program sh*t in its entirety in France.
A film so special and so unique that for the first time in the five years we've been presenting the twilight zone we're offering a film sh*t by others.
Adapted and directed by Robert Enrico, winner of the Cannes film festival 1962, as well as other major international awards.
Ambrose bierce's "an occurrence at owl creek bridge."