William
Castle and Vincent Price teamed up to make a couple great fifties horror flick,
this and House on Haunted Hill. I’ve tried to cover stuff that many newer
horror fans might not have heard of for these Friday reviews, but I just had to
reward myself with an old favorite. Time to have some fun.
Price
plays a scientist named Warren that has been researching the physical
manifestation of fear and what happens to us when we get scared. He also serves
as a pathologist for the local communities and is doing an autopsy on an
executed prisoner when we first meet him. We also meet Ollie, the
brother-in-law of the man on the slab. Ollie and Warren strike up a friendship.
Along the way we also meet Ollie’s wife, a deaf mute, who faints as the sight
of blood. This is important later on.
Warren is
also married to a horrible shrew of a woman named Isabel. Much like his
character in House on Haunted Hill this wife isn’t above a little murder to get
him out of the way. We get some random bits of LSD being taken to induce fear
and some scene chewing relationship issues between Warren and Isabel. Speaking
of bad marriages someone scares Ollie’s wife to death, literally! When he
brings her to Warrant to check out he discovers an actual creature, the Tingler,
on her spine. Most people are able to scream, which stuns the creature, but remember
the wife was a deaf mute. Removed from her body the tingler is indestructible
and ready to kill! Fun times ensue.
Be warned spoilers follow. This is a very silly
movie that has several logic loopholes. When you watch the Tingler you need to
suspend your disbelief and enjoy the ride. Sure, there is no way that Ollie
could be all those places at once to scare his wife to death. Enjoy the cheesy
effects of the thrown axe and goofy mask as well as the cool bit with the arm
rising out of the blood in the bathtub. Also, it is strange how Isabel takes a
hike never to be seen again after she fails to kill Warren with the Tingler.
The entire subplot of Isabel, the money she inherited, and how poorly she is
treating her younger sister Lucy is all dropped unceremoniously. It feels like
they filled a few minutes with it and then were done.
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Goofy? Sure. Entertaining? Heck Yeah! |
This movie
is meant to be enjoyed in all of its cheesy goodness. The gag where the Tingler
breaks into the theater and Price speaks to the audience is goofy but fun. The
look of the creature itself with the visible wires pulling it across the screen
only adds to the entertainment. While the movie has a logic of its own there is
still the out of left field twist ending that isn’t established by anything
else but is entertaining. If this isn’t enough to make you watch the movie then
do so for Price. There is a bit where he drops some LSD and stumbles around the
room screaming about the walls closing in that is a blast. Price was the kind
of actor that made everything he appeared in much better than it should be.
That can be said about the Tingler as well.
I love goofy
movies, and this is a great one. It checks all the necessary boxes including
being fun on repeated viewings. I’ve seen this dozens of times over the years
and it has never disappointed. I recommend giving The Tingler a chance.
© Copyright 2019 John Shatzer
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