Carnival of Souls (1962) User Reviews

Effective and Uneasy

[rmax304823 · 8/10 · 3 August 2003]

This is something like a full-length episode of the Twilight Zone, popular at the time of the movie's release. It's cheaply made, the photography is grainy, the story basically simple, and the acting nothing to write home about -- but this is one effective film if you're into dread.

Candace Hilligoss is a pretty blonde with a sharp nose and a vulnerable quality about her. (She might remind the viewer of that Twilight Zone episode that starred Inger Stevens continually running into a guy in black, "The Hitch Hiker," maybe?) Candace Hilligoss is not a major actress but it's difficult to imagine a better fit between the individual and the role. She's pretty enough so that men might find it pleasant to stand next to her in the supermarket checkout line, but not too pretty. Her face is defined by its bone structure so that you can almost see the skull beneat the skin. Her slanted, over-sized blue eyes suggest some sort of startled prey animal. And her movements, her body language, are both clumsy and extremely feminine. She wobbles when she runs and minces when she walks. And she's the right age too -- thirtyish -- not a fledgling with a great big Future ahead of her. The successive loss of her friends, her home town, her job in Utah, her room in the boarding house, and eventually her car, is enough to leave anyone in a state of desperation -- especially someone whose sole marketable skill seems to be playing the organ.

The narrative has been gone over so I'll skip any description of it. What distinguishes this movie from others of its type is that, with the exception of the opening scenes of the accident at the bridge, there is no one at all who acts in a perfectly normal manner. (Unlike Inger Stevens, Hilligos has no ordinary sailor to pick up and talk to.) The pervading sense of disquiet is enhanced by the efficient use of locations -- a church, a vast ballroom, a decrepit and deserted amusement park at the end of a pier. And I think the performers contribute as well, their very amateurish awkwardness promoting in the viewer a feeling that "something" is not quite right about what we're witnessing. Even the scenes of quotidian life -- finding a job, fending off a neighbor's advances, trying to be polite to a polite landlady -- seem to be imbued with a kind of hard-to-define cockeyed quality, as in a De Chirico painting. Hilligoss is living in a universe in which nothing, and nobody, has an identity whose validity can be taken for granted. Not even her psychiatrist can be trusted to be what he seems.

There are no big shock moments. Nobody gets slaughtered in a shower. Nothing is "evil" in any ordinary sense. Everything is simply "wrong." And the only music in the score is played on a church organ, mostly eerie chords that shimmer in the background. It's quietly done by director Herk Harvey.

Sidney Berger, who plays Hilligoss's odd neighbor, was in real life a speech instructor at the nearby University of Kansas. The leader of the dead is played by the director. This weird, subdued piece comes to us out of Lawrence, Kansas. It's pretty good for Lawrence, Kansas. But don't set your expectations too high. It's an old black-and-white horror movie, made by amateurs on a minescule budget. But within the limits set by those conditions, it's pretty good for anywhere, for that matter.

Perhaps the best example of a film that cost next to nothing to make but really delivers!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 25 February 2007]

This film reminds me a lot of the original VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED. Aside from starring George Sanders, VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED was made on a shoestring budget yet was one of the most effective and scary films of all time. While this movie isn't quite as good, it is exceptional--especially when it has a significantly lower budget than VILLAGE. The film was shot around Lawrence, Kansas (not exactly a film mecca) and featured locals and small-time actors.

The film starts with two cars drag racing through the countryside. The one vehicle with three young ladies aboard crashes off the side of a bridge and into the water below. It appears they are all killed but dragging the river is tough since the current is very strong. Then, unexpectedly, after three hours, one of the young ladies climbs out of the water--shaken and dirty but otherwise alright!

The next day, the lady leaves town forever to take up the job as a church organist in a city far away. It becomes pretty obvious based on her actions and body language that she is a pretty asocial type person (a "schizoid personality" is the correct psychological term, by the way) AND she also has little, if any, appreciation for the church--to her it's just a job. However, her tough exterior is quite shaken when she begins seeing a scary dead-looking guy during her drive to the new town. This begins as her car passes an old abandoned carnival but she continues periodically seeing this zombie-like guy once she arrives in the new town. Locals suspect she is crazy and after a while the lady isn't so sure of her sanity as well!! What she IS sure of is that somehow this carnival is the key, so in the end she goes there at night for a showdown.

There's a lot more to the film than this, but I don't want to spoil any of the suspense--and there is a lot of it!! Despite the low budget, this is a "scare the pants off you" type film that is great to watch alone late at night!!! Additionally, the non-professional actors did a bang-up job--this is a true cult classic and deserves to be well remembered. I really wish most modern film makers would see this film to understand that good writing and direction are the keys to great films--not huge budgets, special effects and prima donna actors!

Fascinating, Influential Only Feature By Herk Harvey

[CitizenCaine · 7/10 · 21 June 2004]

Herk Harvey toiled away for over a decade in educational and industrial films before taking a chance on filming a feature length movie in the Fall of 1961. He gathered backers from Lawrence, Kansas, used a graduate film student (Sandy Berger) to cast the lead (Candace Hilligoss), and filmed the movie during a three week vacation period. The center set piece was the abandoned Saltair amusement park in Utah, which has its own mysterious history. The story goes that Harvey was traveling home to Lawrence, Kansas on business and came upon the Saltair amusement park from afar, stopped, became fascinated by it, and then returned with the idea of making a horror movie featuring it.

