Dr. Warren Chapin (Price) is a pathologist. Finishing up the autopsy of a recently executed inmate shows the man's spine was cracked in several places, an injury that ordinary electrical current can't account for. The man's brother-in-law, Ollie Higgins (Phillip Coolidge) meets with Dr. Chapin and the pair strike up a conversation about the meaning of fear, especially that odd tingle you get down the center of your back.
Driving him into the city, Chapin is introduced to Ollie's wife, Martha (Judith Evelyn). The Higgins run a small movie theater, specializing in silent films. Martha is a deaf-mute, plus she has an intense phobia regarding germs and blood.
The latter is reinforced when Chapin cuts himself in their apartment. The woman has what could politely be called a seizure and collapses. The sight gives more fuel to Chapin's theory and he rushes home to his private lab.
Chapin lives with his wife Isabel (Patricia Cutts) and her younger sister Lucy (Pamela Lincoln). Lucy is living with them mostly because Isabel controls her father's estate with an iron fist and is also threatening to disown her if she continues seeing Chapin's assistant David Morris (Daryl Hickman).
The Chapins are not a happy couple, with Isabel more or less open about her cheating on Warren. Warren takes it in stride, however, and also uses her to prove his theory. When David and Lucy are out, Warren confronts his wife, also hinting she may have poisoned her father. Informing her that unless she stops meddling with her sister's life she is going to commit suicide. Yes, suicide...after all, Warren knows all the tricks of the trade.
She thinks he's bluffing, at least until he pulls out the gun. She leaves, but faints when he fires. The gun was loaded with blanks of course, but the fear and lack of scream needed to be real. Rushing her over to his x-ray machine, he focuses on her back. The next day, Warren and David marvel at the results.
There is something there, alright, and it looks like a worm with legs resting on the spine. The implications are staggering, but David has something else his boss might be interested in: Lysergic Acid. In the interest of science, and to induce as much fear as he can, Warren injects himself with the substance and has what I believe is the first LSD trip ever presented on film.
The effects are noted, but what about the Higgins? Martha has been a near wreck since her attack, and Ollie asks for help. Warren injects her with...something, and the pair go home. Martha then sees red, literally, as the sink and bath both fill up with blood. Bright red blood at that. She finally drops dead at the sight of the blood covered arm rising out of the tub.
Did Chapin inject with something to kill her, or was it all Ollie? We see Ollie packing up several props Martha saw before she died...so who's to say? Regardless, Chapin now has the perfect volunteer. Whisking Martha back to his lab, he performs a quick surgery...and pulls out a Tingler.
The animal is even more impressive in person, at least until it moves. The scientists barely manage to get the thing under lock and key, but Isabel sees the perfect instrument for revenge. One drugged drink and an open lock later, and the Tingler is loose. Only the screams of Lucy manage to stun the creature, which is good as nothing else can harm it.
From there things get worse, as the Tingler only grows more and more stronger every minute it's free from its host. What can people do with it finally breaks free?
Fun and wonderfully dark in spots. The sequence where Martha sees the bloody sink is nothing short of genius, every actor hits their marks perfectly. Price is the standout, as usual, with his Dr. Chapin being the sardonic scientist trying to prove his theories. The gimmick Castle used, namely joy buzzers in the theater seats, was a cute idea. You probably wouldn't see anything like that today, but Castle was just in his own class.
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