Wednesday, April 25, 2012

The Tingler (1959)

A scientist (Vincent Price) attempts to capture a creature that lives inside all of us. It is deadly and only appears when we are afraid. The only way to stop it is to scream.

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On our honeymoon, 'Becca'lise and I had the distinct pleasure of seeing this film at the Cinémathèque Française on a double-bill with The House On Haunted Hill as part of a tribute to director William Castle. In keeping with Castle tradition, all attendees had to sign a faux life insurance policy in case we "died of fright". The fine folks of the Cinémathèque also did their best to recreate some of the in-theater gimmicks like Emergo, the skeleton that appears at a climactic moment in The House On Haunted Hill. And though it was far too expensive to rig the seats with buzzers for the climax of The Tingler, they found ways to make it fun too. Why don't more theaters do this shit? Screw 3D, I'd take Emergo over the Na'vi any day of the week! Also - how has this film has not been remade yet? This is body-horror a full two decades before David Cronenberg!

"Ladies and gentlemen, please do not panic. But scream! Scream for your lives! The Tingler is loose in this blog!"

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