He approached his colleague John Clifford to write the script and Carnival Of Souls was born. Often cited as an influence on Directors George A. Romero and David Lynch, Carnival Of Souls is an eerie film about what happens when a young girl emerges from what looks to be certain death. Herk Harvey creates a spooky little chiller that draws us in right from the beginning. The black and white cinematography is Bergmanesque in construction with inventive camera angles and an ethereal feel. The scenes that come to mind are the ones in the organ factory and the amusement park pavilion. Gene Moore's music on the organ may be one of the most unique soundtracks ever created, especially for a horror film; it adds immeasurably to the moody atmosphere. The make-up effects are also very effective,considering the film is in black and white. The film relies on its Twilight Zone-like ability to make everyday people, places, and activities seem suspect. The acting by Candace Hilligoss is very good for such a low budget production, and reportedly she didn't know what her character's motivation was throughout the filming; Harvey's intent was to maintain a look of confusion on Hilligoss' face. This is very evident in retrospect, and is the main reason why the audience identifies with her so easily.

For a film that had to be edited so quickly, with an entire reel of film being lost by the developer, there are very few technical errors. Although the film is somewhat predictable eventually, it still remains a fascinating, influential, original work of horror outside the Hollywood mainstream. Unfortunately, this was the only feature film Herk Harvey made due to the fact that he was never paid by the distributors, who went out of business. Today it has become a cult staple among horror film buffs; that's quite an achievement for an industrial filmmaker from Lawrence, Kansas. *** of 4 stars.

Semi-Forgotten Classic

[jkstevens57 · 23 August 2000]

Not many people know of this film, surprisingly--this is one of the most intelligently constructed and atmospheric horror (for lack of a better term) movies of all time. Whenever I do run across someone else who has seen this film, there is an instantaneous, unspoken understanding in regards to the enduring creepiness of this film.

My first viewing of COS occurred when I had inexplicably awoke in the middle of the night as a boy and switched on the TV. I had missed the opening minutes, but was powerfully drawn into the story. I sat transfixed until the shock ending, and think I just stared until after the sign off and following screen static. The next day I was not entirely sure I had actually watched this film or dreamed it--nobody else had ever heard of it and I never did catch the title (for some reason, its never shown much). Needless to say I was creeped out for days! Films that can affect one's sensibilities like this are golden! Find it and watch it in the middle of the night--alone.

Weak story, but visually interesting

[brchthethird · 6/10 · 25 March 2016]

I didn't really know much CARNIVAL OF SOULS, other than that it was a low-budget horror movie with a cult fan-base. What I got was certainly interesting, but hardly a masterpiece. The story is probably the weakest element, as the characters don't really have any depth or personality, and the plot is paper-thin. It's still a compelling watch, though, due to the atmosphere created by a creepy organ score and some excellent cinematography. So, it succeeds as a mood-piece even while failing at the narrative level. The story is about a woman who survives a car wreck and then takes a job as a church organist in Utah. When she moves into town, she starts seeing a ghostly figure and is strangely drawn to an abandoned carnival. This basically sets the stage for a series of sequences where she hallucinates a lot and starts questioning her sanity, as do the people she encounters. There were also a few scenes which kind of tap into human fascination with religion and the supernatural. She sees herself as a rational person, only taking the organist position for the money, but the things she sees bring her into conflict with herself and others. Ultimately, though, the film is mostly about the creepy atmosphere and imagery, which are quite good. One scene I liked in particular took place in the church. She starts off playing out of her organ music book, but then transitions into carnival-esque music, almost as if in a trance. There was also a lot of good on-location shooting. For a film with such a low budget, it looked fairly decent. The only real complaint I have outside of the thin story was that the sound mix was muddled in places, making dialogue hard to hear. Ultimately, CARNIVAL OF SOULS, is an intriguing curiosity which, despite lacking in terms of story, has some cool visuals and a suitably unnerving score.

Way Ahead of Its Time

[aimless-46 · 10/10 · 20 January 2006]

"I don't belong in the world….something separates me from other people" says Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss) in perhaps the most lyrical horror film ever made. It is the unlikely 1962 masterpiece "Carnival of Souls" which philosophically fleshes out the premise of "Twilight Zone's" "The Hitch Hiker" episode (January 1960). The one where Inger Stevens (as Nan Adams) plays a young woman driving cross country who keeps passing the "same" man standing by the side of the road. Its masterpiece quality was unlikely because it was the low budget first feature film of Herk Harvey (a director of educational short films), using actors with little acting for the camera experience, and with a story structure adapted to fit sets and locations to which Harvey had free access.

