Schlockmeister William Castle (1914-1977) has been gone for over a generation now and his name is not well known to many younger horror fans although they are familiar with the recent remakes of HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL and 13 GHOSTS which are modern day gorefests that totally miss the spirit of the originals. Often described as “the poor man’s Hitchcock” (a title he relished), Castle made low budget films of the suspense and horror variety with the occasional comedy thrown in.
Most of his movies were marketed with gimmicks like fright insurance for MACABRE, electrified theater seats for THE TINGLER, and special ghost glasses for 13 GHOSTS. But underneath the gimmicks there was solid if unspectacular direction, some startling imagery, and an element of cheerful sadism that left an impression long after you had left the theater. Looked at today, most of his films remain fun to watch and still have a certain edge. Several have just been released by Sony Pictures as double features on DVD.
1961’s MR SARDONICUS is my favorite of Castle’s movies for a number of reasons. First and foremost is the film’s black and white Gothic setting which recalls the Universal films of the 1930s and the aforementioned sadistic elements that recall the Hammer films of the same time period (Guy Rolfe, who plays the title character, was in THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY the year before). Then there are the various film references from Paul Leni’s THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1928) to Georges Franju’s EYES WITHOUT A FACE (1959) and Mario Bava’s BLACK SUNDAY (1960).
This film in turn heavily influenced Vincent Price’s character in THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES (1971). Finally there is the appearance of William Castle himself to conduct the “Punishment Poll” as to the fate of the central character. Priceless. Is it a great movie? No, but this story of a hideously disfigured man and the attempts to correct that disfigurement does entertain and it still delivers the goods. Disposable entertainment that turns out not to be so disposable after all.
The Capsule Critic 