10 MORE Great Horror Movies (Nobody Ever Talks About)

In The Tingler, a doctor (Vincent Price) discovers every human being has a parasite tethered to their spinal cord. Although the creature grows in size when the host is scared, it's weakened if it hears a scream. Evolution has compelled humans to cry out when they're afraid, preventing tinglers from breaking free. So, when one of these tinglers gets released from its host, all hell breaks loose.

To sell the movie, director, William Castle encouraged movie theatres to have vibration devices under the seats that shocked viewers, compelling them to scream. Castle also hired actors to go the cinema and scream at specific intervals while watching the movie, to encourage the rest of the audience to join in.

Even though this is creative idea to advertise a movie, it doesn't work while watching The Tingler at home! As a result, the film lost its appeal when it left the theatres.

This is a shame since The Tingler is a genuinely solid thriller, even without its imaginative gimmick. As always, Price grounds the preposterous premise in reality with his sincere performance. The tingler's design may be simple, but it's still unnerving to look at. If you're a fan of Alien or The Fly, you should check out The Tingler since it's one of the earliest examples of body-horror in film.