One of these locations was an organ factory. This not only dictated the film's unique and beautiful score but it suggested a profession for the main character (Mary Henry), a church organist. With this they really got lucky because it brings in many disturbing religious images and undertones. A church organist seemingly possessed by her instrument, as her playing alternates between the spiritual and the profane, deeply disturbs her wrapped-too-tight" minister who would have benefited from Pollyanna's advice about the "rejoicing texts". The organ factory also serves nicely for a Carol Reed-type angular shot with the huge organ pipes in the foreground and the diminutive figure of Hilligoss far below. This early shot sets the existential tone for what will follow. Finally, there is the moment when she is alone on the highway and her radio will only pick up organ music.

The other location is the abandoned Saltair Pavilion outside Salt Lake City. Much of the story takes place here as Mary Henry is mysteriously drawn to the place. Watch for this shot of her in front of a promotional poster for the Pavilion, on the poster is a look-alike blonde with the same hairstyle. Since the late 19th century, Saltair had been a family swimming/recreational facility built out into the Great Salt Lake. The huge pavilion looks like a strange cross between an Eastern Orthodox church and an Arabian Nights palace. The falling lake level doomed the swimming feature but the place operated as an amusement park until abandoned five years before the filming of "Carnival of Souls". At the time of filming the actual pealing paint, broken glass, collapsed staircases, and general disorder made for a better location than even the best production designer could have constructed. It also works well from a "language of film" symbolic perspective as Mary is shown walking through an unnatural circular passage, which reinforces other subtle off-kilter elements that occur throughout the film.

While much of the film's texture was the happy result of the low budget necessity of using these available locations, the casting of Hilligoss worked out even better. Probably cast because she was the most beautiful actress available for the price, Harvey hit a home run because she brings exactly the right sterile and distanced qualities that the film needs in its main character. Hilligoss might have been an acting-for-the-camera novice but she had extensive stage experience. Harvey was able to get an extraordinary nonverbal performance from her, unexpectedly taking the film deep into the concept of human alienation. Much like "The Incredible Shinking Man", with its existential theme of separation from society, "Carnival of Souls" also transcends its genre and explores the isolation of someone who feels they no longer belong. And like "TISM", the resolution is the realization that loss of identity is freedom, that the infinite and the infinitesimal are the same, that you are not alone because you are a part of something bigger.

The two occasions where Mary Henry suddenly becomes invisible to everyone are much more vivid because Hilligoss is so beautiful. Unlike a person of average appearance, an especially beautiful woman walking down the street is used to drawing stares from virtually everyone. For such a person the phenomenon of sudden invisibility would be far more jarring than for those who are used to not being noticed in the passing crowd.

For budget reasons, egg white was used on the faces of the "dead" cast members, including Harvey himself who plays Mary's recurring apparition. This has an especially eerie effect with black and white film and would be adopted a few years later by George Romero for "Night of the Living Dead".

Educational film veteran Frances Feist plays Mary's cherubic landlady and John Linden plays her slimy (on the make) neighbor. Both are excellent, and the disjointed and stilted acting style of their scenes with Hilligoss will remind many viewers of David Lynch's "Eraserhead".

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I remember those days....

[horrorfilmx · 7/10 · 21 January 2006]

Back in the early sixties it was a lot harder to make a movie on a shoestring budget than it is now. Little things like synchronized sound could be very daunting. This movie certainly shares the distinctly impoverished atmosphere of its kind, which sometimes works to its advantage and sometimes against it. The sound editing in particular hurts. The scene with the car radio doesn't work as well as it should because the music that's supposed to be coming over the radio is almost indistinguishable from the actual music score, dulling the impact. And one of the film's most notably eerie scenes (possible spoiler) when the heroine suddenly finds herself cut off from those around her, unable to hear them as they are unable to hear her, is undercut by the fact that many earlier sequences are also without sound due to the presumably limited resources of the sound editor, so the sense of something wrong isn't as strong as it should be. Other technical crudities tend to distance the viewer from the main character and her plight. That said, the movie has much going for it. It's intelligent and shows a strong imagination and flair for the bizarre. The acting is variable but frequently very good. And one or two sequences are as creepy as anything ever put on film, more remarkably so because it's hard to put your finger on WHY they're so unsettling. The ending is predictable, although perhaps it wasn't as much so when the film was first released. All in all a must see for true horror fans (although slasher geeks will doubtless be bored stiff).

Not since The Shining has a film created such a primal sense of fear & foreboding

[Trouter2000 · 7/10 · 10 March 2007]

When I saw a copy of Carnival of Souls together with Night of the Living Dead for a measly buck, I figured I would go ahead and take advantage. After all, I could always use a backup copy of Night of the Living Dead, and this Carnival of Souls looked good for laughs. So I bought the set, having a bit of change on me, and that night I readied myself for some fun.

When I put Carnival of Souls into the player, I was at first a bit unimpressed. I mean, nothing really happened that related to any sort of plot. Then, about 25 minutes into the film I started feeling very uneasy, a feeling I was unfamiliar with in film with the exception of Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining'. the story is simple, to put it short a woman survives a car accident, and delves into a dissolute surrealistic nightmare.

The surreal atmosphere, the sudden realizations of fear, and the general feel of the film gave a VERY foreboding atmosphere, which haunted me the entire following week. The film is just so foreboding, I could not help but remain uneasy, even the second time around.

