This movie scared the crap out of me when I was 11 or 12 - - I saw it on TV, and had many nightmares! Years later, my sister and I went to see it at the Somerville Theatre, and I realized what a real "B" movie it was ..... but even with all its flaws, it's very imaginative for a low-budget flick, and the creepy organ music is perfect.

Definitely one of those that goes in the cult classic B rated horror section (<- my favorite!). Absolutely worth watching and I can see how producers and directors would draw inspiration for future movies from watching this. I would love to find out if this is available on dvd anywhere and if there is any extra footage.

This movie, while pretty slow paced and suffering from a "meh" of a story, has a dark strange atmosphere that pulled me by the tail to keep watching it. It makes you think the film is going to get better, but it really doesn't. The ending will probably leave you pissed off, and it's full of continuity errors, but if that doesn't make a good b-film, I donno what does. If like another review says, Romero got his influence from this, then it was only because he knew he could make a better film. In the world of media and movies, this is called "The Plan 9 Effect." It doesn't mean your story is good, it just means if Plan 9 (the best worst movie ever) was made, why shouldn't yours be made?

The true test of any work of art is if other artists find merit in the subject, and I can assure all of you that this film has. Martin Scorsese has mentioned several times that this film struck a cord with him in terms of atmosphere, mood and story tempo. Others such as George Romero (if you dont know who he is stop reading this and take a class on cinema appreciation) cite this film specifically as a huge influence and making many of his movies, additionally Stephen King, ect. a great film.

This is a B MOVIE cult classic. That means it was made with a very low budget. Modern horror fans (i.e. people who love to watch other people get tortured) may not appreciate this, because it doesn't have anyone getting their face ripped off or something equally as gruesome. I suppose it is difficult to realize with little to no imagination, but there is art in minimalism. p.s. i am a "modern horror" fan..to some extent. However, I don't appreciate the predictable release of a new torture orgy every halloween. It's insulting.

This movie would clearly have been a candidate for the Mystery Science 3000 treatment. I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t do a show with this one. It is a really cheesy movie.

This movie would only be scary to a 9 year old, so modern horror fans just save your time. Ambitious director who knew how to use a camera but the low budget doomed this movie to be only of interest to insomniacs and movie buffs. There are all sorts of continuity and editing problems, the sound is mostly dubbed in a studio, and the suspense is dragged out simply to keep drive-in patrons of 1962 eating more popcorn (and giving dates more time to pet). Roger Corman would have had the leading lady undress more, and put an up tick in her sexual frustration.
Again, it is interesting only if you can figure out what he director was trying to achieve, or if you are young enough to still believe in ghosts/the soul/nightmares are real/campfire stories.
Did this movie inspire "Final Destination"?