Customer Reviews

Carnival of Souls

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This film is a remake of the 1962 horror classic of the same name. The 1962 original was atmospheric, darkly poetic, haunting; its story a subtle balance between two alternate interpretations.

This is none of those. This remake is a clunky mess, arbitrarily meandering through pointless scenes and aimless "monsters" lifted from JACOB'S LADDER.

Aside from the monsters, a line, too, is lifted from JACOB'S LADDER. The one about demons and angels. This makes *some* sense, as both the original CARNIVAL OF SOULS and JACOB'S LADDER are inspired by Bierce's "Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge."

The 1962 film had a beginning, a middle, and a twist ending. This 1998 remake has numerous beginnings, middles, and ends. Scenes switch back and forth as the lead character keeps "waking up" to indicate that all that went on before was a dream. If not for the rough road map provided by the original film, we'd have an even murkier idea of what's going on.

Basically, a woman drives into the river, and at times seems to have escaped, at times is just now escaping, at times appears never to have driven into the river at all...

Not clever, just confused and confusing.

The original film's cool lead actress portrayed a young woman afraid of life, who "hadn't really lived." It was subtle, yet the point was made. In this new version, the character helpfully tells the audience that she "hasn't lived," in case we don't "get it."

The pedophilia "update" to the original film's storyline doesn't add anything.

This 1998 film's lead actress, Bobbie Phillips, guest-starred as the "bug woman" in THE X-FILES.

A young girl sees her mother violently killed at the hands of the live-in boyfriend (who also happens to be a carnival clown). Later as an adult she is haunted by her past when the carnival comes back to town.


I loved the original black and white Carnival of Souls movie and I'm usually a little skittish about remakes. I must admit that I was given some forewarning that Wes Craven changed the plot in this one, which probably helped my overall take on it. So from the start I wasn't expecting much.

In this version the girl and her sister own a bar. There is no church and no organ music, which takes away from the eeriness that we all loved. Hmm how to describe? In another review someone described the original b&w movie as being "darkly poetic and haunting," which can't be said any better. In this version, Wes Craven turns the carnival into a brighter, more chaotic and psychotic place. The ending is similar in the sense that everything is not what it seemed, but obviously with the different plot comes an entirely new scene.

Shawnee Smith is in this film, which is a definite bonus. Also Larry Miller plays a great sicko clown!

I'm giving the movie a 2.5. Compared to the original, the movie deserves a 1 or less. However, anyone who enjoys Wes Craven flicks and sees this movie before seeing the original will probably enjoy it enough to rate it a 3 or 4. So I'll be generous and rate in the middle.

If you want ILM special effects, famous actors and to eat popcorn while watching - forget this movie. But if you like movies where the director left something to think for the audience and if you prefer psychologic horror and atmosphere - you will definately like this horror-puzzle movie!

a total sell out by Wes Craven by attaching his name to this unspeakably inept remake of one of the great cult classics of all time. This is as awful as Herk Herverys origianl is brilliant. Where as the original was creative, creepy and almost surreal, this one has an "artistry" that would shame Ed Wood let alone Wes Craven. It has the feel of a tacky tv straight to vid film which it undoubtedly was. The acting is worse than amateurish, the plot - a total shamble. There is not a shred of suspense or tension throughout the movie......and one only yearns for one thing, that it be over SOON. The best thing about the movie is its relatively short running time at less than 90 minutes. After the putrid Wishmaster.....now this over-ripe turnip. What can we expect from the "Wes Craven presents" next time around? new depths in the modern horror cycle. This is a true stinker.......stay well away and save up your pennies for the mouthwatering upcoming Criterion release of the original and marvelous CARNIVAL OF SOULS. due in March 2000 with any luck.

This is a review for Wes Craven's 1998 remake of Herk Harvey's 1962 classic film "Carnival of Souls."

I'll start off by saying I watched this with an open mind, not expecting anything true to the source material and of a Saturday afternoon SyFy original movie... But it's surprisingly true to its source material, if you watch it with the right kind of eyes. Let's take a closer look.

Carnival of Souls (1962) Plot Summary: A traumatized woman is plagued by demonic spirits coming from an abandoned carnival.
Carnival of Souls (1998) Plot Summary: A traumatized woman is plagued by demonic spirits coming from an abandoned carnival.

Now, I will be talking spoilers here, so if you haven't seen the movie: SPOILER ALERT.

Both movies have a woman getting into a watery crash due to unfortunate circumstances.
Both movies have that woman meeting a man who may or may not be a romantic interest.
Both movies have a "psychologist/psychiatrist" who wants to help the female protagonist.
Both movies portray the female protagonist as being socially withdrawn and traumatized.
Both movies portray evil spirits antagonizing the female lead, who no one else can see.
Both movies portray the idea of Hell/Limbo/Purgatory and have almost identical endings.
Both movies involve an abandoned fairground where the paranormal activity seems to cultivate.

