Spiders have been found living inside of multiple people. One woman reported hearing a scratching noise in her left ear and finally went in to see the doctor when her pain became unbearable. A spider was discovered building a home in her ear canal. After several attempts it was finally removed by being sedated. In 2014, a spider entered a man’s stomach through an appendectomy incision. It traveled all the way up to his chest, inside of him, before it was removed by doctors. Another woman reported feeling a crawling sensation inside of her head. Doctors discovered a live cockroach in her skull which had entered through her nose. It was removed but doctors said it “didn’t want to come out.”
These examples are true horror, but what about perceived danger? William Castle, the director of The Tingler, used a gimmick called “Percepto,” a vibrating device in some theater chairs which activated during the climax of the film. Before the movie began, he appeared with a message:
I am William Castle, the director of the motion picture you are about to see. I feel obligated to warn you that some of the sensations—some of the physical reactions which the actors on the screen will feel—will also be experienced, for the first time in motion picture history, by certain members of this audience. I say “certain members” because some people are more sensitive to these mysterious electronic impulses than others. These unfortunate, sensitive people will at times feel a strange, tingling sensation; other people will feel it less strongly. But don’t be alarmed—you can protect yourself. At any time, you are conscious of a tingling sensation, you may obtain immediate relief by screaming. Don’t be embarrassed about opening your mouth and letting rip with all you’ve got, because the person in the seat right next to you will probably be screaming too. And remember—a scream at the right time may save your life.
As the tingler was tormenting actors on the screen in the movie theater an announcement would play saying that the tingler was “loose in this theatre!”7 Chairs would vibrate and hired screamers and fainters, who were planted in certain audiences, would be carried out on stretchers.
Are there more recent gimmicks that horror movie producers have used to scare patrons? There may not be instances of tactics as elaborate as those employed by William Castle, but several companies have used unique ways to market their horror movies. When the remake for the classic horror film Carrie came out in 2013, the marketing department focused on the psychic abilities of the title character. Using actors and a special effects team, they created a fake telekinetic event in a New York City coffee shop. Patrons saw a stunt man “levitate” and witnessed “spontaneous” movement of tables, chairs, pictures, and books. To promote Devil’s Due in 2014, an animatronic “devil baby” hit the streets of New York City to get reactions. The video of people’s reactions received more than fifty-four million views on YouTube. Regardless of how horror movies are promoted, it’s the movies themselves that leave a lasting impression on us. The science of fear may not be revealed to be a centipede-like tingler on our backs, but the feeling is real. The next time you feel that terror watching a horror movie, don’t be afraid to scream!
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
GET OUT
Year of Release: 2017
Director: Jordan Peele
Writer: Jordan Peele
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams
Budget: $4.5 million
Box Office: $255.4 million
Every so often a horror movie comes along that immediately leaves a profound and changing impact on Hollywood. In February 2017, Get Out was released to both critical praise and box-office success. Written and directed by Jordan Peele, who was best known as a comedian, Get Out snagged four Academy Award nominations. This is a lofty feat for a horror film. Peele went on to be the first African American in history to win Best Original Screenplay. The film’s cultural impact looms large, as it is an exploration of race and class tied up in a scary, and often humorous, bow. Peter Debruge of Variety described Get Out’s complicated appeaclass="underline"
The film’s subversive POV challenges the place of white privilege from which most pop culture is conceived. By revealing how the ruling majority gives freedoms, but they can also take them away, Peele seizes upon more than just a terrifying horror-movie premise; he exposes a reality in which African-Americans can never breathe easy.1
The plot centers on Chris Washington (Daniel Kalyuua) an African American photographer who is visiting his Caucasian girlfriend’s Rose Armitage (Allison Williams) parents for the first time. Right away, the subtext of a mixed-race relationship is discussed. Peele showcases the inherent prejudices Chris routinely deals with, and how this makes for a more stressful meeting. Rose’s parents (Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener) assure Chris that they are of the modern era, they have no issue with their daughter dating a man of color. While their words are reassuring, there is an obvious schism between what they say and how they act. These subtleties, a familiar obstacle for minorities, is depicted through the lens of a horror movie in order to highlight these realities for those, as Peter Debruge described, as having “white privilege.” Chris comes to learn that the suburban neighborhood he has found himself in, seemingly pleasant and perfect, is a dangerous place. The older, rich denizens are stealing the bodies of African Americans to implant their minds and consciousnesses within, a sort of body transfer so that they can live longer. Why? Because missing people of color aren’t searched for with the same vigor as white people, Peele argues.
While the theme of race is at the center of Get Out, there are exceptionally disturbing horror sequences that, even without subtext, are inarguably memorable. For instance, when the truth of Rose is revealed, that she is a cold-blooded sociopath who collects unsuspecting men with her beauty, and when Chris wakes to the video, fully explaining the medical procedure that is going to send him to the “sunken place.” This sunken place is where Chris will live out his life, a sort of diminished part of him who must watch as the person who has taken over his body controls every aspect. This concept is shown visually as Chris floating in a sort of space, or void, unable to control his actions yet able to see through his eyes.
Thankfully, Chris fights his captors to “get out” as the title urges. He avoids becoming like the victims before him, escaping his fate of living in the sunken place. His first experience of the sunken place is brought on as Missy Armitage, Rose’s mother, utilizes her knowledge of hypnosis to discern how susceptible Chris would be to mind control. She aptly clinks a spoon against the side of a teacup, creating a hypnotic rhythm that sends Chris floating.
How effective is hypnosis, and could it really be used on unsuspecting victims? Hypnosis is defined as a:
Special psychological state with certain physiological attributes, resembling sleep only superficially and marked by a functioning of the individual at a level of awareness other than the ordinary conscious state. This state is characterized by a degree of increased receptiveness and responsiveness in which inner experiential perceptions are given as much significance as is generally given only to external reality.2