Home Projectionist

Trick & Treat for October 24th:

TRILOGY OF TERROR (1975; with Karen Black; directed by Dan Curtis)

The writings of famed, sci-fi wordsmith Richard Matheson serve as the basis for this made-for-TV movie. Karen Black plays four roles in three, short stories. In part one, Julie, she’s a college literature teacher who gets into a relationship with one of her students, who then, through malicious means, blackmails her. However, Julie, in a typically Mathesonian turn of events, gets the last laugh. In part two, Black portrays two women, the twins Millicent and Therese. This duo resolves their issues by delving into the dark and devilish world of witchcraft.

Then, at last, we come to Amelia, and it’s a doozy. Amelia is the long-suffering daughter of a nagging, possessive mother. She’s also the significant other of an absent anthropologist, for whom she buys a birthday gift. It’s an unusual present: a Zuni doll–a roughly 10-inch tall, primitive warrior with a horribly grotesque face and who, in its tiny hand, carries a very, very pointy spear. Amelia evidently does not read the accompanying instructions, and subsequently becomes unhappy with her purchase–as does the Zuni doll, who, in a series of scenes that will have you jumping out of your skin, makes a determined point of causing Amelia to feel buyer’s remorse. This feisty little fellow plays hard-to-get, and could easily have proven challenging for all three of the real Musketeers.  –Julie, Millicent and Therese;  –Amelia

Who wants to wait until the 31st to wallow in Halloween indulgences and scary movies?! Home Projectionist doesn’t! And so we’ll have pairings of 31 Frights and 31 Bites every one of October’s 31 nights: a scary, snack size movie “trick”, and a delicious “treat” to go along with it.