Rating: 
Summary: Not as much fun without William Castle's "Ghost Viewer"
Review: Once upon a time there was a poor paleontologist named Cyrus Zorba (Charles Herbert) who learns he is heir to a mansion from his uncle Plato. So Cyrus moves his family, wife Hilda (Jo Morrow), son Buck (Donald Woods) and daughter Medea (Rosemary DeCamp), into the new digs. The problem is that Uncle Plato was a student of the occult who invented a nifty little device that captures ghosts. All of this is explained by Elaine, the old housekeeper, who is played by Margaret Hamilton (remember her, my pretties?). But the important thing here is that "13 Ghosts" was produced and directed by the inventive William Castle, which means there has to be a gimmick to get you to watch the movie.For "13 Ghosts" the gimmick was the "Ghost Viewer" which worked with "Illusion-o." This was actually one of Castle's best bits. The movie was shot in black-and-white, but the thirteen ghosts (duh) were tinted in red. The Ghost Viewer had strips of red and blue plastic: watch through the blue, you could see the ghosts really well. If you freaked, you could look through the red "ghost remover" and they would disppear. Of course, on the video tape you can forget about all this. You can always see the ghosts--bodies, body parts and even a lion--although not too clearly. Talk about killing the fun. But then there is the "Bed of Death," so it is not a total loss. I have to think that "13 Ghosts" is one of the few Castle films where they could duplicate the gimmick, so hopefully one day someone will revive Illusion-o and the Ghost Viewer. Until then, this tape is a poor substitute that does not quite make it to camp classic status.
Rating: 
Summary: 13 Ghosts is Scary & Fun
Review: Another chilling low budget horror film from William Castle and Robb White. This one has the penniless Zorba family inheriting a haunted house that contains 12 ghosts. They need a 13th to set them free. This has some interesting casting. Margaret Hamilton, who is best known for playing the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 Wizard of Oz, appears as Elaine, the housekeeper who is also a witch. Very fun movie with real ghosts. It can be scary at times, especially the scene where Sy Zorba is locked in a secret room and sees all the ghosts. The spectre of a butcher with a meat cleaver is frightening. Good family entertainment for a stormy night.
Rating:
Summary: The Original Is Better Then The Remake
Review: This old black and white ghost story was great fun. It reminds me of a MUNSTERS episode lol. Ofcourse it is better if you use the "Ghost Viewer" but still fun even if you do not. The remake was awful, stick to this original William Castle version.
Rating: 
Summary: The Magic of Illusion-O In Your Own Living Room
Review: William Castle was reknowned for showman gimmicks to which he gave cheesy names, such as "Percept-O," "Fright Break," and "Emerg-O." Although some of these effects were pretty silly, some were fairly complicated--and most of them relied upon the communial nature of a theatre audience for effect. Consequently, a contemporary viewer sitting in the comfort of the living room simply doesn't have much opportunity to experience a Castle film as it was originally presented. But there is one exception. The gimmick for Castle's 13 GHOSTS was "Illusion-O," which required the audience to use color filters (available at the box office) similar to 3-D glasses to see the ghosts in the film. Until recently, all available prints of 13 GHOSTS have been shown in simple black and white with the ghosts always visible, but the recent DVD release restores the tint process, and now you too can have the fun of a William Castle film right in your own home. Like most Castle films, the story is very basic. A financially strapped family inherits a house, and unless they actually agree to reside in it the property goes to the state. But the house is also residence to 11 ghosts "collected" by the previous owner, and his death raised the number to 12. Now all of them are out to add another to their number. Who will the victim be? The script, the design, the cinematography, and the story are just as hokey as they can be, but the cast--which includes Margaret Hamilton of "OZ" fame--plays it very straight and even without the Illusion-O process the film is a cult favorite. But Illusion-O puts the icing on top. Periodically, a caption flashes on the screen instructing you to look through the viewer. Look through the red filter, and Poof! There are ghosts galore. Look through the blue filter, and Poof! Ghosts be Gone! Now, strictly speaking, you don't actually have to look through anything to see the ghosts--they are fairly visible without squinting through that little red lense--but it does add a tremendous amount of fun to the whole thing. But don't go planning that ghost-viewing party just yet. The DVD offers a few extras that are fairly mild but enjoyable--but the darned thing only includes ONE viewer and if you want more you have to order them at an unreasonable price and then wait eight to ten weeks for them to arrive, and although you could probably run up a few extra viewers on your own that seems like a lot of trouble. Still, this may be your only chance to see a William Castle film as it was intended to be seen--and Castle fans won't want to miss that. And those prepared to order the extra viewers (or make them) will find 13 GHOSTS lots of campy, silly fun.
