"The Twilight Zone" is famous for its twist endings, but in the case of "The Eye Of The Beholder" I declare it impossible for anyone NOT to guess the twist in the first 3 minutes. The director goes out of his way (in a sometimes frankly ridiculous fashion) to hide the face of every character from the viewer....gee, do you think that might have something to do with the final revelation? This is one of the most obvious stories of the series so far. There is also a tendency, in some "Twilight Zone" episodes ("The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street" comes to mind), to spell out the theme of the episode overexplicitly, as if we might miss it if it was simply shown; a parable isn't a parable when it tells you what it's a parable about (a similar theme was conveyed more subtly in "People Are Alike All Over"). Maxine Stuart gives a moving (voice only) performance, and the makeup effects are effective, but based on this episode's reputation I expected a lot more.. ** out of 4.
Review of Eye of the Beholder
