“The Tingler” (1959) Directed by William Castle & Starring Vincent Price / Z-View

The Tingler (1959)

Director:  William Castle

Screenplay:  Robb White

Stars:  Vincent Price, Judith Evelyn, Darryl Hickman, Philip Coolidge, Gail Bonney and William Castle.

Tagline: Amazing NEW TERROR Device Makes You A Living Participant in the FLESH-CRAWLING ACTION! PERCEPTO!

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Dr. Warren Chapin (Price) discovers that the tingling people feel along their spine during cases of extreme fear is caused by a parasite.  Chapin names this creature “the tingler”.  As a person becomes more afraid, the tingler grows in size and strength ultimately causing the victim to die.  Interestingly enough, if the person screams, the tingler stops growing.  Dr. Chapin decides to conduct experiments on people to learn more about the tingler.  What could possibly go wrong?

Producer/Director William Castle was the king of gimmick films.  The Tingler‘s gimmick was that some seats in theaters were hooked with buzzers set off when the tingler was loose.  The buzzers vibrated seats causing theater goers to scream.  The Tingler also holds the distinction of being the first Hollywood mainstream feature film to depict LSD use.  The Tingler is also famous for being a black and white film that has bright red blood flowing in a sink and a full bathtub while everything else in the scene remained black and white.  If you’re a William Castle fan or low-budget horror movies, you’ll enjoy The Tingler.

The Tingler earns 2 of 5 stars.