Trilogy of Terror (1975)

Directed by Dan Curtis. Starring Karen Black, Robert Burton, George Gaynes, John Karlen, Jim Storm.

Horror anthology with a trio of tales based on Richard Matheson short stories that all feature Black in the lead role: in “Julie,” she’s a college professor who’s preyed upon by one of her leering students (Burton); in “Millicent and Therese,” she tackles the dual role of twins, one of whom is explicitly fiendish; in “Amelia,” she’s all alone in her apartment when a Zuni fetish doll she purchased comes to life and starts relentlessly attacking her. The first two are just okay, banking on deviant subtext and twist endings to make up for plodding pace and banal visual treatment, but the last episode is a slice of freaky fun, as intense as it is sadistically humorous. Black gives it her all across the board, resulting in typecasting that she felt derailed her promising early-70s career. Matheson himself wrote the screenplay for “Amelia.” Debuted on television as an “ABC Movie of the Week.” A sequel of sorts followed in 1996.

65/100