Elements of Cinema - The Tingler

1959, dir William Castle w/Vincent Price, Judith Evelyn, Darryl Hickman, 82 min, 35mm 

The Coolidge’s master of midnight mayhem, Mark Anastasio, joins us for this special Halloween edition of Elements of Cinema with this ‘shocking’ Vincent Price classic. In THE TINGLER, Price plays a scientist studying the existence of ‘the tingler’ – a super-creepy insect-looking parasite that attaches itself to our spines and, in moments of fear, causes us to convulse and, potentially, die. We’ll discuss the showmanship of classic horror cinema – perfectly encapsulated by producer/director William Castle’s gimmick for THE TINGLER in which the cinema seats were wired to zap the audience at key moments in the film.