The differences are nominal, but what you might expect in the 35 year gap between the two. One could almost view this as a semi-sequel to the original, but it is lacking the atmosphere and dark intent that the first movie had. All in all, however, it's a good remake for the time, and makes some interesting additions to the Carnival of Souls universe. I'm not really a big fan of Wes Craven's movies, but this is officially my favorite thing that he's ever put his name on.

Approach with an open mind, but also with caution.

I loved this movie, in much the same way I loved Alien and Hellraiser. All three were slow moving, and used subtlety over bruntness for most of the horror. Yes, I know Alien had the cool Gieger designed creature, and Hellraiser had the guy with no skin and Pinhead, but it was really the mood they put you in. In much the same way, Carnival of Souls works. If you aren't patient, don't watch this movie. If you can't handle an ambiguous ending, definitly don't watch this movie. But if you enjoy psychlogical horrors, this is for you. Highly Reccomended.

P.S. The picture and sound quality is good.

The 1998 version of the 1962 low-budget horror classic.

It was a bad idea to classify this as a "horror" story, even though some of the events do qualify as horror. But too many people try to match this to the original, and that in itself is a mistake. In the day where original films are passe, at least this tries to make a new story based on a similar premise. That being a young woman is made to face her fear.

The Phillips character (Alex), as a young naive girl, witnesses the rape and murder of her mother, and could have shot this fiend (Louis, portrayed by Larry Miller) before he killed her; he foolishly left his gun on the nightstand. Watching the mother character's neck snap in the hands of Louis, is singularly unpleasant to watch, and downright disturbing. Instead, she panics and runs. He was obviously caught, and served twenty years for his offense, and now he's out to even the score ("I never hold a grudge, once I get even").

It's about sacrifice, facing the thing that scares you the most, and letting your worries go. Many times in the film, the Sandra character (Shawnee Smith) tells her big sister not to worry about her, "You worry too much, I'll be fine." Alex sees herself as the reason the girls were orphaned so early, and denied the relationship with their mother; she could have shot Louis before he killed her mother (the father was absent all along, pretty typical in too many families) and fretted over Sandra as if she were her own daughter. In an act of closure, on the twentieth anniversary of the murder, Alex goes to the seaside to let the wind blow the ashes of her dead mother over the ocean, and when she returns to the car, there's a balloon on her car's windshield wiper. Louis has obviously been stalking her, and at gunpoint, he decides it's time to finish old business. You are forced to drive to your home and watch this monster at work again. So what do you do? With a murderer's gun to your ear, you floor your gas pedal, steer your car off the pier, and even though you die yourself, you rid the world of this filth who has ruined at least three lives.

The entire middle of the film (from the bathtub scene until the second time the car plunges into the water) is a personal journey through life in an alternate dimension. Her aquaintences are all there, with their own lives, but everything they say and do, is geared to her dilemma. She's dead, and refuses to face it. She is afraid to leave her sister behind, and afraid of the man who has tormented her for twenty years, and afraid to move to the next. The "beings," I'll call them, are symbolic of crucial times , people and events in her world, and they are called "annoying" by some people, but they are symbolic of personal demons in her life; they pop up at crucial moments. Startling to look at, because they come in so unexpectedly, they are meant to catch you off guard, as they do Alex.

The events are about closure, and moving on, and in one flashback scene toward the end, the old man in the bar asks her, "You're not afraid, are you?" And again, Sandra says "You worry too much; I'll be fine."

Again, it's not necessarily horror per se, though some horror elements are present.

It's a movie about life, that's all.

This 1998 version of the 1963 orignal is a pathetic attempt to scare, with its mundane "slamming-door-type" effects and stolen Jabob's Ladder gouls! I was very disappointed by this cheap imitation to conjour the allure and intrigue of the original masterpiece. I expected more, because of its later date of production. The only pleasant thing I can say about this movie,
save your money and buy the original version, whether it be re-mastered, colorized, or un-cut, but don't buy this!

This movie belongs on the Lifetime:Television for Women network. A touching movie about child molestation and the lasting effect is has on a woman. The scariest thing about this movie was Wes Craven's name on the DVD cover. He should be a little more selective on where his name goes. I was never a big fan of the original movie, but at least it had an odd spookiness to it. The only thing remotely spooky about this movie was that Jacobs Ladder spinning head creature, although by the 90th time you see it, it's kind of lost it's touch.Oh yeah, DVD picture looks fine, yadda yadda yadda, but it doesn't matter cause this movies not worth it. If you haven't seen the 1960's original, check it out. Or just watch Showgirls, this way you'll at least get to see Bobbie Phillips naked, instead of just teasing us in her underwear. One more thing. Using clowns and carnivals as a scource of terror is way cliched, and had it's heyday with Poltergeist and The Funhouse. Larry Miller should stick with stand-up.

"Carnival of Souls" is a masterpiece in psychological terror. A must for any die-hard horror fan. I especially liked the directing & acting.