Dr. Mallory Craig (Damir Andrei) arrives at his new job, a mental hospital, fresh-faced and prepared to help his patients become well. One patient in particular, Sharon Miles (Deborah Raffin, hauntingly beautiful), has severe horrors regarding patterns, terrified of wallpaper, rugs, anything that has designs on them. The reason for this is that she claims there are faces which appear when you look into patterns closely, and one night she noticed that a creature of some sort appeared in a pattern on her wall, noticing her. She has a fear that this being will harm her family, relating to Dr. Craig that she thinks the monster in the wall wants to kill her. Is there an actual monster in the wall or is this just the fictitious ramblings of a sick mind? Good and creepy episode of the 80s Twilight Zone, "Something in the Walls" is another forgotten gem located in the underrated third season which should be reevaluated. The "monster in the wall", which torments Deborah Raffin, seems identical to the "sheet of spandex" technique in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" where Freddy "stretches the wall" above Nancy's bed. It is damned effective, too. Raffin is so breathtaking, the camera loves her face, and she delivers quite a performance, presenting quite a tormented woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown due to the horrors most people are unaware, "mistakenly" witnessing a monster she shouldn't have. Quite a terrifying twist regarding Raffin's fate, and an eerie use of a water stain located on the ceiling in the hospital room of Sharon Miles carrying a pattern of a face. "Something in the Walls" should be more highly regarded than it is which is a shame.
Review of Something in the Walls