Rating:
Summary: A Castle Classic...
Review: Maybe time has dulled the effect this movie had on me when I first saw it some forty years ago, but it still has its moments. William Castle artfully blended scares with laughs in this film and the combination works very well. The movie makes heavy use of sound effects along with some innovative visual effects which all add up to a very foreboding atmosphere...just the kind of atmosphere for ghost hunting! I won't spoil it by detailing the action; I'll let you see it for yourself. Too bad there isn't a ghost viewer packaged with each tape (it wouldn't work with TV, but it would be a great piece of nostalgia!) For those who don't know, the theatre gave each attending patron a ghost viewer. The viewer was made out of two layers of cardboard, decorated with drawings of ghosts, with two cellophane lenses (one blue lens and one red lens) sandwiched in between. One lens would make the ghosts show up really well while the other lens would make them pretty much invisible. During the movie, when the ghost alert was given (you were warned, although I don't remember how, when the ghosts were going to appear so that you could be ready with your ghost viewer), I watched through the lens that hid the ghosts so that I wouldn't have to see those horrid creatures (although once or twice I sneaked a peek through the other lens.) I even took my viewer home and checked out my bedroom before going to sleep...just to be sure, you understand. It would also be nice to see the original before-feature footage of William Castle explaining how to use the ghost viewer. Oh well, memories notwithstanding, this is still a very good movie and one worth watching. I hope you won't be number 13!
Rating:
Summary: Another gem from schlockmeister William Castle
Review: I saw this one at the theater waaaaay back in 1960, and was scared under the seat before the initial credits were done rolling. (Hey, I was FIVE!) I've seen some of today's jaded youth scared by it, too - IF you treat it right and show it in the proper atmosphere. The writer, Robb White, also did Castle's "House on Haunted Hill", and he seems to have a knack for the occasional creepy lines (like those from a pre-"Adam 12" Marty Millner describing the death of the previous owner of the haunted house - no graphic scenes can compete with your imagination, and that's how Castle gets his best effects.) Recommended for all ages, but the more sensitive (read intelligent and imaginative) youngsters *may* have a nightmare. It's GOOD for them! ;-) Margaret Hamilton, the never-to-be-forgotten "Wicked Witch" from "The Wizard of Oz", plays the housekeeper. Poor Margaret - she HATED this movie, and yet - she just couldn't break away from that one role. She keeps her chin up here, but it's obvious her heart's not in it. When this was first released to theaters, the lucky members of the audience were given "Ghost Viewers" - all part of the "ILLUSION-O" marketing campaign William Castle dreamed up to market this Saturday-matinee special. These "viewers" occasionally show up on some on-line auction sites as a reminder of a more innocent time, when a Saturday afternoon at the movies was cheap, fun, and something you'd always remember.
Rating:
Summary: Beware
Review: Movie is a lot of fun with the Illusion-O effect, provided you get the ghost viewer glasses. I ordered a copy from Amazon in May 2004 and it did not contain the ghost viewer glasses. I returned it and they sent me a new one that also didn't contain the glasses. I suggested that their whole batch was bad. They responded that the problem was larger than they thought and they would straighten it out, but couldn't provide me with a copy with the viewers at this time, and would refund my money. I ordered a copy from an outfit in Canada (Tampoo.com) and it contained the glasses. I discovered that the flyer inside contained a panel for ordering more glasses that expired in December, 2002 that was not attached to the flyer that came with the Amazon copies. It appears that Columbia Tristar ran out of the glasses and are knowingly releasing copies of the DVD without them.
Rating:
Summary: The Original Is Better Then The Remake
Review: This old black and white ghost story was great fun. It reminds me of a MUNSTERS episode lol. Ofcourse it is better if you use the "Ghost Viewer" but still fun even if you do not. The remake was awful, stick to this original William Castle version.
Rating: 
Summary: A bit dated.
Review: Some old horror movies are fun--even if they are not what one would call "scary" today. This film, however, emerges as a bit of a bore because it lacks style and suffers from a weak, contrived plot. Moreover, what constituted "horror" in the director's mind in the 1960's is laughable today. This combination of flaws makes watching this film a chore. Rental only.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed....
Review: I've bought two copies of this movie on DVD and each one was missing the ghost viewers. Buyer beware if you buy this DVD....you may get what you pay for or you may not.
|
