Macabre (1958)

I’m a huge William Castle fan. The man made some of my favorite horror movies of the fifties and sixties. Sure, they are cheesy, but that is part of the fun. In all the years that I’ve been watching and enjoying his movies I’ve never seen Macabre. This is his first foray into what would become his signature gimmicky independent movies so it was about time for me to correct this omission.

The movie opens with the sheriff, played by Jim “Thurston Howell” Backus, talking to the local undertaker. He is complaining that a child’s coffin was stolen from his showroom. While this is going on the town doctor, Rodney, pulls up across the street. There is bad blood between the sheriff and the doctor. They were both in love with the same woman, but she chose the doctor, and died while giving birth to their first child. The sheriff as well as many of the locals blame him for her death as he was off having drinks with another woman instead of taking care of his wife.

This is important because when Rodney arrives home from work he finds that his daughter, Marge, is missing. While out looking for her the phone rings at his house telling the woman who picks it up that she has been buried alive and has four or five hours of air. With this news Rodney swears them to secrecy and goes looking for her based on the clues the caller gave. Why not call the cops? We already know that the sheriff hates him, especially after seeing the flashbacks that explain the animosity. The doctor wasn’t a very nice man. The rest of the movie is the search for the missing girl as well as trying to figure out who took her and why.

I kept my plot synopsis vague leaving out some details because this is a decent movie that I don’t want to spoil. That is doubly important because unlike his later efforts this Macabre isn’t a horror movie as much as it is a mystery. This leans heavily into the who done it and why plotline as they race to find the girl. Figuring that out might help them find Marge in time. That said we do get a lot of entertaining scenes of them creeping around a spooky cemetery in the middle of the night. This leads to a couple of gags that I won’t spoil but are clearly reused later in House on Haunted Hill. I found the story fun and the big reveal at the end a bit melodramatic but satisfying. When everything is explained it all makes sense, including some things about the story that had bugged me while watching it. Can’t say much more than that without spoilers.

The pacing is solid as well as the direction. Castle had worked for many years doing “B” pictures for the studios and television programs. By the time he set off on his own he knew how to make a lean flick that got right to the good stuff. Macabre is no different. He also cast some great actors in this one including the previously mentioned Jim Backus who even before his turn on Gilligan’s Island wasn’t really known as a heavy. Here he plays a bit of a bad guy. Another face that fans of seventies television will recognize is Ellen Corby who was Grandma on the Waltons. She did a lot of work in old Hollywood and was an excellent go to for a supporting role.

I really liked this movie. Though unlike his horror flicks I’m not sure how much I’ll re-watch Macabre. Being a mystery once you know what is coming a lot of the fun is taken out of it. That said the first watch is a blast and you get the bonus of seeing some early gags from Castle. Plus, I’m a completist and needed to see it. I recommend this one to both Castle fans as well as fans of mysteries.

 

© Copyright 2021 John Shatzer

The Tingler (1959)

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.

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

House on Haunted Hill (1959)

I have certain movies that I consider keystones to my love of horror movies. They are linchpins from my past that have made me the nerd that I am today. Without these I wouldn’t be blogging or writing for the magazines. House on Haunted Hill is one of these movies that I’ve been watching on and off for the last thirty years. Clearly, I love it and now I need to try and make you love it too. Unless you already do then consider yourself a recipient of a virtual high five!

Vincent Price portrays a rich man named Frederick Loren who has invited some strangers to a party at a haunted house. They are to be locked in at midnight and if they survive until the morning each person will receive ten thousand dollars. It will be just himself, the guests and his wife once the doors are locked. There is a subplot with Frederick and his wife, Annabelle, where she has tried to kill him at least once before. She wants to be rid of him but not his money. On the other hand, it is implied that Frederick has done away with a couple of wives already.

After some scares, the doors are locked early trapping them in the house before they can decide to leave or stay. As the night goes on Annabelle is killed and suspicion of her murder falls directly onto her husband. One of the other guests, a young woman named Nora, is seemingly being tortured by the house. A head shows up in her luggage, a creepy old woman keeps sliding in and out of the room she is in, and random hands grab at her. Is it the house trying to drive her mad or is something else going on? Well I’m not going to tell you!

I’m a sucker for anything Vincent Price and here he is given something to sink his teeth into. He gets to play both kind and evil. When Nora is upset and can’t leave Frederick does seem to feel badly for her. And when Annabelle is killed he seems upset about her death. Though that could all be an act by the character as earlier he is threatening towards her when she refuses to attend his party by staying in their room. He gets a bit physical with her until she changes her mind. Basically, some spousal abuse by a rich white guy… Things were way different in the ‘50s.

Elisha Cook Jr. life of the party!

I also love the atmosphere of House on Haunted Hill. Much of this comes from the direction of William Castle. He isn’t trying to make things too “artsy” but does hit the audience with a good scare every few minutes or at least what would be a good scare for an audience in the ‘50s. And it is clear that he was thinking of the gimmick he would use to sell the picture while shooting it. Here we get a scene that is clearly there for an extended period of time for him to have a skeleton zoom across the theater to scare the audience. I like this sort of showmanship and hate the fact I missed out on it. Someone needs to do a revival showing of this and the Tingler in a theater with all the gimmicks in place!

There are many other things to like about House on Haunted Hill. Elisha Cook Jr. has some great monologues that set the mood of doom and gloom. One of my favorites is, “Six hours six of us. Time enough…”. The music is creepy and old school with an organ playing a big part of the finale. Hell, the skeleton gets billing in the credits! God, I love this movie! It is easy to find since it is in the public domain. Go watch it now you have no excuse. Heck instead of a trailer I'm linking to the movie above. Happy Halloween!

© Copyright 2017 John Shatzer