Becky sent husband Daniel to buy a new brass bed, but he has returned with a steamer trunk that even one of them couldn’t fit in. He has purchased some antique photo-graphic gear which, however, might also be useful in the bedroom . . . wink wink, nudge nudge. He examines the camera housing and the lens, but notes that that glass plates are broken. The episode opened with Becky noticing a chip in a wine glass. Connection — none that I can see.
Daniel assures her that it isn’t just the camera debris; the trunk itself is perfect for the restoration of their house. He finds that the trunk has a false bottom. In the secret compartment, there is a Kodak 100, the first camera to use roll film. Dan notices that there is still film in the camera. Becky says, “I have a feeling the hedge isn’t going to get trimmed this afternoon” which sounds dirty even if it’s not.
Daniel develops the pictures. The first one helpfully is a title card which states that the pictures were taken during a 1913 National Geographic expedition to the Amazon. The pictures are of the Curucai Indians [1]. Becky is also amazed by the photos. They want to show them to their old friend Alex, but it is almost midnight; so they kiss and go upstairs to trim the hedges.
The next day, after Daniel leaves to run some errands, Becky hears strange noises. She had been chopping vegetables, so takes the knife with her to investigate. Meanwhile, Daniel is talking to Alex who is literally an old friend. Daniel describes the photos, but Alex says he was actually on that expedition and there can be no photos. The Curucai believed that to take their picture was to steal their souls. They broke the scientist’s cameras and drove them out of the village.
Turns out the photographer had given his life to save this last batch of photos. Daniel pulls them out to show Alex. However, now there are no Indians in the pictures. Daniel races back home and searches the house until he spots an Indian behind their ficus. As he runs, the house is booby-trapped [2] with forks, knives and broken glass.
There is no point in giving a play-by-play. Daniel continues searching for his wife. Their pet parrots have been let out of their prison, so lend an air of wilderness as they make startling appearances. The Curucai use a sound like the wind to communicate which is also unsettling.
As he is attacked, just like fellow photographer Jeff Jeffries, Daniel grabs a camera as a weapon. When he photographs the Indian, his soul is sucked back onto film. So he stalks the Indians like a Gawker photographer, except he has a job. He photographs all of them back into his camera until the last [3]. He has squandered his ammo by taking multiple shots. Becky saves the day with her Kodak Instamatic.
Like Shadowman, this is an episode that shows what TZ is capable of. It isn’t like the old TZ, but it has an interesting concept, and follows up with some chills and suspense. There are minor quibbles to make, but my only real criticism is the score. During the episode it is fine, but why bookend it with sappy, sentimental Lifetime movie music? I suppose it is supposed to be a counterpoint to the darker middle scenes, but it just reminds me of how mushy many of the new TZ episodes are.
I rate it 32 out of 35 mm.
Post-Post:
- [1] The Curucai seem to be a fictional tribe.
- [2] Hehe, booby.
- [3] The last Indian was covered in dark make-up except for his shoulders and feet. Was that a tribal thing? Or a no-people-of-color-in-the-stunt-man’s-union thing?
- Alex and Daniel were played by father and son, John and Robert Carradine.
- This was John Carradine’s last TV appearance.
Great, a story told in 1st person so I will never know who the speaker is unless he talks in front of a mirror. When in Rome, IL . . .
We are told Joe Ferguson drives his wife crazy by spending most of his time 
His buddy Frank identifies the creature as a wolf spider, maybe 100 million years old. He says the amber is Joe’s area of expertise. Although, as a geologist, I’m not sure how tree sweat falls in his bailiwick. Maybe in the 
That night, the store-owner who sold him the rock drops by the house. He has a buyer for the amber and wants to get it back from Joe. He returns the money Joe put down, and Ellie gives him the specimen from the lab. When Joe gets home that night, he finds Ellie having tea with the store-owner and some other creditors. They’ve decided they will all be partners in Joe’s research venture which they have named Spider, Inc.
The Elder is giving a speech to the prisoners about the era twelve generations ago, before the New Masters arrived, when humans held dominion over the earth. Special scorn is heaped on the treasonous humans who help the 
Later, 98843 is complaining to a guard about the lack of replacement parts for the factory. She is joined by a young mute girl [1] who has been bringing water to the prisoners as they work. She is also teaching the girl about electronics. This is good, because the way 98843 mouths off to the overseers, there won’t be a 98844.
Prisoner 91777 (Bill Cobb) is elected as the new Elder. The Commandant orders them both to his office to receive supplementary rations for the prisoners. 91777 wants to know how 98843 got him to agree to this, but she dodges the question. The Commandant tells them they will receive sharrak, an alien food from the New Masters; also some cigars from the 
The Commandant’s new eye goes bad, revealing that he is a robot. He orders 98843 to repair him or he will feed the young girl to the sharrak. She does, and becomes his personal mechanic, living separate from the other prisoners. Despite her securing more food for them, they shun her as a traitor.
A good episode despite maybe being padded out a little. As usual on The Outer Limits, the performances and production design are great assets. Harley Jane Kozak and David Hemblen as the Commandant were both great in their roles.
Writer Jeffrey Hunt’s car is pulled out of the water. A detective standing by is immediately suspicious of his wife Debby and his agent Tony Lynch. They also retrieved a notebook with three false-start letters: Goodbye Debby, Goodbye Tony, then Goodbye Debby & Tony. This was pretty prescient as the next scene is one of those godawful amber-bathed Cinemax style sex scenes with the wailing sax, but with an NQ of 0%.[1] This is not HBO, this is TV.
At a reading of Jeffrey’s books by Vivian and Tony, Debby waves Tony outside. The director very nearly sneaks some humor into the episode before catching himself. She tells Tony all about Jeffrey. His bright idea is to kill Jeffrey for real.
Back at casa de Hunt, it becomes clear that Tony & Jeffrey were in cahoots. They have a glass of wine to celebrate, but Tony’s is poisoned. The police show up again. These are both the most diligent and most incompetent cops in the world. The cops break in and find a note on the typewriter: POISONED BY GUILT. A GREAT WRITER IS DEAD. GOD FORGIVE US, DEBRA, FOR THE MURDER OF JEFFREY HUNT.
Post-Post: