The Tingler (1959)

Vincent Price stars as an obsessed doctor who discovers that fear manifests itself as a parasitic creature which grows on the spinal cords of terrified people. If they scream the Tingler can be destroyed. If they don't it will sever the spinal column and kill them. He successfully isolates and removes the Tingler from a deaf mute (Judith Evelyn) who has been scared to death by her devious husband. Once captured the Tingler escapes and runs amok in a crowded movie theater. Terror is loose but can it be stopped? THE TINGLER is legendary horror director William Castle's magnum opus. After the success of The House on Haunted Hill Castle devised a new gimmick called "Percepto" for the Tingler. Participating theaters would wire seats so that random moviegoers would get a tangible electric shock during climactic moments in the film. Another novelty used to maximum effect is the short color sequence depicting blood pouring from a faucet and filling a bathtub. Castle went on to direct more cult classics like Homicidal and 13 Ghosts and gained some mainstream credibility by producing Rosemary's Baby.System Requirements:Running Time: 81 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: NR UPC: 043396077799 Manufacturer No: 07779 Product Description

"Spine-Tinglering Good"

This movie terrorized me as a child of eight. In fact, it terrorized me so much that I watched it five times as it played at the local theater of my small town. I screamed my little head off--even when there was nothing to really scream about. It is a great horror film in black and white and only the BLOOD is in red--what a technical feat in 1957-1958! It had already played in the larger cities and those of us in small bergs had to wait and wait and wait and wait and wait and wait for it to get to our town. I stood in a long line to get tickets that first day as it played, a matinee. A whole row of girlie gigglers, we peeked between our fingers at scene after bloody scene, screaming and screaming.
Now the movie could be considerd schlock. But it is schlock at its best. If you want to have a scream--and a laugh, pick it up in time for Halloween. Vincent Price doing some of his best work--but the Tingler is a real scene-stealer. September 8, 2008

If you like Vincent Price...

If you're a fan of the campy Vincent Price horror genre, you will love "The Tingler". The idea here is that the tingling feeling we get when we are scared is not adrenalin after all, it is really a lobster growing on our backbones. The creature is called, surprisingly enough, the Tingler. The Tingler would continue to grow until it killed us, except for the fact that it dies (and apaprently also disappears) when it hears a scream. Pathologist Price is on the hunt to be the first to capture this creature (and with no regard for the safety of anyone). Some of the characters in this film are stranger than the Tingler - especially the owner of the movie house and his wife. Might be a little necrophilia going on here behind the curtain. Price's cheating wife is also a jewel - I'll bet you can't guess what happens to her... There is also an interesting gimmick with the film's original release, one that is fully explained in the DVD, but unfortunately not one we can share with the theatre-going audience. This is one you'll watch more than once. April 29, 2008

It Tingles!

The Tingler is usually considered by both critics and fans alike to be Castle's finest hour, and it's easy to see why. The Tingler is everything a good schlocky spook show should be. Price is a coroner who does research on the side involving fear and what causes us to freeze and go rigid when frightened. He refers to this force as The Tingler, and discovers that it may be an actual, physical being. He goes through numerous experiments in his attempts to learn more about The Tingler, and isn't above some pretty unorthodox methods. He threatens to shoot his unfaithful wife to try and get her to the peak of fear, he trips on LSD(which he gets via prescription. LSD was actually used for medicinal purposes at this time) to spook himself, and finally gets a stroke of luck when he meets a deaf mute. You see, The Tingler's effects are broken if you scream, because screaming breaks the tension. But a deaf mute can't scream!!! This enables Price to obtain his own Tingler which looks like a big rubber lobster/centipede hybrid. It turns out to be indestructible and too hard to handle(like The Black Crows), and gives Price a wake up call about delving into such matters. Then the Tingler gets loose and runs amok in a movie theater. Sound like fun? It is. The science is completely absurd, but when has that ever been a problem? Price seems to really be enjoying himself and as usual turns in a great performance, especially in his tripping scene. A classic for a good reason. March 16, 2008

Vincent Price teams with William Castle for spine "tingling" fun

William Castle is known as one of the best movie showmen in history. "The Tingler" is a great example of how Castle took a mediocre film and made it a classic.

"The Tingler" is a creature which feeds on fear. That's it. That's the basis of the whole film. And Vincent Price is always great in a film with a scary theme. Even in this one, which features acting that's not always great and a monster which is just plain... well... silly .... at times, Price carries off his role. It's not his fault the monster looks like some sort of half baked centipede or something.

What makes this 40th Anniversary edition so fun are the add ons, features that show just how good Castle was at promoting movies.

When "The Tingler" hit theaters, in a classic Castle move, seats were wired with buzzers that went off to scare patrons. And everyone was urged to scream as loud as possible to kill "The Tingler."

This film is not Oscar caliber, but it's darned good fun. Get the kids together, bring out some popcorn and give it a whirl. But don't forget to scream! November 12, 2007

Movie

The classic movies are some of the best! I really enjoy any work by Vincent Price! September 22, 2007

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