I had the unusual privilege of watching this just as I was finishing "Shock Waves", the Richard Matheson short story collection which contains the latter two of these three 'imaginative fictions'. Matheson is such a precise craftsman in these stories, his devices so explicitly literary, that it seems like a bad idea to even try to render them visually. And that is absolutely true of "Therese", which is derived from a three-page gag story and whose twenty-odd minutes feel both underdeveloped and overextended as a result. I also suspect that even neophytes could see the trick ending coming. The same cannot be said of the first episode, because the trick, in this rendition, comes off as preposterously arbitrary in spite of the momentary foreshadowing; however I was perversely entertained by the utter loathsomeness of the male lead, which takes the edge off Karen Black's cruel designs. Karen Black, Karen Black - how did I get this far without acknowledging Karen Black? With four roles (ok, three and a half) in three episodes, this is as much a showcase for her as for Matheson, and while she can't fully redeem the iffy stuff, she carries us over the dumb bits and into episode three, the legendary Zuni Doll incident, which deserves it's reputation. Truth be told, it's pretty dumb too, but it is also tremendously energetic and surprising. Especially in the context of the whole anthology - and in the broader context of made-for-TV horror - we are set up to expect a 'slow build', 'power of suggestion' kind of thing; instead we get a full-bore, ferocious onslaught. This is risky - will it be terrifying or laughably silly? Both at once, if you can believe that, in equal and mutually supporting measure, thus transcending the camp that is Black's metier and becoming something...almost...NEW. And unlike the first two, Matheson adapted this one himself - he knew damn well he had a winner.
Review of Trilogy of Terror