The film also was also fairly technically impressive, at least more so then I thought. This film had come six years before George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead, but the use of camera is very similar, and it is very evident that Romero has been influenced by this film's direction. It is a shame that Herk Harvey did not expand on his talent, this is his only feature, yet there is nothing amateur about it. It is very advanced considering what it is, and I was overtly impressed with it.

I suppose Carnival of Souls could, and maybe should warrant an 8/10, I gave it 7/10, but it is truly an original film, and one that I feel holds up very well in the present day. I think it is a must see for fans of surrealism, horror, or just experiences.

Surprisingly Excellent

[kd-white · 9/10 · 18 December 2005]

While I am a self-avowed fan of low-budget horror flicks, "cult" classics, etc.., I was expecting to be disappointed by Carnival of Souls. The little I allowed myself to read about COS before watching it made me feel like it was either going to be disappointing and slow or right on target (weighted average is around 7). Instead, it was almost certainly the creepiest, eeriest movie I have ever seen. At the age of 21, most might expect me to have had my senses dulled by MTV-style shock theatre, but whatever damage has been done was not enough to diminish in any way the effect of this brilliant movie. I, in fact, read the screenplay to "The Hitch-hiker" (the Twilight zone script many have referenced as an inspiration for this movie) for an 8th grade class, but even that knowledge did not diminish my admiration for this low-budget masterpiece. The photography is incredible and atmospheric, with many of the lighting contrasts and unexpected appearances of "the ghoul" extremely effective. The acting was actually rather good, with Candace Hilligoss believable as the cold, yet seemingly psychotic lead character. I found the slimy man-next-door to be played even more convincingly, with all the repulsiveness of a real-life slum Casanova. The Saltair setting was also brilliant. Honestly, I have to stop exuding praise, but this movie really knocked me off my feet, with only occasional moments of slow-but-tensionless action early in the movie keeping this from being a ten. All in all, the best low-budget indie horror movie I've ever seen (and that includes Night of the Living Dead).

Creepy Classic....

[babeth_jr · 7/10 · 6 March 2006]

I just recently watched this movie for the first time, and honestly I wasn't expecting much. Boy, was I surprised! This movie is a very creepy movie, not bloody or gory like most of today's horror movies, but genuinely scary without having to show blood and guts. I have always thought abandoned theme parks are creepy anyway, and the fact that a central part of the movie revolves around the Saltair Pavilion, an abandoned theme park set outside of Salt Lake City, Utah just added to the freaky atmosphere of this movie, at least for me. This movie is very low budget, using unknown actors, and it shows, but amazingly, this didn't stop this movie from scaring the be jeez out of me. It is the type of movie that you will think about long after the movie has ended.

The ultimate cult horror masterpiece

[Django-21 · 10/10 · 6 March 2001]

I love this film! It's one of my all time favourite movies and I'd rate it as a deservedly acclaimed cult classic and the eeriest, most strangely compelling, most unforgettable and greatest horror movie of all time.

The camera work is beautiful. The organ music, creepy carnival and director Herk Harvey as the figure of Death are all unforgettably eerie. The first time I saw this film (I had already read about it's making in an issue of Fangoria) was on BBC2's Moviedrome introduced by Alex Cox (himself the director of Repo Man, the lacklustre and innacurate Sid & Nancy and the amazing Well Did You Evah music video. On watching the film I was captivated and fascinated and ultimately at the film's conclusion had a strange feeling of deja vu, as if I'd seen it before in a dream or something, long ago.

There are a number of surreal and creepy scenes in the film. The scene where Mary (Candace Hilligoss) goes to the abandoned carnival during the day has a surreal, dreamlike and sensual beauty. Whereas the later scenes

of Mary playing the church organ and seeing in her mind, the dead rising from the sea and the film's carnival/beach conclusion are at once dreamlike and yet somehow documentarylike at the same time. It's unforgettable imagery like this that makes this film such an unforgettable experience. On the other hand, the drunk lodger's attempts to seduce Mary are amusing and some of her biting dialogue and sarcasm helps keep the non horror moments entertaining. The film is also notable for having a clear influence on

films and filmmakers like George A Romero's classic "Night Of The Living Dead" (another 60s b/w horror classic) and David Lynch (compare Herk Harvey's ghoul with Killer Bob's surreal and frightening appearances at unexpected times in Twin Peaks). Be warned however, once you experience the dreamlike qualities of this eerie masterpiece, I can't

guarantee you'll ever awake from it.

It was the 1960's. People drag raced at 15 mph all the time.

[VIOlencEandpAIN · 7/10 · 24 May 2008]

Before the days of Herschell Gordon Lewis, when heavy gore in the average horror movie started to become a staple, filmmakers had to scare audiences in other ways. Through mood, lighting, and plot movement, CARNIVAL OF SOULS manages to accomplish just as much horror as any modern flick.

This is the story of Mary Henry (Candice Hilligoss), a church organist who, one fateful day, finds herself in the passenger side of a car engaged in a drag race. Granted, the cars are obviously moving very slowly, but they do race across a bridge. Suddenly, Mary and her friends plummet off of the bridge (it doesn't clearly show why this happens) and the credits roll. Later, Mary is seen rising up from the waters below, cold and wet but otherwise unharmed.

