The Twilight Zone vs American Horror Story

No matter who wins, we’ll have chills. Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’re engaging in TV combat with The Twilight Zone vs. American Horror Story. For this list, we’re comparing the original run of “The Twilight Zone” to “American Horror Story” to see which grabs the crown as the most iconic sci fi/horror anthology. Round 1: Stories The tales from Rod Serling's seminal “Twilight Zone” are iconic. Some stories, moments, and characters are so recognizable that even those who haven't even seen the original show know them instantly by sight or description. How about Talking Tina, the original killer doll? Or the broken glasses and cries of "It's not fair!"? Whether the monsters are due on Maple Street, or there is something on the wing of the plane, these tales have become an indelible part of the cultural zeitgeist of the West. All this from a show which aired over 60 years ago! These stories live on with us. The stories of “American Horror Story” have their shock factor, for sure, and get their share of Internet buzz with each new season’s release. However, outside of the fan-base, the plots are not well-known to the public. Relying on a core concept, each season plays in its own subgenre of horror and can be broadly described with those categories (slasher, ghost story, dystopia, etc.) without losing too much in the way of material. While the first season, “Murder House,” generated a lot of attention, it was mostly for the awesome shock value of the show provided; and while new viewers will surely be as engaged as the original audiences, we’re going to have to go with the old school tales. WINNER: “The Twilight Zone” TZ 1/AHS 0 Round 2: Format “The Twilight Zone” works like a series of short stories. Each episode is its own standalone tale and wraps up within its (roughly) half-hour time slot. As an additional bit of drama, the show’s creator, Rod Serling, introduces and closes out each episode. In his trim grey suit and with his detached, observant narrating style, he provides the audience a glimpse through an open door to the Uncanny Valley of each tale. The set-up makes for tight, lurid storytelling. Of course, it also means that the audience has limited time to become invested in the characters or plot. By contrast, long-form anthology format had never really been done in this manner in the US, or so successfully on television, before “American Horror Story.” Each season is a contained story, with the next season bringing in a new plot and a new core theme, while bringing back the actors for new characters and roles. This exciting format, which allows writers and show runners to stretch out and keep things fresh at the same time, has now been mirrored all over the place – in particular in horror. The idea of one full season to tell a big-budget story was genuinely innovative. WINNER: “American Horror Story” TZ 1/AHS 1 Round 3: Plot Twists/Twist Endings The twists of The Twilight Zone are legendary. Like EC comics’ “Tales from the Crypt,” which had risen and fallen in the first half of the 1950s, the Twilight Zone endings are generally ironic or serve up a heap of just desserts. Episodes like “Eye of the Beholder,” “The Invaders,” and “To Serve Man” are so well done that even modern audiences will find themselves surprised and shocked by what’s around the corner . . . well, if “The Simpsons” hasn’t already tipped them off. And, of course, “The Twilight Zone” features stories written by some of the greatest genre writers of the 20th century. The twists of “American Horror Story” can be big, and even downright gruesome, but (in keeping with the chaotic feel of the show) sometimes also a bit out of nowhere. The twists frequently go for the shocking rather than ironic, keeping the audience on its toes as the show’s creators continue to dare just how far they’ll go (and be allowed to get away with) on television. However, one of the great joys of a well-executed twist ending is cleverness – which a shock doesn’t need to rely on to be successful. So we’re going old-school. WINNER: “The Twilight Zone” TZ 2/AHS 1 Round 4: Scares “The Twilight Zone” was at its time considered a very spooky show (we still use the term “Twilight Zone” to describe something uncanny or mysterious.) However, perhaps unsurprisingly, the sixty-plus year-old scares don’t always quite hold up. It was a different era, and this is basically much tamer stuff than desensitized modern audiences can now handle being broadcast into peoples’ living rooms. There are still some very chilling ideas (the little boy who sends people to the "corn field," or the woman pursued by the relentless hitchhiker, for instance) but nothing folks these days might be considered truly, utterly horrifying. Horror, on the other hand, is the bloody bread and butter of AHS. And we do mean bloody. Scares run the full gamut of the horror spectrum: jump scares, gore, body horror, creeping dread, haunting visuals. You name it, “American Horror Story” is apt to go there. From make-up to effects to plots, things can get twisted enough that even ardent horror fans might have to look away. Hey, it’s called American HORROR Story; it does what it says on the tin. WINNER: “American Horror Story” TZ 2/AHS 2 Round 5: Cultural Impact Rod Serling's influential show has been parodied, copied, and loved for years. While it was not the first sci-fi/horror anthology of its kind on either television or radio, the reach of the “Twilight Zone” has extended into film, TV, art, and music. Stylish and clever, the show has lived on in several incarnations spawning an entire media franchise. Its third iteration lit up screens of a whole new generation in 2019, hosted by comedy and horror auteur Jordan Peele. It’s influence can be seen in many other shows and movies following similar formats – including, well . . . “American Horror Story.” “The Twilight Zone” does have half a century or so on “American Horror Story,” so it’s hard to compare – but we're pretty confident about a few things. Where AHS seems primed to achieve a well-earned cult status by the end of its run, its current cultural impact just isn't there in the same way as Serling’s opus. While AHS did help to shift horror TV in a bolder, edgier direction at the beginning of a decade that would fall in love with horror all over again, it still owes a lot of its set-up to “The Twilight Zone.” And so, we have our final destination: WINNER: “The Twilight Zone” TZ 3/AHS 2 FINAL WINNER: “THE TWILIGHT ZONE” Did we pick the right winner? Let us know which show you think is the best in the comments below, and don’t forget to subscribe to WatchMojo for more intense versus battles!