Scream for Your Lives! William Castle and 'the Tingler'

Scream for Your Lives! William Castle and 'The Tingler' (1999)

*** (out of 4)

If you're a fan of William Castle then surely you're aware of the "hype" he built around his films. For THE TINGLER we not only got a sequence in color and Vincent Price having an acid trip but some folks were treated to buzzers under their seats that would go off and shock them during certain points of the film. I've been fairly hard on Castle's non-horror films but there's no denying he could make the genre films very fun. THE TINGLER is discussed here as having a crazy plot but it's also a very entertaining little gem that manages to be one of the most fun films from this period. Bob Burns, David J. Skal, Lucy Chase Williams and Darryl Hickman are on hand to share their memories of the film and they all tell some good ones. The most fascinating things deal with the film's original showing, which included the buzzers as well as other personal appearances that the director would have. If you're a fan of THE TINGLER then this featurette is a must see (and is included on that film's DVD).