REMAKING A SHOCKER

The way producer Scott Rosenfelt sees it, if you’re going to remake a movie, you might as well remake “a really bad one.” That’s one of the reasons he and Mark Levinson (they produced “Teen Wolf” and “Extremities”) are doing an updated version of . . . “The Tingler.”

What’s most remembered about the 1959 version--which starred Vincent Price as a scientist who isolates a “fear” gland--was the film’s promotional gimmick: Showman-producer William Castle wired certain seats in theaters to give moviegoers an electric jolt at scary moments.

According to Rosenfelt, the $3-$4 million remake by first-time writer-director Ron Hugo, to be distributed by Atlantic, will have elements of black comedy. But there’ll also be “strong” special effects, since the “fear” gland, which attacks the spine, sometimes grows until it finally “explodes” from its victim. Then--yuck--”sometimes tries to bore its way back in. . . .

“We’re thinking about rigging some seats, as a gag, in a couple of major cities. Nothing too painful, though.”