sherry-86424 My brother took me to this movie when it first came out and I hated it. I thought that it might have been because I was very young and didn't understand it. I came across it on TV today and watched it again to see if I missed something. I shouldn't have wasted my time. It was just as confusing as I remember it. The plot was hard to keep track of and most of it didn't make much sense. The idea wasn't bad and could make a decent movie if it was rewritten and made be a better group, but in this one the plot jumped around and the characters were not well developed or portrayed and the ending was obvious. It is probably the worst movie I ever saw.

lathe-of-heaven So far, this is the best Castle film that I have seen; I personally think it is quite a bit better, more believable, and way more involving then any of his other films (well, the one with Joan Crawford was pretty dang good!)Also, without giving too much away, the ending caught me completely off guard too. The DVD print is frigg'n AMAZING! I thought it was a Blu-ray it looked so sharp and detailed. At first, the dialog seemed a little clumpy and stiff, but as you get into the story and begin to understand the relationships and history between the characters, it starts to smooth out a little.Another thing that surprised me was the 'adult' nature of some of the story content. Not anything visual; nothing like that, but some of the situations that the characters got into were rather sordid and seedy for 1958 I would think! Probably the weakest point of the film is the acting and to a lesser degree the script; again a bit stiff. But, interestingly as you get more and more into the story and the search for the little girl, you DO indeed get drawn into and become more involved in what is going on.This movie is of course not of the FILM NOIR genre, which ended just about the time this movie came out. But, the dark edge that many of the characters have and some of the shadowy photography reminded me somewhat of the genre. Primarily the flashback sequences and the morally dubious tone of a lot of the people. There are some similarities to films in the latter NOIR period.Anyway, not that I am really an expert on William Castle or anything, but so far amongst his films that I have seen, I feel that this one is far and away the more serious and classier of them. I know that many feel that 'THE TINGLER' and 'HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL' are Classics, but personally I found the acting and dialog in them quite sub-par compared to this one...So, if you are in the mood for an older Suspense / Mystery Thriller with a dark NOIR edge and can put up with a little stiff acting (and NO, I do not mean this is a porn film...) and if you would like to see what a Castle film is like BEFORE he started introducing all the heavy CHEEEEEEEZ, then you should find it quite entertaining...

LobotomousMonk A ticking clock visually accompanies a prologue for Macabre as a warning is announced regarding the possibility of fright that could lead to injury for the film spectators. The clock will reappear at intervals throughout the film and is an object from the diegesis of the film (it hangs over the funeral parlor like a theater marquee). The clock was perhaps Castle's most popular motif throughout his career. Macabre is Castle's first gimmick horror film and his first teaming with screenwriter Robb White. They formed an excellent partnership and brought their A-game to B-films. There is creative framing, good blocking/staging of the characters as well as novel lighting setups which help to create an eerie, yet familiar mood (the familiarity makes it all the more eerie of course). Some reviewers have criticized the use of flashback sequences and at first I was inclined to agree about their superfluousness. I reversed myself when I discovered that Christine White's performance was the bulk of what I remembered from the film. She makes an impression as does her dynamic character, caught between childish innocence and vamp seduction. What her character is truly blind to is conscious self-reflection and introspection and this provides a cue for the audience to begin evaluating information differently while experiencing the film. I believe that White and Castle hoped to elicit a sense of suspicion and paranoia for the audience through these plotting techniques. The flashbacks are not convoluted but do certainly contribute to an over-arching contrivance in the plot of the story as it pertains to trysts and family relationships. Other contrivances are just silly - a dying old man wields a devastating cane in a manner that would require the lats of Atlas himself. The contrivances hold up though as does the gimmick Castle employed to generate hype about the film. The beneficiary agreement that patrons signed when attending Macabre is not hokey in the slightest as it connects up perfectly with the story and main plot point of the film itself. "How do I know there was a phone call" is an important line in the film that marks a further progression in the fostering of suspicion and paranoia. These single-minded goals keep Macabre true to its genre and the mood it seeks to create. The second flashback may seem too obvious but it aptly supports the paranoid suspicious mood Castle hopes to propagate through the characters and surely within the audience as well. The main spook of the film is a blink-and-miss-it kind of ordeal and is more relevant as a diversion for closure than as a genuine creator of shock or terror. The final shot of the film is abrupt - curt and discourteous - and is likely the worst shot in the film as a result. It is followed by the most ham-handed part of the film where the voice over narration starts up again, this time reminding - or warning - the audiences to keep their lips sealed about the ending of the film once leaving the theater. I cannot understand this warning because it seems to presume that young people are sufficiently immature to thrill in schadenfreude spoilers while neglecting the recognition that said young people would also necessarily be the types to do the opposite of whatever an adult tells them. Ironically moronic if you ask me. Excellent animation is provided for the end credits and many felt that it was the highlight of an otherwise lack-luster film. I would tend to disagree with that opinion. Macabre is a fun, well-paced, well-directed, well-scripted, well-acted suspense thriller horror film that marks a special time in film history as the B movie attempted to grow some legs at the box office and some independent wings in the creativity department. After watching the dreary Katzman-Castle historical dramas, Macabre is a sight for sore eyes.

sol1218 ***SPOILERS*** First of the William Castle shock horror films that the audience had to be warned beforehand that they may well not live to see the end of the film and sign a disclaimer! So that their immediate family members can't sue the filmmakers for having them drop dead while watching it. The movie "Macabre" ended up being one of if not the biggest the biggest sleeper of the year in making over 50 times as much money in the box-office then what it cost to make it.The film has to do with town doctor Rodney Barrett, William Prince, having had his 12 year old daughter Marge, Linda Guderman, kidnapped and buried alive with just enough air in her coffin to keep her breathing for about five hours. During that time Dr. Barrett and his secretary Polly Baron, Jackie Scott, try desperately to find Marge in the town cemetery before she suffocates to death. There are a number of clues as well as red herrings to what's really going on in the movie that has the audience riveted to their seats expecting the worst for little Marge who's time and air is quickly running out.***SPOILERS*** In the end the whole rotten and sinister truth comes out to what's really going on in the movie that comes to light at the cemetery where Marge is supposed to be buried. A truth so shocking as well as evil that I'm not surprised that Castle had to take out insurance, from Loyds of London, in order to protect himself more then anyone else. Not from members of the audience dropping dead from heart attacks while watching the movie. But from Castel being attacked beaten and possibly lynched by an outraged public or movie audience for him making them suffer in watching the film!