1.23 --- The Shadow Man

Directed by : Joe Dante Written by : Rockne S. O'Bannon Starring : Jonathan Ward, Jason Presson, Heather Haase First aired : 29th of November, 1985. Danny (Jonathan Ward, Mac and Me) is the smartest, but also least-liked, kid in school. Just so he's furtherly made to believe the fact he is a coward, a group of jocks, lead by Eric (Jason Presson, Explorers), ambushes him using a beautiful Liana (Heather Haase) as bait and frighten him to death. Still reeling from this unpleasant experience, Danny is spending the night with all the lights on. His mother intervenes and induces a black-out, saying that he's a big boy now and that he can manage it. What she does not know is that under Danny's bed lurks a monster - the shadow man, who moments later wiggles himself from underneath and exclaims in a frightening voice that he is the shadow man, but that he never hurts the person under whose bed he lives. On that note, he exits through the window, leaving Danny scared stiff in his bed. The next morning, Danny is attempting to explain all this to his best friend Peter, getting only disbelieving looks in return. However, when the word goes out that there is someone ambushing kids after dark who looks exactly like Danny's shadow man, he is certain that he is not imagining things. In state of panic, parents impose a curfew on their children, and Danny accidentally overhears a conversation between Liana and Eric, during which Eric says he can't go to her place after school to help her with math as he is afraid of the "maniac". Realizing this is his chance, Danny fills in for Eric, safe from shadow man's nightly prowl, and becomes the most popular boy in school. That particular title has its drawbacks though. After brushing Peter off, who now believes in the shadow man story but wants Danny reporting it to the authorities, Danny is assaulted by vengenful Eric in the school cafeteria. Worming out of a public encounter, Danny cunningly schedules an after-school evening fight in a park known to be as epicentre of shadow man's activity. Eric, wary of his reputation amongst his peers, reluctantly agrees. As the hour strikes, Danny is waiting in the park, fully confident he is unbeatable with the help of his shadowy ally. Eric soon joins him, and after a brief chase around the park with Danny buying time, shadow man appears. Realizing he's in grave danger, Eric bolts, but Danny is standing triumphantly...until the shadow man grabs him by his neck and lifts him high up, informing him that he is the shadow man and that he'll never hurt the person under whose bed he lives...but that he's not the shadow man from under his bed ! *** A clever little campfire-like story directed by Joe Dante (Gremlins, The Howling, Twilight Zone : The Movie), The Shadow Man is great fun, and not as malevolent as it might sound, making it suitable for younger audiences who would like to scare themselves a wee bit. In the tradition of great old school TZ episodes, there is a twist at the end, and a rather unpredictable one at that...well, at least I haven't seen it coming. The shadow man himself is played by Jeff Calhoun, who usually earns his paycheck by choreographing stage plays.