TRILOGY OF TERROR 2 1996
Lysette Anthony (Laura/Elma/Dr. Simpson), Geraint Wyn Davies (Dan), Matt Clark (Ansford), Geoffrey Lewis (Arly Stubbs), Blake Heron (Bobby)
Directed by Dan Curtis
The Short Version: Dan Curtis sequelizes his own 1975 TV horror anthology favorite in a Made For Cable chiller starring three times the Lysette Anthony--repeating Karen Black's triplicitous turn in the original. The first concerns greedy lovers receiving an unexpected surprise in a graveyard; the second sees a mother bring her son back from the dead with disastrous results; and the third is a direct sequel to the famous Zuni Fetish doll segment of Curtis's original TRILOGY. Mostly a rehash of the director's 70s horrors with a killer doll selling point that's lost its shock value indigenous to the modest 1975 source. The director's 90s update is still enjoyable escapist horror for those nostalgic for old-school style Made For TV Terror.
A dark, brooding anthology featuring enormous, flesh-eating rats, demonic revenge from beyond, and a murderous, devil-possessed doll make up the Terror in this Trilogy.
Filmed in Canada over the course of 22 days and debuting on the USA Network on October 30th, 1996, the belated TRILOGY OF TERROR 2 improves on the original in that the entire film is consistent with the title's promise of "terror"; as opposed to the '75 version's third tale being the sole, purely horror segment. There's nothing particularly remarkable about this encore, but it's efficiently made, modestly gory, and retaining the spirit of Dan Curtis's style of horror that dominated the small screen back in the 1970s.
One of the things that made TRILOGY OF TERROR unique was Karen Black starring in all three of the stories; two of which she was the predator and the third the Prey. For this sequel, British actress Lysette Anthony follows suit, tackling leads in all three yarns. In the case of T2, Anthony's portrayals are more diverse: the archetypal gold-digger of anthology horror; a tragic figure who goes to unnatural lengths for maternal salvation; and a victimized scientist faced with a supernatural enemy.
Lysette Anthony had worked with Dan Curtis earlier in the decade as Angelique, a witch character, on the short-lived revival of DARK SHADOWS; the 1991 series lasted only a dozen episodes before the coffin closed. Anthony's trust in Curtis was such that she didn't even read the script before accepting the role(s).
Curtis brought famed SciFi-Fantasy-Horror writer William F. Nolan back to pen his sequel. It had been 20 years since the two had worked together on the theatrical haunted house spooker, BURNT OFFERINGS (1976). Nolan collaborated with Curtis a few times including writing duties on the creepy supernatural horror, THE NORLISS TAPES in 1973 and authoring the first two stories in the original TRILOGY OF TERROR (1975). Nolan is likely most famous for co-authoring the SciFi novel 'Logan's Run' with George Clayton Johnson in 1967--turned into a movie in 1976.
In a 1996 Fangoria article, Curtis remarked he had the sequel in mind seven years earlier in 1989. Possibly inspired by the success of the award winning HBO horror series, TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1989-1996), T2 has some of that EC flavor of those notoriously grim comic books; mostly apparent in the first story, the typical tale of infidelity and revenge from beyond the grave...
Story #1: The Graveyard Rats
Caught in a compromising position by her elderly, wealthy, wheelchair-bound husband, Laura Ansford can remain the sole beneficiary in Roger Ansford's will so long as she keeps her vow to love thy husband till he passes on. Not content with this arrangement, Laura and her lover conspire to knock off the old man before his time. With the deed done, the two money-hungry lovebirds think they're in the clear till they learn Roger has had the microfilm detailing the account numbers for his fortune buried with him. Overcome with greed, Laura and her co-conspirator decide to dig him up despite warnings from the graveyard caretaker that the particular plot where Roger wanted to be buried is overrun with rats... big ones.
The film's most ghoulish segment was originally written by Henry Kuttner back in 1936, appearing in Weird Tales, the revered fantasy-horror magazine that featured works by notable authors like H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. William F. Nolan's adaptation differs in a few ways--one by swapping out Kuttner's graverobber central figure for the plotting, adulterous couple. In the film version, the graverobber (played by the always reliable Geoffrey Lewis) is a minor character.
