Teleplay by Richard Christian Matheson
Based on the Short Story by Richard Matheson
Directed by Tobe Hooper ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Poltergeist")

Based on his father's celebrated short story, "Dance of the Dead" depicts a post-apocalyptic dystopia wherein re-animated corpses of former friends and enemies dance on stage for the entertainment of the few that survived a nuclear holocaust. Too naïve and wholesome for her own good, Peggy embarks on her first double date with a slick upper-classman. Her nervous fits of laughter quickly turn to panicked screams as she learns the truth of the dangerous world outside her mother's protective cloister, and the sacrifices that were made in order to guarantee her survival. Intelligent, haunting and just as politically relevant as when it was first published, "Dance of the Dead" will be an episode to be remembered. (less info)