Dan Curtis' Trilogy of Terror II

Moviecut—Dan Curtis' Trilogy of Terror II

This a great movie just like the first. The parts that make it good are the stories about the doll. The stories with the doll are very funny, and still good. Both Trilogy of terror 1 and 2 are worth renting or buying. 10/10 (same with the first one)

The gimmick to Trilogy of Terror (1975) was three stories where actress Karen Black would lead them all but playing different characters. Personally I didn't get the logic there and it was a pretty weak anthology. An astonishing 21 years later a sequel is born and even more astonishing is the fact it has the same creator. Dan Curtis returns to bring us another "Trilogy of terror" and it's no better than the original sadly. With no Karen Black in sight it tells three stories including giant rats, returning a deceased child from the dead and a sequel to one of the tales from the original movie featuring a killer African doll. I'm impressed with the commitment, the fact that we have the same creators and that we see a follow up story but none of it is exactly very enjoyable stuff. The first story is by far the best and reminded me of something Tales from the Crypt (1989) would do. The second was pretty terrible and the third was generic cat and mouse "Action" featuring the African doll from the first movie. The thing looks like the lovechild of Full Moon's Ooga-Booga and a critter! This sequel simply didn't need to exist and I'm stunned that they didn't even get Karen Black in as a cameo role. The Good: Geoffrey Lewis Same creator as the original Some loyalty to the first movie The Bad: No originality Un-engaging stuff

When you compare this movie to its predecessor, which got released 11 years before this one, you'll have to conclude that this movie is not a better than its predecessor because of the reason that it's stories all are slightly weaker ones. Again, just like its predecessor, this movie tells 3 different, unrelated stories that somehow all involve the supernatural. What they have in common is that in all 3 stories the main characters is being played by the same actress. In "Trilogy of Terror" this was Karen Black, in "Trilogy of Terror II" its Lysette Anthony. She of course is not as great as Karen Black, though its fun to see her playing 3 totally different characters in each story. This is more an horror movie than its predecessor was. All of the stories this time feature horror elements. Again, the last story of the movie features the Zuni doll, which also was the highlight of the first movie. Perhaps this is also the reason why it's named "Trilogy of Terror II"? Fore otherwise this movie of course has little to nothing to do with the first movie that got made 11 years(!) before this one. None of the stories are extremely well written or anything and they all got based on different short stories. The movie is longer than "Trilogy of Terror" and every story this time is about 30 minutes long instead of 20-something minutes. That doesn't really mean though that the stories are well layered or anything like that. At times they are even a bit dragging, which causes them to be a bit uneven in parts. The build up to the eventual horror often takes too long, which makes the movie itself needlessly long as well. Of course these type of movies are never dull for the lovers of the genre. Dan Curtis is obviously a director with a love for the genre and that passion really shows on the screen at certain points. 6/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

I really like this movie, Lysette Anthony does a super job in all three tales, like in the first trilogy movie the doll episode is the best and thanks to the technology of nowdays that freaking doll can now seriously run to stalk its victims. I give it a 9, rent it or buy it, you will not be disappointed

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.

Trilogy of Terror II is the obvious sequel to the 70's made for TV film which featured three scary stories. This one has the same number of stories, and each have a satisfying ending to them like the original film. The first story is "The Graveyard Rats" which tells the tale of a woman and her lover who plan to murder her old rich husband for his money. They do the deed, making it look like an accident, but realize that they must dig up his grave in order to any money. Problem is the graveyard is filled with huge rats determined to devour anything in sight. The second tale is called "Bobby". A mother uses voodoo to bring her dead son back, only to discover that by doing so she has unleashed an evil force upon herself. And the final tale (the best one) continues the killer Zulu * doll story from the original, this time it attacks a woman alone in a museum who was brought in by police to look at it. I really enjoyed 'Trilogy of Terror II', I thought it was a very good sequel to a strong film made years prior. The first two stories are scary and creepy, and are actually more creative ideas than the first two tales told in the original 'Trilogy of Terror'. Continuing the Zuni * doll story from where we left off with Karen Black in the first film was a brilliant idea! It's basically the day after Karen Black's character killed her mother while possessed by the doll. Good stuff. Acting all around was brilliant, starting with Lysette Anthony who was the lead in all three tales. There were also some really good stand out performances by the supporting cast particularly in the first story 'The Graveyard Rats' from Matt Clark and Geraint Wyn Davies. Sad to say this has not been released on DVD yet, but it certainly deserves a release! Check this out if you come across it. 8/10

