TRILOGY OF TERROR (1975)

 

(TV/ABC movie, aired on March 4, 1975. Director/producer: Dan Curtis. Teleplay writers: William F. Nolan and Richard Matheson, based on Matheson’s stories.)

Storylines

Karen Black plays four different women in this three-unrelated-stories anthology movie.

 

Review

TRILOGY is a standout made-for-television flick.

In “Julie,” a college professor (Julie Eldridge, played by Karen Black) is roofied and blackmailed by a crass college student, Chad (Robert Burton) who has a twisted crush on her. Things change for him when she warms to his attention. Fans of Dan Curtis and Richard Matheson’s work might recognize the drive-in film Julie and Chad go to see: THE NIGHT STALKER, a 1972 television film written by Matheson, produced by Curtis, and scored by the prolific Bob Cobert, who also composed TRILOGY’s soundtrack as well as Curtis’s DARK SHADOWS (1967-71).

 

“Millicent and Therese” are twin sisters, both played by Black. A vicious sibling rivalry plays out between Millicent (prudish, Coke-bottle glasses, unattractive) and Therese (no glasses, pretty, long blond hair). Scenes cut back and forth between Millicent and Therese─who are never seen in the same room. At different points, two men, concerned about her, visit. Thomas Amman (John Karlen, billed as John Karlin) is one of these men. Dr. Chester Ramsey (George Gaynes), Millicent and Therese’s family physician is the other. Voodoo and dark family non-secrets are mentioned in the course of the tale. Genre-familiar viewers may spot the end-twist, but the performances and voodoo element add freshness to the story.

 

“Amelia,” based on Matheson’s 1969 story “Prey,” is about a woman who brings home a fierce-looking and terrifying Zuni fetish doll and regrets making the purchase. This is perhaps one of the most iconic, suspenseful anthological horror stories to air on American television.

TRILOGY is one of my all-time favorite television films of any genre, running a brisk, short seventy-two minutes. Nolan adapted “Julie” and “Millicent” from Matheson’s stories; Matheson wrote the teleplay for “Amelia.”

Many of TRILOGY’s actors shine (especially Black, who imbues her characters with their own distinctive quirks and neuroses). John Karlen, famous for playing Willie Loomis in DARK SHADOWS (1967-71), played Thomas Amman in “Millicent.” George Gaynes (POLICE ACADEMY franchise, 1984-94) played Dr. Chester Ramsey in the same segment.

Given the massive talent involved in this tight, sometimes suspenseful television film, this is worth your time. A sequel, TRILOGY OF TERROR II, aired on ABC on October 30, 1996.