In the 1950s and 1960s , horror movies were making studios huge profits on shoestring budgets . But after the market hit repulsion overload , directors and studio had to be extra creative to get people to constellate to theaters . That ’s when a flood of different thingmajig were introduce at movie theaters across the country to make a celluloid stand out from the crowd . From hypnotists to life insurance insurance policy and barren vomit bags , here ’s a brief account of some of the most memorable horror picture doodad .
1. PSYCHO-RAMA //MY WORLD DIES SCREAMING(1958)
so as to truly become a classic , a horror motion picture ca n’t just work on the airfoil ; it has to get deep inside of your drumhead . That ’s whatPsycho - Ramatried to achieve when it was first gestate forMy World Dies Screaming , late renamedTerror in the Haunted House . Psycho - Rama introduced audiences to subliminal mental imagery so as to let the scares sink in more than any traditional film could .
Skulls , snakes , ghoulish faces , and the Holy Scripture " Death " would all seem onscreen for a fraction of a 2d — not long enough for an audience member to consciously notice it , but it was enough to get them uneasy . manifestly Psycho - Rama did n’t really catch on with the public or the film diligence , but horror film director , like William Friedkin inThe Exorcist , have since gone on to utilize this nimble imagery proficiency to enhance their own movie .
2. FRIGHT INSURANCE //MACABRE(1958)
Director William Castle did n’t make a name for himself in the film industry by aim cinematic classic ; instead , he rely on stupor and shlock to assist fill movie theater seats . His pic were full of what audiences craved at the clip : horror , gore , terror , suspense , and a heaping helping of refugee camp . But his dead on target genius came from marketing — and the twist he brought to every film , which have since become legendary among horrorphiles .
His most renowned stunt was thelife insurance policyhe purchased for every member of an audience that paid to seeMacabre . This was a real policy back byLloyd ’s of London , so if you died of fright in your prat , your fellowship would receive $ 1000 . Now who would n’t want to roll the die on that type of slew ? Of of course , the insurance did n’t cover anyone with a preexisting aesculapian condition or an interview member who committed suicide during the showing . Lloyd ’s had to suck up the argument somewhere , right ?
3. HYPNO-VISTA //HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM(1959)
How do you make your routine repulsion motion picture stand out from the crowd ? Hypnotize your audience , of course . Thus Hypno - Vista was born . For this gimmick , James Nicholson , chairman of American International Pictures , suggested that a lecture by a mesmerizer , Dr. Emile Franchel , should precedeHorrors of the Black Museum , which had a plot sharpen on a hypnotizing Orcinus orca .
For 13 minute of arc , Dr. Franchel speak to the audience about the science behind hypnotism , before attempting to hypnotize them himself in society to feel more immersed in the story . now it comes off as overlong and dry , but it was a gimmick that have citizenry into theaters back in 1959 . Plus , author Herman Cohen tell that eventually the lecture had to be dispatch whenever the movie re - air on television receiver because it did , in fact , hypnotizesome people .
4. NO LATE ADMISSION //PSYCHO(1960)
Though this is n’t the most gimmickiest of gimmicks , Alfred Hitchcock ’s insistence that no audience member be admitted intoPsychoonce the movie started mystify a lot of publicity at the time . The Master of Suspense ’s reasoning is less about drumming up publicity and more about audience satisfaction , though . Because Janet Leigh gets killed so early into the movie , he did n’t want people to overleap her part and experience misled by the movie ’s marketing .
This publicity tactic was n’t completely novel , though , as the innovative French horror movieLes Diaboliques(1955 ) had a standardized insurance policy in position . This was at a time when multitude would just stroll into film screenings whenever they wanted , so to see a manager — especially one so masterful at the art of promotion — who was adamant about show up on fourth dimension was a great direction to offend some pastime .
5. FRIGHT BREAK //HOMICIDAL(1961)
Another classic William Castle gimmick was the " fright break " he offer to audience members during his 1961 movie , Homicidal . Here , a timer would appear on the screen just as the film was hurtling toward its macabre orgasm . terrified consultation members had 45 seconds to leave the theater and still get a full refund on their just the ticket . There was a collar , though .
Frightened audience memberswho decided to take the well-fixed way out were shamed into the " Sir Noel Pierce Coward ’s corner , " which was a jaundiced composition board booth manage by some poor sap field of operations employee . Then , they were impel to sign a theme reading " I ’m a bona - fide Sir Noel Pierce Coward , " before go their money back . Obviously , at the jeopardy of such humiliation , most citizenry decided to just grit their teeth and go through the repugnance on the screen instead .
6. THE PUNISHMENT POLL //MR. SARDONICUS(1961)
The most interactional of William Castle ’s schlocky repugnance gimmicks put the destiny of the cinema itself into the hired man of the audience . dub the " penalization crown , " Castle devised a elbow room to let viewers vote on the destiny of the character in the movieMr . Sardonicus . Upon introduce the theater , people were given a notice with a video of a pollex on it that would radiate when a special Christ Within was site on it . " Thumbs up " meant that Mr. Sardonicus would be given mercy , and " thumbs down " signify … well , you get the musical theme .
obviously audience never gave ol' Sardonicus the thumbs up , despite Castle ’s claims that the happy ending was filmed and ready to go . However , no alternative ending has ever surfaced , provide many to doubthis title . Chances are , there was only one way out for Mr. Sardonicus .
7. FREE VOMIT BAGS //MARK OF THE DEVIL(1970)
Horror fans are mostly masochists at warmheartedness . They do n’t want to be entertained — they desire to be terrorise . So when the folks behind 1970’sMark of the Devilgave outfree vomit bagsto the audience due to the film ’s fantastical nature , how could any ego - respecting horror fan not be intrigued ? It was n’t just the bag that the studio was advertising ; it also exact the pic was rated V , for vehemence — and maybe some vomit ?
8. DUO-VISION //WICKED, WICKED(1973)
Duo - Vision was hyped as the new storytelling technique in picture palace — bid two time the holy terror for the price of one tag . Of naturally Duo - Vision is just fancy merchandising lingo for split - blind , meaning audiences see a movie from two totally unlike perspectives side - by - side . In the 1973 repulsion filmWicked , Wicked , that meant determine the movie from the points of eyeshot of both the slayer and his victim .
Seems like a sodding construct for the horror music genre , right ? Well , Duo - Vision was n’t just employed during the movie ’s most awful moments ; it was used for the movie ’s entire 95 - minute runtime . The technique had been used sparingly in other pic — most notably in Brian De Palma ’s much good filmSisters(1973)—but it had never been implement to this extent . A picayune mo of Duo - Vision apparently goes a long way , because it fell out of favor presently after .
