This enjoyable tongue in-cheek horror movie sees horror legend Vincent Price perfectly cast as Dr. Warren Chapin, who discovers the overgrown insect-like Tingler of the title. The 'entity' itself is a manifestation of the fear felt by terrified people, which then grows on the spinal column. The Tingler can be subdued and captured if the victim screams, without a scream the Tingler will kill by severing the spinal column. After the doctor manages to capture the Tingler from a deaf-mute woman, panic ensues when the terror escapes and terrorises a cinema audience.
Although filmed in black and white, the movie does feature a 'colour' passage, with the bright-red blood scene set against a monochrome background being an effective spectacle. The performances are good, with Price as excellent as ever in his role as the meddling doctor, a familiar performance, embuing his character with an impressive blend of menace and dark humour, a character whose private life is beset with the problems posed by an unfaithful wife. Directed by William Castle, and following the earlier success of Castle's "House On Haunted Hill", the movie is a winning combination of sly humour and fun twists, and is cheerful horror hokum, a cult 50's horror flick with an original story and novelty shock effects. As with many Vincent Price movies I find it hard to contemplate awarding anything less than 5 stars.
The picture quality on this region 1, digitally remastered 1.85.1 widescreen release is good (along with the sound).
The special features are:
*Production notes.
*'Scream For Your Lives!' featurette.
*William Castle's drive-in 'Scream!' scene.
*Original 'scream' scene.
*Theatrical trailers.
*Talent files.
*Languages: English (mono), Spanish (mono).
*Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai.