Twilight Zone - The Hunters

Louise Fletcher stars as an archeologist studying an underground cave found by a boy when he discovered a hole in the ground located where a new housing community is to be developed. She’s an independently-minded, stubborn, vocally-assertive “ivory tower intellectual” cave-painting expert with no tolerance for capitalist house-builder, Jim Hilsen (Cronenberg regular, Leslie Carlson), making it very clear she intends for the land to not be disturbed, pretty sure of herself. Mysteriously, animals are being found slaughtered nearby the cave, with tracks and blood leading right to it, with Fletcher’s Dr. Cline wanting to know what’s going on. As does the sheriff, Roy (Michael Hogan), who is hearing it from locals balking about their dead livestock. Dr. Cline notices the paintings on the walls of stick figure hunters with spears are “changing”, and this odd circle could very well be a type of portal or gateway for those of the past to travel through, from the past to the present! Shocking fate of Dr. Cline could be looked at as invited considering Sheriff Roy tried to get her to leave the cave for the night, with her insisting she was going to stay. It was a given something might happen considering warning signs were right there noising danger Cline’s way. I think we chalk it up to Cline’s obsession with ancient “art” and their importance in field study and additional historical importance…still, she should have stuck to studying during the day with others in attendance. Sheriff Roy’s quick thinking regarding a sponge and some soapy water works wonders to rid himself of a spear in the back. Surreal plot fits the spirit of TZ, but the visual of a stick figure drawing pulling a dead stick figure body across a cave canvas is rather laughable.

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