Outspoken & Freckled

I saw William Castle’s HOMICIDAL (1961) at the Loews Jersey Theater in Jersey City on Friday night. To say it was the perfect way to kick off the “Pre-Halloween weekend” would be an understatement unworthy of the master of gimmicky cinematic hyperbole.

I knew it was going to be a great night the minute I walked into the ornate lobby of the historic theater. A smiling usher greeted me, tore my ticket, and handed me a brightly colored coupon.

“Here’s your money back guarantee,” she said.

“How does it work?” I asked, playing along. (Back in my improv days we called that “Yes, and…”)

“Well, if you’re too scared, you can leave before the end of the movie,” she said. “That’s why it says, ‘for cowards only.'”

“Do I get a refund?”

“Yes,” she replied. “But you have to sit in the ‘Coward’s Corner’ until everybody leaves.”

William Castle would…