"Night Visions" (2001) TV series

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Directors:

Paul Shapiro
Bill Pullman

Writers:

Will Dixon (writer)
Harry Dunn (writer)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

12 July 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Night Visions is an anthology series similar to The Twilight Zone - some tales are supernatural, others are just commentaries on twisted human nature. Each hour episode is made up of two half-hour episodes aired back-to-back.

Plot Keywords:

Anthology | Paranormal Phenomena

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Henry Rollins

...

Himself - Host (26 episodes, 2001-2002)

Also Known As:

"Night Terrors" (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

42 min (13 episodes)

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

France:-12 (TV rating) | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Angel/Brown Productions

Trivia:

26 segments were made but only twenty were aired. Total 13 episodes were made with 2 segments in each episode which each segment lasted 20 min.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Shadow Realm (2002) (TV)

Heavyhanded and uneven, but fun

I didn't discover this until it began airing on Sci-Fi (and I quite agree with Rekrul about Sci-Fi misleading viewers by claiming productions as their own -- they made similar claims with "Strange World" [a series that ran on ABC for half a season three years prior to Sci-Fi claiming it as their own], "Cube 2" [an international production in wide release that couldn't secure a distribution deal in the US], "Riverworld" [adaptation of a Phillip Jose Farmer novel that was doomed when Alex Proyas left the project and was bound for direct-to-video release until Sci-Fi grabbed it] and all of their cheesy Saturday afternoon monster movies that would have gone direct-to-video if Sci-Fi hadn't snapped up the rights). "Night Visions" was a bit heavyhanded with the morality lessons, something that "The Twilight Zone" did with a light touch and as an afterthought. But if you could overlook that, some of the stories were quite effective (and many were not, either lacking a strong ending or simply not being believable). The guest cast was literally stellar, including some of the leading lights of the indie film movement as well as more mainstream actors, which gave it some sort of post-modern credibility. The acting was always solid. Somehow Henry Rollins didn't really work as the host -- he's a competant actor, why did it seem like he was phoning it in? He may have fit the indie sensibility of the show, but he was positioned in the mode of the classic moralist anthology host ala Serling, and he just didn't seem to rise to the task...in fact he seemed uncomfortable in the role. I can't picture the guy in a suit, but I think the t-shirt and tats combo also worked against him (but how else would you dress Henry Rollins?).