Film Forum
209 West Houston St.
August 27 – September 6
212-727-8110
www.filmforum.org
Maverick film director and producer William Castle titled his 1976 memoir STEP RIGHT UP! . . . I’M GONNA SCARE THE PANTS OFF AMERICA. And for some thirty-plus years, that’s exactly what he did. The guru of film gimmicks, who died in 1977 just as Sensurround was taking hold, was the mastermind behind such tantalizing tales as THE TINGLER, filmed in Percepto; HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, made in Emergo; HOMICIDAL, which came complete with a Fright Break; MR. SARDONICUS, which had a climactic Punishment Poll; MACABRE, which offered Fright Insurance; STRAIT-JACKET, in which the audience was given toy axes; and THIRTEEN GHOSTS, shown in “bloodcurdling” Illusion-O. All of those films and more are part of Film Forum’s ten-day retrospective, totaling fifteen works in all, starring the likes of Joan Crawford, J. Carrol Naish, Kim Hunter, Martin Milner, Barbara Stanwyck, and, of course, the great Vincent Price. Castle was quite the character himself, introducing many of his films and warning the audience about the frightening experiences they were about to encounter; as he says in the above trailer for THE TINGLER, “Remember this: A scream at the right time may save your life.” Castle’s daughter Terry will be at Film Forum to introduce the 8:10 screening of HOMICIDAL on Friday and the 10:00 showings for STRAIT-JACKET Saturday and Sunday.