How could a horror movie producer make sure that his film stood out at the box office? Famed schlock producer William Castle invented a way- gimmick marketing. He would announce that his studio had taken out insurance to pay for the funeral of anyone who died of fright during one of his productions, or he would rig up a ghost who would fly over the audience at various intervals. These gimmicks (and the resulting box office bonanza) caught the eyes of lesser filmmakers who saw relatively cheap ideas that they could possibly use to make their films more successful.
In the case of the no budget The Horror Of Party Beach, the filmmakers chose to require audiences to sign a “Fright Release” which allegedly exonerated the theaters and the studio from any responsibility for deaths resulting from fright caused by the viewing of the film. By this time, however, the novelty of the gimmicks had worn off and producers saw diminishing returns.
