"The Outer Limits" The Zanti Misfits (1963)

Director:

Leonard Horn

Writer:

Joseph Stefano (written by)

TV Series:

"The Outer Limits" (1963)

Original Air Date:

30 December 1963 (Season 1, Episode 14)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

The perfectionist rulers of the planet Zanti have solved the problem of what to do with their non desirable citizens...

Plot Keywords:

Ant | Insect | Anthology | Cult Favorite | Psychotronic

Cast

Michael Tolan	...	Prof. Stephen Grave
Olive Deering	...	Lisa Lawrence
Robert F. Simon	...	Gen. Maximillian R. Hart
Claude Woolman	...	Maj. Roger Hill
Bruce Dern	...	Ben Garth

Runtime:

51 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Daystar Productions

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the episode "The Zanti Misfits", one of the technicians in the operations room starts to crack up while all are listening to an incoming message from the Zantis in their peculiar language.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Critters (1986)

Creepy Crawlies

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Featuring probably the best remembered of all "The Outer Limits" monsters, "The Zanti Misfits" concerns Earth being forced to accept the criminal element of another planet. An arriving Zanti penal ship with it's hostile cargo on board is set to land in an unpopulated desert area. There the "misfits" will serve their time isolated from human contact. Then things go horribly wrong when two criminals of the human variety (a bank robber and his female accomplice) break into the restricted landing area. Taking this incursion as a threatening breach of their deal, the aliens attack both the bank robbers and later the military headquarters overseeing the operation.

The first half of the episode is quite absorbing as we learn the particulars of this strange interplanetary exchange, and the setup keeps us nicely on edge as we await a first glimpse of the aliens (hideous ant-like creatures with humanoid faces).

Unfortunately the pace slows to a tedious shuffle whenever the story switches to the bank robbers. The guy is a sleaze, the woman a tiresome, self-loathing drag. Neither character enhances the episode in the slightest except when the injured boyfriend meets a shivery end as one of the bugs slowly crawls up his leg.

Though the episode's premise is an interesting one, the wild little Zantis are the real attraction here. Ambitious for a TV show of that era, the nasty alien bugs are given the illusion of movement through the time-consuming technique of stop-motion animation. Kids who are used to more sophisticated computer generated effects might not be too impressed, but anyone who saw this episode back in the day is sure to recall how memorably disturbing these insectoid little reprobates were. The assault on the military HQ is also a highlight featuring lots of well-staged action and Zantis being blown away at point blank range.

It's not a perfect episode but it sure has teeth. Little razor sharp teeth.