William Castle Blu-rays Coming From Scream Factory
Today Shout! Factory’s horror sub-label, Scream Factory, announced that they will release two of William Castle’s cult classics, THE TINGLER (1959) with Vincent Price and STRAIT-JACKET (1964) with Joan Crawford, on August 21st. Extras will be announced on a later date.
Here are the brief synopsises from the Shout! Factory website:
The Tingler (1959)
Look out for the Tingler!
Vincent Price stars as an obsessed doctor who discovers that fear manifests itself as a parasitic creature, which grows on the spinal cords of terrified people. If they scream, the Tingler can be destroyed. If they don’t, it will sever the spinal column and kill them. He successfully isolates and removes the Tingler from a deaf mute (Judith Evelyn) who has been scared to death by her devious husband. Once captured, the Tingler escapes and runs amok in a crowded movie theater. Terror is loose, but can it be stopped?
The Tingler is legendary horror director William Castle’s magnum opus. After the success of House On Haunted Hill, Castle devised a new gimmick called “Percepto.” Participating theaters would wire seats so that random moviegoers would get a tangible electric shock during climactic moments in the film. Another novelty used to maximum effect is the short color sequence depicting blood pouring from a faucet and filling a bathtub. Castle went on to direct more cult classics like Homicidal and 13 Ghosts and later produced the mainstream hit Rosemary’s Baby.
Straight-Jacket (1964)
It may seem like paradise, but just off shore a new brand of terror has been unleashed …
Film legend Joan Crawford gives a terrific performance in this chiller from pioneer horror movie producer William Castle.
Crawford plays Lucy Harbin, a woman who goes berserk when she finds her husband in bed with another woman. With her three-year-old daughter accidentally witnessing the grisly act, Lucy axes the couple to death. She spends twenty years in a mental institution for the double murder.
After she is released, she moves in with her brother (Leif Erickson), his wife and her own daughter (Diane Baker), now twenty-three. Her nightmare is over … or is it? When a spate of ax murders start occurring suddenly in the neighborhood, police think Lucy has reverted to her old ways. The truth is finally revealed in a rousing, blood-chilling finale.
