The Tingler (1959 film)
Summary
"See the screen's first BLOOD BATH, in COLOR! When the Tingler's victims scream in fright, you too will feel every shocking sensation... through Percepto! Bring your date, and watch her TINGLE!" Vincent Price plays a scientist who discovers the mysterious source of the spine-tingling sensation of horror: a previously undetected parasite living in the spines of horror victims.
Details
- Release Date: 1959
- Country/Language: US, English, US Sign-Language
- Genres/Technical: Horror, black-and-white with a colorized dream sequence
- Runtime: 1 hr 22 min
- Starring: William Castle
- Director: Vincent Price, Judith Evelyn, Darryl Hickman
- Writer: Robb White
- Producer/Production Co: William Castle, Columbia Pictures, William Castle Productions
- View Trailer: (link)
Ratings
MPAA Ratings
- Rated: (not rated) (equivalent to PG for mild Violence and a couple 1950s acid trips)
Tentacle Ratings
A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:
- SS___ (Two Tentacles: Barely Lovecraftian; could be a very loose adaptation)
In a story loosely comparable to nightmare-logic "From Beyond (fiction)", a scientist discovers a previously undetected creature (the "Tingler") which is responsible for the symptoms of fear, and, using science, allows it to escape into his world, and then into the theaters showing the film! (In typical fashion for a William Castle film, some theaters showing the film were rigged with a "joy buzzer" type gimmick in the seats which would give the audience a "tingling" sensation near their spines; the film would be stopped and the buzzers activated while someone shouts a warning to the audience: the Tingler has escaped into the theater... scream, scream for your lives!) Additionally, the bizarre Tingler monster, though suffering a bit in some scenes from low-budget special effects, is suitably alien enough to pass for something Lovecraftian.
Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.
Reviews
Review Links:
- (review needed)
Synopsis
Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)
Dr. Warren Chapin has made a surprising discovery -- the spine-chilling sensation that people get when scared is due to a parasite that he dubs the "tingler." Chapin concludes that in extreme circumstances, prolonged fear can cause the creature to damage a person's spine and even cause death if the victim can't scream, a theory that Oliver Higgins uses to deadly effect on his wife. Soon the tingler that killed the woman is on the loose.
Notes
Comments, Trivia, Dedication
Associated Mythos Elements
- race: Tingler
