40) Trilogy of Terror (1975)

Don't go messing around with teachers

Director
Dan Curtis

Cast
Karen Black - Julie, Millicent, Therese, Amelia
Robert Burton - Chad
George Gaynes - Dr. Chester Ramsey
Tracy Curtis - Tracy

I've heard of Trilogy of Terror several times, primarily from other horror movie reviews. And the reviewers pretty much all say the same thing about it.
I happened to stumble upon a copy of Trilogy of Terror at an antique store in Council Grove, Kansas. Obviously, I snagged it as finding a copy in the wild (from what I understand) is difficult.
With all the reviews and comments I've heard from other horror enthusiasts, I wanted to see this for myself. For some reason, this movie has a cult following.
It first aired on the ABC Movie of the Week back in 1975. Now some have gone so far as to call Trilogy of Terror one of the best TV horror movies of all time. I hope Duel and Salem's Lot are included in that "all time" list as well.
As the title suggests, this anthology movie is made up of three stories. All of them feature actress Karen Black.
In the first story, Julie, Black plays English teacher Julie Eldridge who's the quintessential college professor - hair pulled up into a bun, horn rimmed glasses, no makeup, earthen colored dress and black shoes. Underneath her humdrum appearance is a gorgeous woman who has attracted the attention of one of her students, Chad (Robert Burton.)
He has weird fantasies about her and tells his buddy, Eddie (James Storm), about them. Eddie discourages Chad from romantically pursuing his college professor. Chad, however, has too much interest in her to follow his friend's advice.
During one particular class, Chad catches a glimpse of Julie's thigh and decides to throw all moral restraint out the window.
He stalks Julie at her house later that night, and watches her through a window as she undresses.
The next day, he asks her out to a movie. First she declines, but later accepts. While he's chatting her up, he mentions he has an interest in photography.
They go to a drive-in movie to see a vampire flick. Of course! How sensual! During the film, Chad offers to buy her a soda at the concession stand. He spikes her drink with something unknown making Julie pass out.
He drives her back to a motel, checks in as husband and wife, and takes several photos of her in provocative positions dressed in revealing cloths.
When she wakes up, she's back in his car parked in front of her house.
Julie thinks she just fell asleep during the movie, and has no memory of what he put her through.
Chad develops the pictures in his dark room, and shows them to Julie the next day.

Karen Black and Robert Burton in the story Julie  from Trilogy of Terror.

Horrified, she threatens to contact the police. Chad, however, threatens that if she contacts police, he'll tell the school board that she seduced him among other lies. He then demands she submit to his all his requests.
This goes on for a while until Julie turns things around on him.
It's a story, perhaps, a little ahead of its time as it brings the horrific issue of date rape to the surface.
The second story, Millicent and Therese, is about sibling rivalry. Millicent (also played by Black) believes her sister, Therese (Black, again) is way too seductive and loose. Therese is also a practitioner of Voodoo and black magic. So, to Millicent, her sister is an evil that needs to be stopped.
To take care of her sister once and for all, Millicent uses a talisman Voodoo doll.
The family doctor, Dr. Ramsey (George Gaynes - Police Academy, Punky Brewster) knows the truth about Millicent and Therese, and his discovery at the end reveals to the audience just who these two women really are. It's a classic story, and plays out well. The only "horror" aspect in this tale is the Voodoo doll.
These first two stories aren't necessarily terrifying or even scary. They're more suspenseful than horrific. But that doesn't make them bad by any means. Both are still entertaining to watch, turning the cliché elements into classic television.
The last story, as those critics mentioned earlier have pointed out, is where the movie makes an impression. It's were the horror comes out. It's what audiences remember most about the entire trilogy.
That story, Amelia, is a one-woman performance featuring Karen Black yet again. This time she plays Amelia who lives alone in her apartment.
She comes home with a freakishly ugly looking Zuni warrior fetish doll she purchased at an antique store as a gift for her boyfriend - a collector of antiquities.
The wooden Aboriginal-looking doll is dark with piercing eyes peering through a menacing brow, wiry black hair, sharp glaring white teeth, a metal spear in its hand, and a gold chain around its center.
An attached scroll reads that the doll contains the evil spirit of a warrior called "He Who Kills" and the gold chain keeps the spirit within. Should the gold chain be removed, the evil spirit will be released.
After looking the doll over while on the phone to her overbearing mother, Amelia sets it down on the coffee table as she leaves the room. She doesn't notice the chain accidentally fall off.
When she returns, the doll is missing. And Amelia soon finds herself being chased by the screaming entity that possessed the doll.
The creature in this feature doesn't hide in the shadows for long. Once it's out for all to see, it comes out blazing.
I can see why this movie has a cult following. The doll is terrifying to look at, and to see what it's capable of doing is a scare-fest for sure. Its face and screams are unforgettable - the stuff of nightmares.
Critics I've heard say this movie will getcha at the end. And that's certainly true. The ending - the final story - makes the movie.
Also, Black is memorable in playing four roles. She plays each differently in an expose of her acting talents. Surely it placed her in a well-deserved spot among horror movie icons...scream queens.
Watching Black in her multiple roles in a single movie is like watching a magician perform a trick seldom, if ever, seen before, leaving the audience wondering how they did it.
She had since went on to act in a long list of other horror movies, most notably her role as Mother Firefly in Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses. She also starred in Alfred Hitchock's final movie, Family Plot. 
Richard Matheson, who was a writer for this movie, has written many notable works such as The Shrinking Man, I Am Legend, The Legend of Hell House, and Duel. He also wrote for television, including Star Trek and The Twilight Zone. One notable episode of The Twilight Zone Matheson wrote was Nightmare at 20,000 Feet. He was a talented writer leaving his indelible mark on the horror/ SciFi culture for all time. 
I didn't know there was a part two until I watched part one. The stories in this trilogy are all based on his short stories.
It's an entertaining movie proving TV horror films can be done well with good writing and no ridiculous jump scares, cheesy acting and lame plots.
To horror fans, and then some, Trilogy of Horror is a classic. To others who haven't heard of it, it's worth checking out for a movie night.