theatergoers a fake $1,000
insurance policy in case they died of fright during the film, Castle made 10
features that all employed some kind of crazy stunt, like a skeleton flying
above the heads of the audience during "House on Haunted Hill" (1959) or special
glasses handed out so that you could see the ghosts in 1960's "13 Ghosts." Eight of Castle's features (minus one of my
personal favorites, "House on Haunted Hill," and "I Saw What You Did") have been
compiled in an excellent five-disc set/tribute called "The William Castle
Collection."
Each film is wonderfully restored and accompanied by mini-docs, trailers and
other memorabilia, while the bonus disc includes "Spine Tingler! The William
Castle Story," an overview of this fabled filmmaker's life and career. None of
the films is especially great -- Castle would produce his horror masterpiece,
"Rosemary's Baby," in 1968 -- but they're all enjoyable schlock
and a throwback to a somewhat more innocent era of filmmaking. There's also no
question that Castle's wild gimmicks and publicity campaigns were forerunners of
the modern era of "event" movies and viral marketing (he would probably have
either thought of or loved the marketing of "Paranormal Activity"). For me, "The
Tingler" brings back some iconic horror imagery that I recall seeing in the
pages of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine as a kid, while "Strait-Jacket"
centers on an over-the-top latter-era performance from Joan Crawford. But for fans of horror history, you
can't go wrong with any aspect of this collection. Happy Halloween, everyone!
('13 Ghosts'/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Send us your thoughts on all things sci-fi, horror, etc. Write us at
heymsn@microsoft.com
Don Kaye covers films, TV and entertainment for MSN.com.
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