I was bored and wanted to watch something B&W, so I decided to turn to William Castle, king of gimmickry in cinema. The man responsible for The Tingler where he shocked people with electrified seats, House on Haunted Hill where he swung around skeletons on clotheslines, and the film I watched tonight, 13 Ghosts, where depending on your belief in ghosts, you either see them, or you don't. He did this by using 3D-esque red/blue lenses in the theaters.
Quite brilliant I'd say. He would turn the screen completely blue with the ghosts being red, so if you looked in the blue lens, you would see indistinct moving. But if you looked through the red lens you could see the action on film.
If the film had not had this gimmick, it'd be your average 60s horror flick, but the gimmick worked flawlessly, for a film in 1960, I'm damn impressed. Like I said the film itself isn't that great, it's about a family inheriting the house full of ghosts, with a bit of a mystery of who all 13 ghosts are.
It was a fun ride. I enjoyed the remake because it was a gore-filled roller-coaster. I think I like the original better. It has your typical 60s acting, but still, I thought the gimmick really made the film work.
I can only imagine what viewers thought 50 years ago. Fun film if you like old stuff like House of Wax, House on Haunted Hill, and The Haunted (all originals, not the remakes).
8/10.