This is only the beginning for poor Mary, as she starts having flashes in which everything around her goes silent and people completely ignore her, as though she didn't exist. She also begins seeing a pale, ghastly man everywhere she goes. The man torments her relentlessly, later joined by an ensemble of zombie-like people who pursue her.

In spite of the somewhat campy dialogue and effects, CARNIVAL OF SOULS does stand up to the test of time and is very much worth watching for fans of older horror movies. It is currently public domain, so anyone wishing to see it might be able to find it for free online.

Poor Acting And Weak Character Development Are Significant Problems In A Decent Story

[sddavis63 · 3/10 · 15 March 2008]

The story behind this movie wasn't bad, but to be honest it would have benefited greatly from some better acting and character development. I sometimes rail against the tendency of some movies to overdo character development at the expense of story, but here one of the things that put me off from the beginning was the rather sudden move right into the story. With no introduction to the characters - we don't even know the name of the main character - we're thrown right into the story, as a car driven by three girls goes off a bridge and into the river. Once she emerges from the water - to the surprise of everyone - we discover that the main character's name is Mary Henry, and it's her that we follow, although we never really learn much about her except that she's an accomplished organist. Mary was played by an actress named Candace Hilligoss in what I thought was a forgettable performance. I never got much sense of emotion from her, and the emotion the movie did try to portray seemed to me to be forced. In a movie that featured mostly underwhelming and forgettable performances, the "best" was probably from Sidney Berger as Mary's somewhat lecherous neighbour John Linden, and - because I thought his performance was passable, it's not surprising to me that I found Hilligoss's best scenes were probably those she shot with him.

In addition to poor performances, there were a couple of points I thought were just poorly done. One is a technical point: as Mary plays the organ, the problem is that the music being played doesn't at all match what she's playing if you watch her hands on the keyboard. In fact, it isn't even close. And I thought it rather strange that Dr. Samuels (Stan Levitt) would take Mary back to his office and spend an hour - according to her - in what seemed to be some sort of psycho-therapy, only to then say to her "well, I'm no psychiatrist." As I said, the story is not bad. I had kind of figured out what was happening early on, but there was a fair enough feeling of "creepiness" that's important for this kind of movie. I would have appreciated knowing why the carnival was so important that Mary feels drawn to it long before she arrives in Utah from wherever she started out (I don't remember her starting point being identified.) That was a significant weakness to me. The plot (of a soul caught somewhere between life and death) was OK, but the mystery of the carnival's attraction was never resolved.

The weak acting put me off this one, I have to admit. Some apparently see it as a cult classic, but it doesn't make that grade for me. 3/10

A great little gem

[Tommy-5 · 30 April 2002]

Herk Harvey and Candace Hilligoss are not household names to most persons and for good reason. Their body of work outside of this film is tragically low. I say tragically because Harvey as the film's producer/director and Hilligoss as the female lead were the main reason Carnival of Souls is remembered today as it is. Carnival of Souls is a great little gem and, I would say, a masterpiece of it's genre. Shot on a very low budget in 1962, much of it was filmed in Lawrence, Kansas, where the University of Kansas is located and where one of it's leading players (Speech instructor Sidney Berger as Ms. Hilligoss' `love interest') was on the teaching staff. Harvey also appeared as the mysterious apparition throughout the story. The story concerns a young woman, Hilligoss as Mary Henry, who has evidently survived an automobile plunging off of a bridge and into deep water. After being rescued, Mary begins to see the apparition, impressively played by Harvey in a low key, understated manner, and notices that there are times when she cannot be seen or heard by those around her. Harvey is truly outstanding, made up to look as a zombie with hollow, piercing eyes. Hilligoss as Mary is equally impressive as the strong-willed yet strangely vulnerable Mary. Hilligoss was an attractive, if not beautiful woman, and perfect for the role as Mary. Carnival of Souls is one of those films that worked, and worked well, almost in spite of itself. On the surface it would not appear that it had much going for it. Mary's adventures take her to a boarding house where she receives the mostly unwanted attentions of her lecherous neighbor, John, capably played by Berger. She accepts a job as a church organist, giving Harvey the perfect in to include some very eerie music within the story, and is mysteriously drawn to an old amusement park, where she experiences the dances of the dead, the film's most impressive scenes. Eventually she is drawn outside the abandoned ballroom to the beach and claimed as one of their own by the party of zombies, confirming what we have suspected all along. Mood, atmosphere and creative camera work set this film apart, a film which was ahead of its time as was 1968's Night of the Living Dead. Carnival of Souls is greater than the sum of its parts, as all things excellent must always be. It is a pity we did not see more of Herk Harvey or Candace Hilligoss. Horror buffs will always wonder, what if? .. Still, I believe it preferable to do a single masterpiece rather than a large body of the forgettable. Perhaps they were wise and understood that this was the one great work allotted them. I hope this is the case but we will never know.

