Viy -- 5.5/10; The final act is truly inspired, but it takes too long to get there. The recent remake improved both the pacing and the narrative. History and tradition be damned.

Mr. Sardonicus -- 9/10; Although the story is rather obvious, the acting is nearly impeccable all around, and Castle's directorial flair fails only when he injects himself into the movie by way of the poll gimmick. The foggy graveyard scene alone makes this worth at least one viewing.

The Devil Commands (1941)



This is a gem of a b-movie with a great performance from Boris Karloff and a lot of interesting visuals. Edward Dmytryk sets the mood perfectly with the opening shot of a creepy house during a thunder storm. The film is narrated by Amanda Duff who plays Karloff's daughter. Karloff plays a scientist who invents a machine that records human brain waves. After his wife is killed he discovers her brain waves are still being recorded and becomes obsessed with making contact with the dead. He comes under the influence of a shady fortune teller and accidentally injures his servant Karl. When his housekeeper discovers the truth about his experiments she is accidentally killed which attracts the attention of the local sheriff. The film climaxes when an angry mob storms his home during an experiment involving his own daughter.

This is my second favorite Castle film. There's some really brutal stuff in here, and the big "reveal" scene is shocking.

The atmosphere and sense of foreboding created in Sardonicus make it one of my favourite flicks of any era. I think the actual movie is sometimes overlooked because of Castle being known for his gimmicks and the whole 'punishment poll' idea. If you strip away all that though, the actual story is so well crafted and some of the scenes are amongst the best gothic horror has to offer. The atmosphere and sense of foreboding the movie creates are incredible. Absolutely love it!

Conquest (1983) -- 4/10; Thankfully the characters shot highly visible laser arrows because Fulci's fog machine had no "off" button.

Oops, wrong thread. I can't delete it.

Your fave is House, right?

No, that would be this:

Same here. I've a special fondness for this movie cause not only it was my first seen William Castle movie but also it introduced my most favorite horror movie icon for all time- 'Sir Vincent Price' to me! Moreover, some may found it funny but I always thought the idea of the Tingler is quite fascinating.::cool::

Reportedly Castle would keep the Tingler prop chained up in a wooden chest on the set and would only bring it out when it was in a shot. Aside from all the gimmicks in his films he was really a very good director and knew how to pull out the scares when it was the right time.

The House That Screamed -- 5.5/10; Such a frustrating experience was this quaint slasher. Almost everything is perfect: the story, the sets, the acting, the atmosphere, the Psycho influence. But the director unforgivably botches every scare and every kill. Ugh! I wouldn't be surprised if this inspired Lucky McKee's MAY (not to mention THE WOODS).