Anyone born before 1980 can't help but remember that video cover that stared up at them from the spooky horror section shelf at the "Video Library." It was the one all the little kids loved to rent...it was also the one all the little kids loved to fast-forward through 80% of to get to the Zuni-doll story. And about 20 years later, the Trilogy of Terror is back, and the Zuni-Doll once again steals the show....but not entirely. The first story, about giant rats in a graveyeard, is well-written and memorable. The second story, while a bit creepy at the beginning, is for the most part....stupid. But not terrible. The third story (saving the best for last) marks the return of the infamous Zuni-Warrior doll. The sad thing about it is, is that it is really a cheap rehash of the classic original. Entertaining yes, but original? Hardly. But at least the first two stories were a little more memorable. The first two in the original TRILOGY were very well-written, but easily forgettable. The beautiful Lysette Anthony does her best in this made-for-TV horror flick. Actually, I was impressed with her acting, considering this film was, in a way, standard USA network fare. She seemed at least somewhat enthusiastic about this gig, and filled Karen Black's shoes nicely. All in All, TRILOGY OF TERROR 2 is good, clean fun for the whole family. That is of course, sarcasm...but, it IS good clean fun for that son of yours who makes a B-line for the Horror section whenever you visit Blockbuster Video.... 6.5 out of 10.

Considerably tame tales of terror with Lysette Anthony portraying the female victim in each story. In the first she joins lover Geraint Wyn Davies(Of "Forever Dark" fame) in a plot to murder her husband Matt Clark and take his fortune. She finds herself instead contending with underground graveyard rats. In the second tale, she's the grieving mother who calls son Bobby back from his watery grave, after using some sort of witchcraft, only to find that he's not the same boy he once was. He, in fact, wishes to play his own game of homicidal hide-and-seek with her running for her life. The third tale, the best and yet silliest, has Lysette portraying a museum scientist studying a Zuni * doll which was found burnt in an oven at a vicious crime scene. It so happens that two women were found with their throats sliced open. What she doesn't realize once she takes this necklace from the doll's neck is that it is the very killer responsible for those other homicides. It seems, through a scroll also found at the crime scene, that the spirit of an African Zuni warrior harvests within the doll. The special effects are low-grade and each story is rather hokey, but, all in all, it's decent fare. Nothing spectacular, but if you want to waste 90 minutes..

After twenty years, made-for-TV horror maestro, Dan Curtis finally made his sequel, TRILOGY OF TERROR 2. STORY 1- THE GRAVEYARD RATS: Laura (Lysette Anthony), afraid of being cut out of her zillionaire husband's (Matt Clark) will for infidelity, decides to kill the old boy. With help from her soulless lover, Ben (Geraint Wyn Davies), it's not long before hubby's in the ground. The murdering pair discover that something important was buried with the departed. Something without which, Laura and her piggish paramour are doomed to a middle class lifestyle. Of course, the remedy involves some serious digging! At night! Enter the titular, rubbery rodents of recompense. Co-stars Geoffrey Lewis as the gravedigger. STORY 2: BOBBY- A distraught mother (Anthony) resorts to occult means in order to resurrect her dead son, Bobby (Blake Heron). Mom's efforts pay off, and her son returns. Sort of. At first, all seems well with this joyous reunion. However, as the evening progresses, Bobby begins acting strange. Ultimately, mom learns that she probably should have left things as they were (Think: THE MONKEY'S PAW with a wicked twist). This segment is a remake of the original BOBBY from Curtis' horror anthology, DEAD OF NIGHT. Personally, while both versions are good, I prefer the original. STORY 3: HE WHO KILLS- Set immediately after the events of PART 3 of TRILOGY OF TERROR (1975), police are stumped by the bloody murders in the apartment. They find the Zuni Fetish doll, and take it to Dr. Simpson (Anthony) for her insights. She restores the doll as best as she can, and runs her tests. When Simpson returns to the lab after dinner, the doll is missing, resulting in a deadly game of "hunt the humans"! A decent follow-up to the first Zuni story, its one weakness is in showing too much of the crazed doll. Less is truly more, which is what made the first one so effective. In spite of this, as well as the direct recycling of the "suitcase scene" from the original, it's not bad. CONCLUSION: Not a masterpiece, but worth watching, especially for horror anthology fanatics...