Trilogy of Terror (1975) – Film Summary and Review

Trilogy of Terror is a TV horror film from 1975. It’s an anthology of three short stories produced under the direction of Dan Curtis.

Trilogy of Terror was first aired on March 4, 1975, on US TV as the ABC movie of the week. The film was initially produced as a pilot episode for a new TV series. The series never left the planning stage, but Trilogy of Terror proved to be a hit with viewers and quickly attained cult status.

All three segments are based on stories written by Richard Matheson, with the actress Karen Black playing the main character in each one.

Although this is a somewhat unusual setup it’s interesting to see an actress play so many varied roles within the same production and it is incredible to see how unique and individual Black makes each character appear.

As one character she looks very drab and dowdy and maiden aunt-like, but in another role, the word ‘sex bomb’ is probably the most fitting description. Then again, in some parts of the film, ‘scary’ is the only word that will do.

 

Julie

The first story is called “Julie”. Black plays a rather plain Jane high school teacher called Julie Eldridge. Julie’s work appears to be her only interest in life, but her life becomes a lot more interesting when one of her students, Chad (Robert Burton), develops a sudden interest in her and begins and tells his friend, “I wonder  what she looks like underneath all those clothes.”

It isn’t long before Chad has his answer, but the devious young man has to drug his teacher to get it and even takes a few snapshots of her sprawled unconscious on a hotel room bed.

The pictures come in very useful for blackmailing his teacher into allowing him second helpings, but Chad’s hold over Julie is not as strong as he thinks and all his extracurricular activities come to a bad end when Julie gets sick of his games and educates him about the real nature of their relationship.

 

Millicent and Therese

This nasty little tale provides a double helping of Karen Black. She plays warring sisters Millicent and Therese. Millicent is the good sister, who looks like the kind of woman you might find arranging the flowers in church. Therese looks more like the kind of woman who might get banned from church for trying to deflower the vicar. It’s unlikely that Therese would venture near a church though, because she is much more interested in satanic rituals and the occult.

The story begins just after their father’s funeral. Millicent is trying to warn her sister’s boyfriend, Thomas (John Karlin), about Therese’s evil ways. She tells him Therese and their father had an incestuous relationship and that she was also responsible for their mother’s death. “By her own admission, Satan guides her,” Millicent warns Thomas and finally manages to get him to turn his back on Therese.

The relationship between the two sisters goes downhill fast after this and Millicent begins to fear for her life, but when she tries to defeat her sister by playing her at her own game, and turns to occult methods, both women are forced to pay the price of their misdeeds.

 

Amelia

“Amelia” is often considered the darkest of the three stories. It’s also my personal favorite. Black plays Amelia and stars alongside a small Zuni fetish doll that turns out to be big trouble.

Amelia has a domineering mother so she has moved into a friend’s apartment to look after it while they are away, but she hasn’t broken completely free of her mother. She visits her two or three times a week and has a night on the town with her every Friday.

Amelia upsets her mother’s routine when she rings to cancel their night out because it is her boyfriend’s birthday and Amelia has promised to spend the evening with him instead. Amelia’s mother does her best to make her feel guilty and then hangs up on her when she cannot have her own way, but a sulking mother soon becomes the least of the young woman’s problems.

Amelia’s boyfriend is an anthropologist so she has bought him a Zuni Fetish doll as a gift for his birthday. According to the accompanying scroll, the doll’s wooden body contains the spirit of a Zuni hunter and it is most important the gold chain is not removed from its waist. If it is, the spirit and the doll will become one, allowing the doll will come to life, and with a name like He Who Kills that can only mean trouble. Unfortunately for Amelia, the chain falls from the doll’s waist and the scroll’s warning proves to be all too true. Amelia’s battle with the crazed Zuni fetish doll is as memorable as it is chilling and the way the story ends is sure to take many viewers by surprise.

 

Trilogy of Terror is a film all horror fans should try and see at least once and it will probably be of particular interest to viewers who enjoyed similar anthology-type films such as From Beyond the Grave and Tales from the Darkside: The Movie. Viewers who enjoyed Dan Curtis’ Dead of Night anthology should definitely give this one a try. Trilogy of Terror is probably the darker of the two, but both films save the best tales until last and it is hard to say which film boasts the better end segment. Dead of Night’s “Bobby” is a very powerful tale, but so is Trilogy of Terror’s “Amelia” and the Zuni fetish doll is one of the most unusual foes to ever grace the screen.