Twenty years after the original "Trilogy of Terror", starring the one and only horror queen Karen Black, Dan Curtis revives his concept of presenting three unrelated macabre stories with the same actress in the lead role each time. And you know what? It's actually a pretty decent movie and one major class above the majority of horror films released in the decade of the 1990's. The 70's original became legendary thanks to Richard Matheson's segment about an uncontrollable and mega-hyperactive Zuni voodoo-doll going on a murderous rampage. That segment had no real plot, but it offered non-stop excitement and thrills and its huge success is probably the main reason why the TV-movie got remembered and even spawned a (belated) sequel. Of course the sequel's final segment also revolves on the Zuni doll; in fact it's a direct continuation of the events in the first film. Police officers recover the heavily burnt doll in an apartment and bring it to a museum for restoration. During the night shift of Dr. Simpson, the doll comes back to life and promptly goes on killing whoever crosses his path. Ironically enough, this story is actually the weakest of all three. It takes quite a while before the doll gets resurrected and even when the spastic critter is on the prowl the story has nothing even remotely surprising or innovating to offer. The first two segments are rather simplistic, but at least creative and creepily atmospheric. The first story, entitled "Graveyard Rats", has a clichéd and derivative basic premise but there's an ingenious twist at the end. A couple of greedy lovers decide to kill the woman's elderly husband and inherit his fortune. The key for his secret stash of money, however, he took into the grave with him and when the frauds attempts to recover it, they stumble upon multiple morbid surprises with big red eyes and sharp teeth. This same story also benefices from some nicely eerie exterior filming locations and sinister creature designs. "Bobby", the second story, is the best one and arguably even one of the finest horror-moments of the 90's. The plot revolves on a deeply saddened mother reverting to black magic to revive her recently deceased son who fell out of his bedroom widow and drowned in the ocean. It works, but Bobby returns as an aggressive and foul-mouthed psycho with a desire to send his own mother to hell. The ambiance of "Bobby" is thoroughly creepy, as the events take place in a sinister old mansion during a dark and stormy night. The youthful maniac is effectively menacing and some of the tricks he uses to drive his mother insane are fairly original. Lysette Anthony is obviously not as charismatic as Karen Black, but she does really good work and makes the most out of her one-dimensional characters. Especially in the first story "Graveyard Rats", she also looks extremely attractive. Don't focus too much on the Zuni Doll gimmick exclusively, as this is a pretty good horror wholesome and definitely deserves a little more attention.
Review of Trilogy of Terror II
Trilogy of Terror II
(1996 TV Movie)
Yaaah Yayayayaaaa! Yayayayayaya! Ya! Ya! Yayayayayayayayaya! (Zuni for worthy sequel)
24 February 2008