"Ollie" was my favorite person in this movie. What a strange dude! He was full of surprises, including reactions to things, comments he makes and, of course, deeds he commits.

Yeah, Vincent Price proves again what a fine actor we was, and is the star of the film, but I really enjoyed Philip Coolidge's (Ollie) performance. As for Price, watching this other day made me scratch my head and wonder how such a good actor could play in so many cheesy films?

Whatever, those two along with Patricia Cutts (the tramp wife),Judith Evelyn (Ollie's deaf-mute wife),Darryl Hickman and Pamela Lincoln all did a pretty nice job, although Price's acting talents stand out among the cast.

It also would have fun to see this in the theater 50 years ago when they rigged the seats to tingle during certain scenes! That really happened! Director William Castle really tried everything to get the audience. He even stopped the film and asked the audience to scream! It must have been hilarious. You have to give it to the man for his effort to promote his "horror" films.

The movie begins slowly so one has to have patience with this story. Once it kicks in though, it's very good with some shocking scenes (including a color scene or two) and some interesting twists. However, to be fair, there are a lot of holes in this story and really, really corny things......but that's part of the fun. It's like Ed Wood films - so bad, you have to laugh.

The DVD looks good. This is a nice transfer, which is important with all the lights and shadows. You can see some alternate scenes, too, which are interesting.

Directed and hyped by William Castle. Proof he is a master. Vincent Price is a pathologist that discovers that, when in a state of extreme fear, an organism grows along a person's spine enlarging up to the neck. The only thing that will stop the growth is the sound of screaming.

Along with Price are Darryl Hickman and Pamela Lincoln. This is a real gimmicky film, but still effective. Well acted by Price, one of his very best. Still creepy after all these years.

This isn't a particularly deep film, but what can you expect from William Castle--the king of schlock and showmanship in films!? Vincent Price stars as a scientist who is investigating how fear kills its victims. He discovers that there is a creature that lives inside us that wraps around our spine and kills us if we allow ourselves to be afraid...and he actually manages to capture one! Well, given that there is a live "tingler" about, you can guess where William Castle goes--the creature gets loose and supposedly is running amok in the theater and will kill anyone who gives in to their fear! Well, despite this cheesy gimmick, this is a very good horror film well worth watching. While many will no doubt think the film is too cheesy to enjoy, I think that it is a perfect example of a high quality cheesy 1950s horror film--just tons of fun despite it being a pretty silly film. An excellent tribute to this style film is the cute film Matinée--give it a look.

By the way, if you want to see the best Castle film, see STRAIGHT- JACKET--a far from subtle film you've just got to see!