The Many Faces of Karen Black Provide the Fear in the "Trilogy of Terror"- Tonight!

Tonight on MeTV- we bring back the triple-threat of Karen Black times three- as she stars in each segment of the anxiety-filled anthology that many have called the most frightening made-for-TV movie of all time- “Trilogy of Terror”! This 1975 film is a tour de frightening force, based on three stories by the legendary Richard Matheson- whose work has been showing up a lot on our program.

The first story -“Julie”- features Karen as a quiet and reserved English teacher who is approached by Chad, one of her college students, who has become obsessed with her. In no time, we realize this is no healthy schoolboy crush- Chad has a nasty agenda that includes spiking Julie’s drink at a drive-in- and trapping the unsuspecting teacher in a web of blackmail. Things take an even darker turn when other sinister secrets are revealed!

The second story- “Millicent and Therese”- has Karen playing a dual role as two very different sisters. Millicent is a bookish, strait-laced, reserved woman, while Therese is a flashy, somewhat immoral tease of a party girl. They disapprove of the other, and their dislike begins to escalate, with Therese creating havoc by trashing Millicent’s room - and then playing up seductively to Dr. Ramsey, the family therapist Millicent has called in to help and possibly talk some sense into her wild child sister. The doctor will not tolerate Therese’s sinister attempt at seduction and leaves the premises- which only makes Therese more furious, angered that Millicent had called him in. Being into the occult and voodoo, this ticking time -bomb of a sister decides that the only way to end the conflict- is by death!

The final story is , of course,the best known of the three, and the most unforgettable-“Amelia”-based on the Richard Matheson short story “Prey”. While someone else adapted his first two stories for the movie, Matheson himself adapted his story into the screenplay for this one-with chilling results. Ms. Black pretty much makes it a one-woman show- as Amelia,the only character on screen in the story ( well, the only human character). She is constantly being nagged by her mother- and ,reaching her breaking point from having to deal with her, calls dear old Mom to cancel that night’s get-together, claiming she has a date- just so she can unwind and have some peace and quiet.

There is not much chance of that-because Amelia has brought home a unique artifact- a small figure of an aboriginal warrior. According to the paperwork included with this hideous doll, it is actually a vessel that imprisons the spirit of a warrior known as “he who kills”- and only the chain that encircles its waist keeps the spirit confined inside the doll. Fate plays a cruel trick on Amelia- the chain falls off!

As she prepares her dinner with a large carving knife, she hears a noise in the other room, and setting the blade down, goes to investigate. She is confused to find that the doll is not where she left it- and soon afterward realizes that- neither is her knife! She soon becomes painfully aware that the doll has come to life- and wants to end hers!

We do need to warn you- this film, even though made for TV, does include some adult situations and dialogue- and the final story with the nerve-wracking assault by the murderous doll may be far too intense for some viewers. PLEASE use caution- and your jurisdiction- regarding who should watch- and that includes you! We also want to explain- one more time- why this movie is running again on our show. It has proven to be such a favorite that we are constantly getting requests for it- which is why it has become an annual event, scheduled a different season each time, and always bringing in a huge number of viewers! Also- some of you seem to have forgotten one of the rules here- if you don’t like the film, and/or feel you must make a negative comment- you can do so- ONCE. Consider this fair warning.

As always in our program, you can enjoy information about the film and its cast-and we’ll be bringing back some classic Sven fun, including a beloved song viewers can never get enough of. We also suggest possible updates for the story if they made a new sequel, provide information about the Zuni warrior doll (with a replica on set), talk about the man who did the musical score for this film and other Dan Curtis productions, revisit our very first trip to the New York Comic Con, and – get another visit from the Sven Squad- some of whom are in a gift-giving mood!

“Trilogy of Terror” will be unleashed at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central time- and MeTV encourages you to join in the live-Tweeting (or X-ing- still not really using that term!) during the program-make sure that your Tweets include our hashtag #svengoolie. Our Chicago area viewers can get one more look at the classic Lon Chaney Jr. origin of “The Wolf Man” at 11 am on CW26.

After a great afternoon with our fans yesterday, we will be going back to the C2E2 convention here in Chicago- unfortunately, all the tickets for today are sold out! If you have your pass, make sure to come see us, and join me for the “45 Years of Svengoolie” panel we will be doing later this afternoon.

But tonight- steel your nerves for one of the most frightening movies ever made for TV! And- speaking of steel-keep all cutlery locked up before the final story!