#trilogyofterror

Trilogy of Terror

Directed by Dan Curtis

Released 1975

Our first and only anthology of the season is Trilogy of Terror. Written by the iconic Richard Matheson, we have 3 independent short stories, each telling the tale of a woman’s torment and all played exceptionally well by the legendary Karen Black.   

The first story is titled Julie, and has Black playing Julie, a frumpy looking teacher at some university. If I had to guess, it was likely a community college. It just kinda had that vibe of “I’m gonna save a couple bucks while I still try and figure some shit out” to me. Dear reader, there is an episode in this trilogy worth watching and this one isn’t it. It’s not really a horror and it doesn’t age very well. It’s a shoulder shrug of a story about an obsessed male student who wants to see his teacher naked. He watches her change while hiding outside her window, he persistently asks her out, she finally agrees to see a movie with him where he drugs her, takes her to a motel and takes compromising photos of her, and then blackmails her to be his sex slave.  The end?  No!  The big twist for the audience is that Julie was in on it all along and actually the real victim is our boy Chad. Side note, if you’re trying to find a less rape-y name than “Chad”, it doesn’t exist.  In a moment that would make any Bond villain proud, Julie reveals that she is a serial killer and prays on students by seducing them and poisoning them after she gets bored. Our boy Chad dies and Julie adds his name to her scrap book.  Pass.

The second story, Millicent and Therese, has Black playing dual roles of two warring sisters. One sister, Millicent, is a homely, repressed, brunette shut-in while the other, Therese, is a free spirited blond. Millicent hates her sister and tells their doctor that she is evil. We learn that Therese slept with her father and subsequently killed her mother. That actually sounds pretty evil. This vignette, while a little closer to a horror, was still more of a psychological thriller. The twist at the end was a little better, it involved a book that was simply titled “Voodoo” and one of those dolls you poke needles into. That said, if you’re only going to watch one of the trilogy, it wouldn’t be this one.  

The third and final story of our Trilogy of Kinda Terror is titled Amelia. Black, aka Amelia, is the only person in this short and she fucking kills it. This one woman play has her acting against a crazed Zuni fetish doll. I won’t lie, by current standards this is a pretty offensive looking doll. It’s an aboriginal warrior with a huge frock of black hair, sharp teeth, and is equipped with a spear. It also comes with a Gremlin-type warning in the form of a little scroll that states a spirit of a Zuni warrior named “He Who Kills” is trapped in the doll and if you remove the gold chain it will come to life. Needless to say, the chain falls off and we are treated to one of the more insane human vs. doll fights I’ve seen in awhile.  Side note, while I never want to find myself really fighting for my life, part of me does want to try my luck against some of these crazed dolls. I always find it hilarious how difficult a time people have defending themselves against these miniature nightmares.  Just soccer kick the fuckers across the room! 

We rate Trilogy of Terror 1 Karen Black out of 3.