Between Two Worlds

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 24 May 2009]

While driving her car with two girlfriends, the driver is challenge to a drag race and falls off a bridge over a river. When it seems that the girls have drowned and there are no survivors, Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss) surprisingly leaves the water. A couple of days later, she drives to another town to work as organist in a church despite not being religious. While driving, she has visions of a weird man. When she arrives at her destiny, she moves to a room in the boarding house owned by Mrs. Thomas (Frances Feist). However Mary is haunted by spirits and is frequently drawn to a nearby abandoned carnival, where she discloses a dark secret.

"Carnival of Souls" is a sort of episode of "Twilight Zone", with an intriguing tale of a woman that survives to a tragic accident and is haunted by souls, trapped between the world of the living and the dead. The use of shadows and the make-up are really scary and the creepy story works well but could be a little shorter; furthermore the conclusion is predictable. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Note: On 27 Mar 2015, I saw this film again. Note: On 04 Nov 2018, I saw this film again.

Nightmarish and ahead of its time

[spacemonkey_fg · 8/10 · 18 January 2006]

Title: Carnival of Souls (1962)

Director: Herk Harvey

Cast: Candace Hilligoss, Frances Feist, Sidney Berger, Art Ellison, Stan Levitt, Tom McGinnis

Review: I love going back in time while watching old horror films. I love to see what scared people in different eras and times. Some people completely dismiss old films just because they are old. I relish the moment when I can find an obscure gem and just indulge in it. Sometimes I find a true classic like when I saw White Zombie for the first time...sometimes I find a dud like when I saw the original 13 Ghosts. This time around in my humble opinion I have found a really creepy and surreal film in director Herk Harveys Carnival of Souls.

The story is about this girl called Mary who gets involved in a car accident in which she emerges completely unharmed. All her friends die, but she is left in a perfect state. She decides to move to a new town to start anew. She takes a job in a church as a "profesional organist" and moves into a new place. Unfortunately she begins seeing a ghostly apparition and she is strangely attracted by the spooky abandoned amusement park near her new home. What horrors await for her inside? And why is she seeing these visions? This film has a few faults in various departments. For one, I thought that the editing in the movie really sucked. You'll notice little skips here and there in the continuity of the film, it doesn't flow fluidly. It hits a few speed bumps along the way. The sound was also a bit atrocious at times, I could barely make out what they were saying in certain parts at the beginning of the film. But somehow...in spite of all of its flaws this movie had me reeled in from the get go.

The character of Mary is likable so I felt like sticking with her and seeing where she was going to end up. I liked her attitude about her job in church just "being a job". She didn't take religion seriously and I was like "whoa, there's a girl with a head on her shoulders!". Anyhows, I kept watching and things began to get a whole lot more interesting as the film progressed. Its one of those films that has a bad start (mainly because of its technical faults) but as it goes on it gets really good.

I loved the strange location they used to shoot the old abandoned amusement park. Apparently there really was an abandoned amusement park in the middle of nowhere and they shot part of the movie there! The director was wise to take advantage of this location and shoot the hell out of it. It has a real isolated feel to it. You can tell, it really is in the middle of nowheresville. So that added to the feeling of creepyness and isolation. Specially seeing Mary going into it all by herself.

Once the spooks join in on the story, well things get really nightmarish. And heres where the film won its classic status for me. The images that the film conjures up, specially towards the last half of the film are some of the most surreal, nightmarish I have seen on screen. And to top things off, its all in black and white which adds another layer of spookiness to the whole affair.

As I watched it I thought to myself, man, this director was really ahead of his time! And he was! He managed to make some truly haunting imagery all the way back in 1962! Sadly because the critics shot this movie down, he never made more feature films. He did manage to make a lot of educational documentaries. But no more movies.

So if you are up from some truly spooky surreal images that feel like something that came out of your worst nightmares, go rent this baby. Just remember it has a few imperfections here and there, but once you get through the rough stuff, you'll get to what really matters. Those spooky ass visions filled with ghosts and ghouls! Sweet Dreams! Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5

Better than I thought it would be

[GoreMonger · 7/10 · 10 August 1999]

When I rented this film I wasn't expecting anything special. I was pleasantly surprised to find it entertaining and even creepy. Most older horror films aren't scary by today's standards, so I was pleased to see that this film had some scary moments. I wouldn't put it into the same category as any of Hitchcock's work, but this film is definitely worth watching.

As close to pure cinema as America ever came.

[winner55 · 10/10 · 28 June 2006]

The is finest film ever made in America, barr none. That it was directed by a professional documentarian on what appears to be a budget of a hundred bucks, with a cast of total unknowns, only makes it all the more remarkable. First, let's get the 'low-budget' issue out of the way, because during the later '80s this film developed a following among those who especially admire cheap films. Applying that to this film is a big mistake. This film isn't about money, it's about cinema - what you can and cannot do with a camera and an editing board, using whatever it is one has to work with.

As with all pure cinema - from Citizen Kane to the Wild Bunch, from the Battleship Potemkin to the Seven Samurai - this film works on many levels at the same time. It is, first, an effective ghost story, in fact probably the only instance of a film that has a real ghost story to tell (most ghost-story films are really horror movies or romances). Then it is also an uncompromising psychological analysis of female frigidity. It is also surrealistic psycho-drama, but it is also a genuine slice of Americana - the film certainly has resonance with the films of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, but it is determined to present its American characters in their American locations as American, and not as europhilic wannabes. Consequently it is also an historical document of what America was like in the early '60s - really a kind of weird place by today's standards.

