TRILOGY OF TERROR (1975)
Dir: Dan Curtis

If a single made-for-television horror film has managed to achieve iconic status (a debatable concept and perhaps even an impossibility), Trilogy of Terror would be the illustrious example. Rock bands and performance art groups have drawn direct inspiration from the movie's final tale, the most obvious being The Voluptous Horror of Karen Black, and its leader Kembra Pfahler who has established a stage persona based on Trilogy's leading lady - right down to the creepy makeup (see bottom photo above). Zuni fetish dolls were manufactured by an adult action figure company and fetch staggering prices on Ebay. Messageboards and forums across the internet reveal thousands of entries from fans enthralled by the film's combination of outrageous theatrics, black humor and genuine chills. In a culture so captivated by kitsch and nostalgia, Trilogy of Terror may be remembered far longer than most of Karen Black's other stellar work (Nashville, Five Easy Pieces, The Day of the Locust). Which is not to imply that this bizarre omnibus movie - a true oddity in every sense of the word - does not belong in the company of Black's more respectable films; conversely, being the sole star of all three segments allows the actress a great range of performance styles (from subtle and repressed to campy excess).

Of the three segments that comprise Trilogy of Terror (unrelated through any device other than Black's presence), the final tale featuring a murderous African fetish doll is by far the most remembered, often to the near exclusion of the first two-thirds of the film. While neither attempts to match the freewheeling madness of the finale piece, both are far above average for the TV Movie of the Week genre. The "trilogy" opens with "Julie", in which Black protrays a spinster teacher who is drugged and blackmailed by a young student; Julie's revenge provides the sinister punchline to the tale. "Millicent and Therese" follows, and with today's spohisticated audiences plays a bit cliched, although Black inhabits both characters - sisters good and evil - with authority.

And "Amelia" rounds out the film by saving the best for last. Dominated by her Mother and inexplicably frustrated with life, the titular character purchases a most unusual gift for her fiance, a tribal doll that awakens to life with a savage bloodthirst. Too good to spoil, keep an eye out for the upcoming DVD release complete with Making-of-Featurette, interviews and more.