Trilogy of Terror

Trilogy of Terror (also known in the United States as Tales of Terror and Terror of the Doll ) is a three part television horror thriller film, first aired on ABC on March 4, 1975. The film, directed by Dan Curtis and starring Karen Black in the four lead roles of each chapter, including roles as twin sisters, was originally a failed pilot for a horror anthology television series^[1].

All three segments are based on unrelated short stories written by Richard Matheson, with film titles being the names for the film's protagonists, played by Black. Black initially turned the role down but eventually accepted when her then-husband, Robert Burton, was selected for the role of "Chad".^[1] A television film sequel, Trilogy of Terror II, written and also directed by Dan Curtis was released in 1996.

Julie

Synopsis

Chad (Robert Burton) and Eddie (James Storm) are university students who admire their English teacher, Julie Eldrich (Karen Black). During one class, Chad is distracted by Julie's low cut shirt and begins to daydream about her. After revealing his fantasies to his friend Eddie, Eddie responds by describing Julie as "ugly" and discourages Chad against becoming romantically involved with teachers.

At home, Julie's housemate encourages Julie to get out and meet more people. Later that evening, when undressing alone in her room, Chad is seen watching through a window. The next day at university, Chad asks Julie out on a date, and after initially refusing, accepts Chad's offer.

During the date at the drive-in, Chad spikes Julie's drink, rendering her unconscious. Chad drives to a motel where he checks in with Julie as husband and wife, where he photographs Julie in a variety of sexually provocative positions. Noticing Julie beginning to regain consciousness, he then takes her home, explaining that she fell asleep.

After developing the photographs in his darkroom, Chad shows the pictures to Julie, who is furious and threatens to call the police. Chad blackmails Julie and she agrees to see Chad whenever he demands. After several weeks of Chad and Julie becoming romantically involved due to Chad's threats of revealing the photographs, Julie announces "The game is over".

Julie asks Chad, "Did you really think that dull, little mind of yours could possibly have conceived any of the rather dramatic experiences we've shared? Why do you think you suddenly had the overwhelming desire to see what I looked like under 'all those clothes?' Don't feel bad... I always get bored after a while."^[2] Chad realises his own drink has been poisoned. Chad dies, and Julie drags his body into the darkroom where she sets fire to the offending photographs. Chad's death is later reported in local media as a house fire. Julie adds the newspaper story to a scrapbook containing students who met similar fates. Suddenly, there is a knock at the door, and another student (played in a bit role by Gregory Harrison) in need of a tutor enters.

Millicent and Therese

Synopsis

A tale of two sisters, one being the prudish Millicent with curly brown hair and large glasses, and the easy going Therese with long blonde hair. Millicent is determined that Therese is evil, and plants a voodoo device to kill her. When Millicent's friend Dr. Ramsey enters the house, he finds Therese dead on her bedroom floor with the doll next to her. After speaking with the family doctor, Dr. Ramsey reveals that it was Millicent acting in a blonde wig and make-up in a dual personality manner.

Amelia

Amelia was filmed with Karen Black as the only actor. It was also the only film of three to be adapted from the short story to the screen by its author Richard Matheson, who based Amelia on his short story, Prey^[3], published six-years earlier in Playboy Magazine.

Synopsis

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Amelia is living on her own in a high-rise apartment building. She arrives home after shopping and unwraps a Zuni hunting fetish, equipped with razor sharp teeth and a spear. A scroll accompanies the fetish, claiming that the doll contains the actual spirit of a Zuni hunter known as "He Who Kills", and that the gold chain adorning the doll keeps the spirit trapped within. As Amelia makes a call to her mother, we learn that she is slightly neurotic, suffering from her mother's overbearing behavior. Amelia argues with her about the fact that she wants to be independent and, specifically, how she wants to cancel their plans for the evening because she has a date. The moment Amelia leaves the room, the Zuni doll's golden chain falls off without her knowing.

Later, Amelia is preparing dinner, using a carving knife. She enters the darkened living room, and realizes the doll is not on the coffee table. A noise is heard in the kitchen and when investigated, the knife is missing. Lured back into the living room, she is suddenly attacked by the doll, which stabs at her ankles viciously.

Bloodied and terrified, Amelia flees, and manages to get in her bedroom and calls the police, but the doll enters the room, prompting her to keep running, shutting the bathroom door behind her. Sitting in the bathroom, the doorknob begins to turn and the doll runs in quickly. Amelia grabs a towel and covers the doll, futilely trying to drown it in the bath tub. The ongoing struggle moves into the living room closet, where Amelia ends up trapping the doll within a suitcase. Amelia opens the suitcase only to be attacked once more, the doll biting at her. She runs into the kitchen, and disarms it with a kick, and receives a nasty bite to the neck. She manages to hurl it into the oven and listens to it howling and screaming as it catches fire. Soon the screams die down and eventually stop. Wondering if her ordeal is over, she opens the oven and is suddenly overcome; fade briefly to black.

