1975’s Trilogy of Terror is a true classic, a rare made-for-television horror film that could have just as easily and effectively been released in theaters.

As one can surmise from the title, it features three stories.  Each story is directed by Dan Curtis and written by Richard Matheson.  Each story also features Karen Black in the lead role, giving Black a chance to play not just one but four very different characters over the course of one film.  One of the things that makes this film work so well is Karen Black’s totally committed performance.  Sadly, Karen Black later expressed some regret about having appeared in the film because it led to her being typecast as a horror actress, which she definitely hadn’t been before.  (One need only watch Karen Black in Five Easy Pieces, Nashville, or Family Plot to see what a good actress she was.  Even in something like Easy Rider, where she had only a small role and very few lines, her talent is obvious.)  As a result, Black was no longer considered for the big studio films that she had appeared in previously and instead, she spent the remained of her career appearing in low-budget horror films.  That’s a shame because Trilogy of Terror really does show what a strong actress Black was.

The first segment features Black as Julie, a seemingly uptight teacher who somewhat surprisingly agrees to go out on a date with Chad (Robert Burton), a sleazy college student.  Chad drugs Julie’s drink during their date and later undresses her and takes pictures which he then uses in an attempt to blackmail Julie into basically being his sex slave.  Julie, however, turns out to have a big secret of her own and Chad discovers too late that he was the one who was being manipulated.  This segment was the least interesting of the three stories but the ending was very satisfying.  Anyone who has ever dated a “nice guy” who turned out to actually be a jerk will enjoy Julie’s revenge.

The second segment is enjoyably sordid, an over-the-top soap opera that I can’t talk too much about without spoiling the plot.  Black plays Millicent, a repressed brunette, who is hatefully obsessed with her twin sister, blonde Theresa (Black again).  Millicent fears that Therese is planning to corrupt and destroy her boyfriend, Thomas (John Karlen).  Millicent explains to her therapist (George Gaynes) all of the terrible things that Therese has done.  Of course, the truth turns out to be much more complicated.  This story was entertaining and featured a surprisingly effective twist.

The third segment is the one that everyone remembers.  Amelia (Karen Black) lives alone in a high-rise apartment and has recently purchased, as a present for her anthropologist boyfriend, a wooden fetish doll in the form of a misshapen aboriginal warrior with pointed teeth and a spear.  The doll comes with a scroll that explains that the doll is inhabited by the spirit of a Zuni hunter and that the only thing keeping the doll from coming to life is the gold chain adorning the doll.  Of course, the chain eventually falls off and Amelia finds herself being pursued through her apartment by a viscous doll that is obsessed with killing her.  This is the simplest and the scariest of the Trilogy of Terror’s three stories.  It’s easy to say that it’s just a doll until it pops out of nowhere and stabs Amelia in the ankle.  This story ends on a properly dark note and that final image of Karen Black is haunting.

For a fifty year-old film, Trilogy of Terror holds up remarkably well.  Watch it and witness just how good an actress Karen Black truly was.

Trilogy of Terror (1975, dir by Dan Curtis. DP: Paul Lohmann)