One of the qualities that makes a film 'pure cinema' is that the viewer should, on reflection, feel utterly convinced that there is not a camera shot out of place, not a wasted moment, not an image or sound we don't need to have the complete film before us. But of course while watching the film, we should be so captivated by it, we set our critical mind to rest. Despite the darkness of its themes and images, this film drags us along like some obsessive-compulsion we didn't even know we had.

Finally, when watching a truly great film, when the final credit rolls, we should feel as if we have actually experienced the film, not simply watched it. This quality does diminish after repeated viewing - when you find yourself reciting the dialog by heart, you know that you've passed onto the level of remembering the film's experience, rather than living it. But certainly, after the initial viewing we should feel as though we have been changed by the film, and that we now look at the world through different eyes.

This film is really about the fundamental puritanism that remains the core of the American world-view. It treats that world-view with both outrage, sympathy, and even, if one pays close attention, a touch of humor. The souls in this movie are lost souls - but its their carnival, after all; and we're welcomed to it any time we care to visit. However, be forewarned: once inside, we may have to stay.

A solid horror film doubling as a psychiatric character study, but not without its drawbacks

[ccamp89 · 7/10 · 20 May 2016]

A solidly entertaining and, at times, pretty creepy supernatural horror film which doubles as a psychiatric character study. After surviving a car wreck, Mary, an aloof organist, is haunted by repeated visions of a man who seems to be pursuing her. She becomes increasingly distressed, and eventually seeks answers in a nearby abandoned carnival which she feels strangely drawn to.

For an older horror film, Carnival of Souls really does have some surprisingly effective and unsettling moments and has a lot of things going for it. It has a nice, creepy organ score, simple yet effective ghoul makeup, memorable locations like the abandoned carnival, and most off all, a warped and dream-like atmosphere. The best and most memorable sequences in the film really draw you in to Mary's troubled mind and make you feel like you're living in her confused version of reality.

Mary reminds me quite a bit of the schizophrenic protagonist in Roman Polanski's Repulsion as well as a bit of Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin. She's attractive and seems put-together, but has an icy, distant quality and doesn't relate well to others. Although by the end of the film it becomes clear that the story is supernatural in nature, part of what I really liked about it is that much of the film also works as a portrayal of a first-break psychosis. Mary's character fits some criteria for schizoid personality disorder in that she is pathologically unable to connect with others, and furthermore lacks any interest in forming relationships. Individuals with schizoid personality disorder can have brief psychotic episodes, which are essentially defined by losing touch with reality and frequently involve hallucinations. Psychotic episodes are also commonly brought on by extreme stress, so given her recent near-death experience the pieces really do fit together nicely to explain her symptoms from a psychiatric standpoint.

In addition to the positives, there were definitely some things that brought this film down for me, the most distracting of which was probably the acting. Some of the dialogue scenes in this movie just feel so incredibly wooden. There are many instances when the characters feel like they are simply reciting their lines rather than actually having a conversation with one another. I guess you could kind of forgive Mary seeing as her character is meant to be aloof and awkward, but really no one in the film was any better and it often broke the immersion. And speaking of immersion-breaking, wow they really didn't even attempt to make it appear like Mary was actually playing the organ. Her hands don't come even remotely close to matching the music that she is supposedly playing and it's pretty distracting. Maybe it's just me though - it's a pretty big pet peeve.

Part of me feels like this movie would have been even better if it was a silent film that was completely backed by the great organ music. They honestly wouldn't have to change much of the story at all. The best scenes in the movie are already long, hallucinatory, organ-backed, dialogue-lacking sequences. If it had just cut down completely on the immersion-breaking dialogue and went fully avant-garde with it, the movie could've really, really shined. Regardless, Carnival of Souls was definitely a solid and creepy horror film and it's worth the watch for sure, just be ready to cringe a few times between the best parts.

Pure Cinema

[hoobits · 10/10 · 28 December 2008]

This is not a great film by most means of deduction, but when witnessing something that transcends deduction, the idea of great cinema flies out the window and is replaced with pure cinema. And there is a difference... that critical, logical filter is shattered by a quiet, ethereal something... and you are whisked away into another world. Vast segments of Herk Henry's low budget horror film are just that. Its genuine veracity into realms explored so little by so many filmmakers, is not only admirable but inspiring, haunting; A film that sparks your mind with a flurry of a thousand thoughts, that charges your own creative batteries, and yet simultaneously quiets it into a place devoid of time and the necessity to think or process. While watching this I couldn't help but remember a piece of myself I had never recognized. I say this because essentially CoS is a less abstract, feature version of my own film school thesis. Now had anyone ever talked about this film in class? No. Had I ever heard of it before? Sort of... Once, long ago I recall seeing something of it (the beginning?) on TV, and then being brisked away for some reason or another. Could I have been affected that much as to store a very short but still powerful moment with me well into the next decade of my life? Perhaps it came from that collective ether of nightmare and imagination we all drown in from time to time.