The next time we hear her (but do not see her face) she is placing another call to her mother, apologizing for "the way she acted" and inviting her over as planned. She then rips the bolt from her front door and crouches down low in an animalistic manner, hiding in the corner with a butcher knife. She stabs at the floor with the weapon, grinning ferally and revealing the horrific teeth of the Zuni doll.

Cast

• Karen Black plays the protagonist in all three short films. Black stars as Julie, sisters Millicent and Therese Larimore and Amelia
• Robert Burton, then real-life husband of Black, stars as Chad Foster in Julie
• John Karlen as Thomas Amman
• George Gaynes, best-known for his role as Henry Warnimont on the hit 80's TV series Punky Brewster as well as Cmdt. Eric Lassard from the Police Academy series as well as his role as an aging soap actor in Tootsie, stars as Dr. Chester Ramsey in Millicent and Therese
• Jim Storm as Eddie Nells in Julie
• Gregory Harrison in a bit role as the new student at the end of Julie (he would later achieve fame on the TV series Trapper John, M.D.)
• Kathryn Reynolds as Anne Richards
• Tracy Curtis as Tracy
• Orin Cannon as the Motel Clerk in Julie
• Walker Edmiston as the voice of the Zuni doll (uncredited)

Reception

Trilogy of Terror first aired on ABC on March 4, 1975 to positive reviews and has since reached cult status^[1], though admittedly the film is often appreciated for comedic, rather than horror, value. Jon Niccum, Lawrence Journal-World wrote, "The third segment in this trilogy is arguably the scariest piece ever crafted under the made-for-TV label". Rotten Tomatoes readers give the film a 100% fresh rating.

Black felt the film typecast her into accepting many roles in B grade horror films following the film's release, saying "I think this little movie took my life and put it on a path that it didn't even belong in".^[2]

Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (May 2008)

• When Chad is with Julie at the drive-in theater, the film showing is titled "The Night Stalker". This is an in-joke reference to director Dan Curtis's 1974 television movie The Night Stalker^[3].

• The star of the third film, the Zuni Doll, became so popular that reproductions and kit models were offered for sale by toy manufacturers. The doll was named the 4th in a poll of the Top 10 Deadly Dolls at About.com^[4]. The film is listed 49th in a list of the 100 Scariest Movie Moments by RetroCRUSH^[5].

• The film is said to be an inspiration for the 1984 Blaxploitation film, Black Devil Doll from Hell^[1] and later the Child's Play series of films starring the evil doll, Chucky (Charles Lee Ray).

• The Zuni doll makes a brief appearance in The Venture Bros. episode, "Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean"

• The Zuni doll briefly appears as an inside joke in the episode Battleground from Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes television series.

• The third act of the video game Diablo II introduces tiny jungle natives that look, act, and sound very similar to the Zuni doll, right down to the giant toothy grins.

DVD release

Special Edition DVD release of Trilogy of Terror, released on August 29, 2006 by MPI Home Video.

A Special Edition DVD was released on August 29, 2006 by MPI Home Video and distributed by Dark Sky Films, containing the original film plus additional material.

• Audio Commentary: Karen Black, William F. Nolan (Writer)
• Featurette:

1. "Richard Matheson: Terror Scribe"
2. "Three Colors Black"

Production credits

• Dan Curtis - Producer, Director
• William F. Nolan - Screenwriter
• Paul Lohmann - Cinematographer
• Barbara Siebert-Boticoff - Costume Designer
• Richard Matheson - Book Author, Screenwriter
• Robert Singer - Associate Producer
• Michael Westmore - Makeup
• Les Green - Editor
• Kathryn Blondell - Hair Styles
• Robert J. Koster - Production Manager
• Jan Scott - Production Designer, Art Director
• James Pilcher - Production Sound Mixer
• Richard Albain - Special Effects
• Leonard A. Mazzola - Set Decorator
• John S. Perry - Costumes Supervisor
• Gail Melnick - Casting
• Robert Cobert - Composer (Music Score)
• Art Levinson - First Assistant Director

See also

• List of television films produced for American Broadcasting Company

References

External links

• Trilogy of Terror at the Internet Movie Database
• Trilogy of Terror at Allmovie