Sven- Trilogy of Terror

 

Three stories of "terror".  Well, two rather tepid and completely predictable stories, and one pretty scary story. Karen Black is the star of all three stories, and she is amazing in all her roles.  The first part she plays a mousy teacher at a college (I hope, these "students" look to be in their 30s) that a lecherous student starts to date.  He then takes pictures of her in a compromising position and blackmails her.  She is way smarter than he is.  The second story is about twin sisters, each the polar opposite of each other.  Turns out  she could be Moon Knight, or Rose and the Thorn.  The final story is a one woman act, with just Black and that damn Zuni Doll.  Why anyone would want that doll is amazing, but of course it comes to life and tries to kill her.  The ending, at least by modern eyes, is very cliche.

Whew.  I had never seen this made for television movie.  It is legendary, at least the last segment.  The first two are pretty tame, but I think that was on purpose.  It lured the viewer in, thinking the final part would be as slow as the first two.  SURPRISE.  It is a very effective story, even if the reasoning behind the doll coming to life is rather mysterious.  Zuni fetish dolls come in a wide variety, usually none with teeth and spear.  Clever editing makes the doll live, and it works.

I don't need to see the movie again, though.