Trilogy of Terror is a 1975 anthology horror film produced for American television, directed by Dan Curtis and starring actress Karen Black. The film consists of three parts, each based on unrelated short stories by Richard Matheson. The most haunting part is the third part, which revolves around a woman being terrorized by a wooden doll in her private apartment.
![Cruel wooden doll haunted the screen for nearly 50 years - Photo 1. Cruel wooden doll haunted the screen for nearly 50 years - Photo 1.](https://gamek.mediacdn.vn/133514250583805952/2023/10/22/photo-2-1697937097334794708876-1697964360973-1697964361944647720907.jpg)
The haunting wooden doll in the horror film collection Trilogy of Terror. Photo: ABC.
The film’s title is Amelia , named after the main character Amelia (Karen Black). She lives in a high-rise apartment and has a boyfriend who is an archaeologist.
The movie opens with Amelia canceling her dinner plans with her mother to celebrate her birthday with her boyfriend. Amelia bought her boyfriend a wooden pacification doll shaped like an aboriginal warrior, but with a deformed face with sharp teeth and a spear. The instruction scroll states that the gold necklace that adorns the doll contains the spirit of the Zuni hunter, named “He Who Kills.” The doll was so ugly that Amelia had to exclaim: “With that face, even your mother won’t love you.”
In a moment of carelessness, Amelia smashed the doll against the table, causing the gold necklace to fall out. Then, the heroine realized the doll was no longer where she placed it. She heard noises in the kitchen and discovered a knife was missing. Back in the living room, Amelia is attacked by the doll, stabbing her in the ankle and chasing her around the apartment. Amelia tried many ways to destroy the doll, including wrapping it in a towel and dunking it in a bathtub, locking it in a suitcase and stabbing it with a screwdriver, smashing it against a lamp, and finally throwing it into the oven. Amelia held the oven door while the burning doll howled and screamed. When the noise stopped, she opened the door to check and a horrifying scream rang out.
At the end of the film, Amelia calls her mother, inviting her to her house. While waiting, she broke the front door latch, her head bowed, her hand holding a large knife. The female lead smiled savagely, revealing sharp teeth just like a doll. This shows that the doll’s soul has taken over the girl’s body.
![Cruel wooden doll haunted the screen for nearly 50 years - Photo 2. Cruel wooden doll haunted the screen for nearly 50 years - Photo 2.](https://gamek.mediacdn.vn/133514250583805952/2023/10/22/photo-1-1697937096390486943524-1697964363107-16979643631712038673055.jpg)
The scene of the movie where a wooden doll uses a knife to attack the female lead makes viewers scared even after decades have passed. Photo: ABC.
Robert Singer, co-producer Trilogy of Terror review above The New York Post : “The episode about the wooden doll was extremely creepy. It’s great that it aired in third place because it’s truly a compelling film. Dan Curtis is great. He knows how to instill fear.”
Because the movie was filmed 48 years ago, the visual effects were not as modern as today, the film crew had to build a movie set with a higher floor than usual to hide the puppeteer below who was responsible for moving the puppet. doll.
“For a drama of that time, a lot of effort had to be put into making the scenes more realistic. Today, you can do it with CGI (computer-generated imagery), but it was a difficult job nearly 50 years ago,” Mr. Singer shared.
Another difficulty for manufacturers is censorship. When they sent the scene where Amelia throws the doll into the oven, causing it to catch fire, scream, and writhe, the censor board deemed it too violent and delayed it from airing. This upset the director because the tortured character was a wooden doll. Mr. Singer also found it strange that the censorship board was concerned about the death of inanimate objects.
However, the final film was released to the audience and made such a deep impression that they did not remember the first two parts, but were haunted by the last part.
Mr. Singer said Amelia Becoming a symbol of the horror film genre has no small contribution from Karen Black – who passed away in 2013 at the age of 74.
“Karen is really dedicated. It’s not an easy role. She is excellent,” he praised.
According to NY Post