Oh yes, the infamous Zuni doll that comes to life. Watch out! ( )

A made for TV portmanteau film, directed by Dan Curtis, written by Richard Matheson / William Nolan and starring Karen Black in all three segments. The first story, "Julie" sees a college student drugging and blackmailing his mousey teacher, while the second "Millicent / Therese" is the tale of a good sister and an evil sister. The third story, "Amelia" is the standout. It sees a young woman coming home with a terrifying-looking Zuni tribal fetish doll. The doll, possessed by the spirit of a Zuni warrior, comes to life and begins to viciously hunt Amelia. Despite the effects looking a bit creaky by todays standards this final section is still a powerful and effective piece of film-making. The doll is a disturbing looking thing with the single-minded ferocity of its attack making it doubly scary and giving the segment a more horrific tone than the first two tales. The camerawork in this segment is also very good with some great travelling swooping shots. The first two segments aren't bad but they are fairly obvious with the final punchline twist telegraph well in advance. Richard Matheson's usual razor-sharp scripting precision seems a touch dulled by the constraints of television. The film would also have benefitted by a framing story to more effectively tie the three tales together. All that said "Trilogy of Terror" is an effective, fun romp; each of the stories is worthwhile, but the best is definitely saved for last. ( )