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If you can avoid having an extreme overreaction to the fact that this is a "remake," then you may be able to see it for what it is. It is far from a 2 star movie. I mean, people realize this is a 10 point scale, right? Anyway, we all understand that Jacob's Ladder didn't need a remake. However, I felt this wasn't as much of a cash grabby hack job as it was an attempt to use the theme's of the original to tell a new story about PTSD. Nonetheless, the plot and characters were underdeveloped, the acting was weak, and all of this was further damaged by the lower budget.

With that said, the story at least kept me interested. It had a handful of intense moments. I was mildly entertained by the twist ending. I also appreciated the subject matter (vets and mental health). It's worth a watch if you're like me and enjoy an occasional, mediocre, straight to DVD thriller, in between being a pretentious film snob.

The original Twilight Zone series was full of social commentary and messages that challenged society. With episodes touching on topics like racism, religion, censorship, greed, and corporatism, the show was far from a simple science fiction series. One might suggest the Twilight Zone started Hollywood's tradition of engaging in social and political issues.

So why did this concept work so well in the 1960s while receiving so much backlash today? The answer is simple: politics is more polarizing than it has been in recent history.

Rod Serling, the writer of the original series, set out to challenge viewers by creating content that neither the tv executives nor the regulators felt would make for a positive outcome, but they were wrong. It was a big success.

However, when revisiting old episodes, it's clear that Serling's radical approach to writing was still tame enough to appeal to most average American viewers of that era. Today, writing about social topics that make people uncomfortable while avoiding ideological backlash seems nearly impossible to do.

1964's episode "I Am the Night - Color Me Black" told the story of a town eager to hang an innocent black man after he was wrongfully convicted of killing a racist white man in self-defense. 2019's episode "Replay" tells the story of a woman using a rewind button on a camcorder to protect her son from a racist police trooper. Just read the other reviews and see how today's polarized viewer responds to the latter.

To be fair, many of the ideas conveyed by Serling's original Twilight Zone were deliberately written to not appeal to either side politically. The same probably cannot be said about this current reboot. It would be interesting to see if Serling could take on this challenge today.

Maybe the solution to this problem is to no longer use social commentary in writing. Or maybe the writers could make more obvious right leaning episodes to even things out. One thing is for certain, as long as entertainment seeks to talk about the things that make us uncomfortable, you'll manage to alienate a lot of viewers... here.... in The Twilight Zone.

I went into this on the fence. Big MJ fan as a young child, but now an adult who is uneasy about some of his admitted behavior. I made a determination that this movie had to provide sufficient evidence to back up these claims beyond a reasonable doubt. Now I feel guilty for feeling like this had to be some sort of trial. These two men and their families have done more than enough to end my skepticism. Victims shouldn't have to be prosecutors or defense attorneys. They should have the right to simply tell the truth, and they did that effectively.

Devout followers of Michael will probably remain unconvinced and angry, and that's okay. What's important is that victims be free to speak. And that was well accomplished with this film.

The problem with this film, like so many other straight to digital release movies, is the budget. Reading the synopsis, one couldn't possibly expect to see a groundbreaking film. I mean, it's the hundred millionth alien film released in the past couple decades. Yet the writers, for some reason, thought they were up to the challenge. It is apparent that the filmmakers were relying on their ability to take a genre that has been done to death and make it their own, utilizing vivid, amped up action sequences to showcase their aliens. The problem is that there was obviously no money for that. In the age of the billion dollar Hollywood blockbuster, any sci-fi film that relies solely on visuals and action sequences must have the necessary dollars to make it look good. There were so many moments that were desperately trying to send a chill down the spine of the viewer, but fell short solely because of it's inability to look like more than a SyFy network movie.

But something tells me these guys, like most Hollywood filmmakers, simply did not care. The goal is always the same. Get the money, get it done, get it out. Forget the rest. If you're looking to continue the cycle of junk film, made with speedy preparation, while lacking any and all quality, then perhaps this movie is for you. Bon Appetit.