At the time, erotic/suspense thrillers were still very popular and Lysette Anthony did a few of them like SAVE ME (1994), AFFAIR PLAY (1995), DEAD COLD (1995), and MAN OF HER DREAMS (1997). Some brief sexual content involving her character recalls Anthony's works in that genre while tapping into the EC-style of libidinous machinations leading the greedy to an early grave.
One other difference between the print and film version is the removal of a zombie-type figure crawling around in the increasingly narrowing tunnels Kuttner's graverobber finds himself trying to escape from. Nolan's version works just fine, and itself, a weird tale well told.
Story #2: Bobby
Distraught over the drowning of her child, Elma uses a satanic spell to return her son Bobby to life. Appearing on her doorstep on a dark and stormy night, she is quick to notice that something is terribly wrong with Bobby.
An original story written by Richard Matheson for Dan Curtis's DEAD OF NIGHT (1977), his supernatural short finds a second home in T2 remade in a slightly streamlined form; yet virtually identical with minimal alterations. Nolan's contribution is negligible, if any. Matheson gets sole writing credit. The principal difference between the two is the '77 version has an expository scene between Elma and her husband John on the phone that gave viewers a bit more characterization while emphasizing the horror of a later scene when the two are on the phone again.
Compared to Joan Hackett's portrayal from the first time around, Ms. Anthony is good in the role as the grieving mother, if more overzealous in her hysteria upon the realization her son (or what she believes is her son) is trying to kill her.
Blake Heron, the 12 year old actor playing Bobby, shot to stardom very quickly. Battling drug addiction reportedly even at a young age, Heron would die from an accidental overdose of fentanyl in September of 2017.
A genuinely terrifying story, it's still curious why Curtis would opt to remake the old segment as opposed to going with a different one. Additionally, the makeup is different for the big reveal at the end;
even though it's less creepy than before. The Lovecraftian aura helps. Still, this 'Bobby' is suspenseful and as well made as its 1977 source; just don't expect any surprises unless you're unfamiliar with Curtis's DEAD OF NIGHT.
Story #3: He Who Kills
At a nasty murder scene, police discover the bodies of two mutilated women and a burned up doll inside an oven. Believing it to be a ritualistic slaying, the police take the doll to a museum in the hopes that a Dr. Simpson can identify its significance. After hours in the museum, the lady ethnologist learns the gruesome-looking doll represents a centuries extinct African cannibal tribe... and that the thing is alive and ready to kill.
The hype generated for T2 was built solely around the return of the Zuni Fetish Doll, the outrageously creepy little monster that comes to life to terrorize Karen Black in Curtis's 1975 original. Picking up where that segment finished, the doll now terrorizes Lysette Anthony in much the same fashion; the major difference now is that it's no longer a single apartment building, but inside a museum.
A marionette in the original picture, the diminutive wooden maniac is operated via animatronics for the sequel. A one-woman show the first time around, the new version affords some additional characters and a few extra deaths.
Nolan was thrilled to be putting his own spin on Matheson's work; a short story titled 'Prey' written by him in 1969. Nolan's take on Matheson's material is just as energetic as before, if playing it safe by rehashing the source almost note-for-note. Even so, seeing one of cinema's scariest killer dolls again in an updated setting is exciting for nostalgia buffs.
Aiding all three of these cryptic tales is some striking photography and nicely atmospheric locations. On the whole, Curtis made a movie that's three-quarters of dusted-off old material done over, yet he succeeds elsewhere; even managing some nods to his past works.
Dan Curtis is one of the horror genres most recognizable names and has contributed some of its most memorable, and popular, small-screen examples. While he continued to produce horror fare for television, TRILOGY OF TERROR 2 (1996) was his last time directing various creatures of the night. It's an enjoyable 90 minute spooker, even if it's mostly haunted territory traversed 20 years earlier.
This review is representative of an airing on OuterMax (Cinemax channel).
