Acts of Terror (The Twilight Zone)

"Acts of Terror" is the forty-sixth episode and the eleventh episode of the third season (1988–89) of the television series The Twilight Zone.

Opening narration[]

Louise Simonson, considered quite pretty once, not long ago. Before the arguments, and the years and the stick took it out of her. Louise Simonson, like so many, broken on the wheel, with one subtle difference...this wheel has a name.

Plot[]

Louise Simonson is a doting housewife who comes to collect her daily mail. The mailman notices a nasty bruise and says it could happen to anyone but look after it. She excitedly brings in mail from her sister to her abusive husband Jack. Jack reminds her that she should fix his lunch and she reluctantly does so, then asks if she can open the package. She opens the package and reveals a black sculpture that looks like a doberman pinscher, a present for her birthday that Jack had forgotten. Jack thinks it's a dig at him so he hates the gift.

Louise is cleaning broken plates off the floor after Jack hated the eggs she made. He had also apparently beat her as well. When he attempts to leave on a fishing trip, a doberman attacks him and leaves. While unscathed, he is frightened and departs on his trip. Louise has a friend over and she comments on how Jack beats her.

Jack returns from his fishing trip and he comments on the nice dinner Louise set up for guests Phil and Claire. While Jack and Phil are discussing an affair Jack is having with a woman named Denise, Louise overhears. Somehow, the sculpture disappears and Louise's rage gives it life. The dog attacks Jack in the garage but when he tries to shoot it with a gun it vanishes again. Without evidence, the police aren't able to do anything. Jack pushes Louise and she finally confronts him. The dog appears everywhere Jack tries to go and he tries to escape but the dog is relentless. Jack begs Louise to call it off and the sculpture breaks. Jack laughs but the dog doesn't go away. Louise controls the dog and makes it stop attacking him.

Louise packs up and leaves. Jack attempt to stop her but the dog reappears to protect her. She tells him he is wrong for what he did to her and she pulls away from him and leaves.

Closing narration[]

Louise Simonson, driven by pain and anger, into the desperate regions of the human heart, only to discover the preeminence of her own personal power and an act of recognition that reverberates in and out of the Twilight Zone.

External links[]

• "Acts of Terror" at IMDb