What better way to kick off this post than with a Ramones' quote. Strait-Jacket is a 1964 film thriller starring Joan Crawford and Diane Baker that follows a mother and daughter and a series of ax murders. Released by Columbia Pictures, the film was directed and produced by William Castle (House on Haunted Hill). The screenplay was written by Robert Bloch (Psycho). During the original release of the film moviegoers were handed card board axes as they entered the theater. Also, at the end of the film a variant of the the Columbia Pictures logo appears with the torch woman's decapitated head resting at her feet and her torch is not shining. I've always enjoyed this fun approach production companies often took making the filmgoing experience more immersive and somewhat interactive.

Early thrillers such as this have a profound influence on my work. To access some past Halloween posts, check out my BLOG ARCHIVE.