Drawing inspiration from Ingmar Bergman and Jean Cocteau, and perhaps the macabre short fiction of Ray Bradbury, Henry's film is truly something special even in its uneven acting and sometimes cheap production value, there is an immediate care and devotion to it all. The small dedicated crew who crafted this film loved cinema, and dared to dive into its depths. And rarely is that so apparent in film.

Creepy, uneasy viewing.

[Zombified_660 · 7/10 · 20 March 2006]

If you're trying to get a grip on what kind of film the original Carnival of Souls is, it's kind of a traditional 50s/60s horror (like House on Haunted Hill or any of the other William Castle jobbies) spliced with something a lot more edgy, like Night of the Living Dead or a French new wave film. While written in a traditional 50s/60s style, it avoids the trappings of Noir and other movements that were going on at the time, instead taking a more pseudo-documentary take on things, opting for realism over stylisation. This leads to a cold, chilling movie that is incredibly taut and gets right under your skin.

The level of realism makes the films hallucination sequences all the more creepy. The film concerns a young woman who survives a horrific car wreck, attempts to continue on with her life as she had intended but discovers something is very wrong, that her world has changed irreparably and she is being stalked by a ghostly figure. This premise lends itself perfectly to a black and white movie, the high visual contrast making the hauntings all the more stark and shocking. The woman's slow loss of her grip on reality, and the shocking conclusion, are gradually unveiled in a way that's now been copied by a thousand movies, but never quite recaptured in the same way.

Still, despite being a fantastic 'descent into madness' chiller, Carnival of Souls stumbles at a few hurdles. The movie hasn't been treated well by time, having been largely forgotten by a fairly fickle industry, so finding a half decent copy is going to be hard. The copy I watched (a R2 DVD from a company called Dark Vision) had a pretty decent image, but the movie's stock has aged a lot and certain scenes had become indecipherable. Also some of the dialogue had become very muffled, giving the impression the actors were talking into their shoes.

On the subject of dialogue, Carnival is not strong on characterisation. It's a mood piece, and with the exception of the main character, very few of the characters are painted in anything more than broad strokes. If you're looking for a highly emotive movie, Carnival isn't it, all of it's emotion comes from it's visuals.

These are minor gripes though. If you track down a decent version of the film (a remastered colourised version is available in the States for instance) and are happy with watching a consciously art-house movie then this comes highly recommended. Carnival's cult classic status is well deserved, and it hands out some of horror's great enduring images during it's runtime. If you're not moved by any of this film, you may want to check your pulse.

You won't shout, you won't scream because you'll feel too desolated and scared to do it.

[max-61 · 10/10 · 27 February 1999]

How scary a movie can be? Carnival of souls is scary as no other movie is by one simply reason, this film won't only frighten you to death but also will lead you to a desolation state: You won't shout, you won't scream because you'll feel too desolated and scared to do it. The plot happens to be superb: I love it when the whole plot starts making sense by the very end.

Candace Hilligoss play Mary Henry the lead role; the character is great and her performance is magnificent, she just gives the movie a vulnerable element that sometimes turns to be dark and mysterious.

Carnival of Souls became a cult film with plenty of honors; it's not only one of the most scary movies ever but also is a masterpiece of moviemaking.

It's a Good Scare

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 13 February 2006]

I really got a kick out of this movie. It is all atmosphere and strange organ music. People just speaking lines of everyday dialogue become as frightening as the dead man whose face appears time and time again. The central figure, Mary Henry, was apparently as spooky before she went in the water as she was after she walked onto the muddy riverbank. Her relationships with a series of townsfolk are as dull as can be (I love her landlady who tells her she can have as many baths as she wants)--and yet the sterility other encounters really adds to the suspense. The scene after she is fired for playing Satanic organ music, as she goes on a date with her sleazy fellow boarder who is hustling her from the get go, is a classic. She is so boring and yet he keeps on coming. She is attractive at times and a nut case at other. She makes no connections with human beings, but that's probably the point.

I enjoyed the place where the doctor kept his back to Mary so he could turn the chair around and transform into that same dead guy and frighten us. Whoa, I never expected that. It was really fun in a Pinteresque kind of way. On an obvious shoestring budget, shooting in Kansas, Herk Harvey (what a great name; director of the Academy Award winning "Fire Safety Is Your Problem"), plays with light, shadows bad makeup, overly quick cuts, but it does work. It's a scary movie and I would recommend it.

What a disappointment...

[thesacredjackal · 2/10 · 18 October 2019]

I was really excited to watch this movie, so I finally sat down and watched it. I had high expectations but it let me down hard. My biggest problem is that nothing happens the entire runtime aside from the last 5 minutes which had a disappointing twist ending. The overbearing score damn near gave me a migraine, and the only "scary" thing were a few jumpscares that meant nothing.

The acting was also atrocious and greatly took away from the experience. I was constantly checking the runtime, desperately waiting for anything at all to happen but almost nothing did. And I really don't care how low the budget was or about the fact that it was made in 1962. For the record, Nosferatu, a much more unsettling and well-made horror film, was made 40 years before this. The year it was made doesn't excuse it from being sinfully boring.