Customer Reviews

Carnival of Souls [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first saw this film in the early seventies on some late night Creature Features-type of show and was immediately enraptured by its creepy atmosphere. Everything about it from Candace Hilligoss' quirky performance to the ethereal organ music made for a genuinely frightening experience. In short "Carnival of Souls" is a genuine classic.

I just saw it again last night on Public Broadcasting, if you can believe it, where they were showing a new print with stereophonic sound and something called SuperPsychorama. And while I have always been a fan of technical improvements in film technology. SuperPsychorama is definitely NOT an improvement. It was like watching a bad acid trip, replete with retinal trails. The people responsible for this even tint the film a sickly green during the parts where Candace "slips" back into the deadworld. What hokum! The film is much better in its original form without this blatant gimmick. I would've given this film 5 stars, otherwise.

I have heard that this is a "Director's Cut" and that there are seven minutes of additional footage added back in. I did notice some different things, and I would love it if someone would put this film out on DVD with the extra footage. But PLEASE get rid of the bogus effects!

I first saw the movie when I was approx. 7-10 yrs. old. That night I could get no sleep, seeing images in the shadows and eyes in my closet. Recently My wife and I viewed it on a local PBS station, it still has it. Creepy and spooky, great for thoese who like creepy but don't want the redundant chain saw blood and guts.

If you like low-budget chills, this film is the ultimate. It's one of the rare films where budget doesn't matter, and the low budget actually makes it creepier. Herk Harvey filmed this b/w early 60s film that borders on camp, centered in an abandoned "Old Pavilion" in Lawrence, KS in theearly 60s. What makes the film so scary is not gore, but the psychological suggestions of death.A woman is killed when her auto plunges off a bridge but somehow seems to survive the wreck. She is strangely cut off from society and sees a scaryspector who disturbingly trails her. A spooky organ score accentuates scenes where zombies dance at the Pavilion in fast motion. If you have everbeen alone, and feared that no one has noticed youand hears you, this film replicates the experience. Perhaps once we get down to it, death may be a similarly campy experience.

Carnival of Souls tells the tale of a sole survivor of a car accident. What's really interesting is that her world slowly starts to unravel and she's drawn to the "abandoned" carnival near where her accident happened. We do get to see zombies in this tale. And this was the inspiration for Romero's Night of the Living Dead. Carnival feels like an extended Twilight Zone episode and the ending delivers much as one would expect from a TZ ep. I think Wes Craven is the one who has recently filmed a remake of this film. I recommend watching this one first. It's a true classic. END

After surviving a car accident during a drag race with a bunch of friends, Mary Henry (beautiful Candace Hilligoss) travels to Utah to begin work as church organist. When she begins seeing a mysterious tall man and experiencing moments of non-existence, she starts to fear that she is trapped between the world of the dead and the world of the living. "Carnival of Souls" was made on a shoestring budget, but still remains to give me the creeps with its spooky organ music and otherworldy performances and direction. The edition I'm reviewing contains an effect added to the film in the late 70s for its re-release. It's called Super-Psychorama and adds green tint and strobe effects to the scenes with the spirits.

My brother first had me view this as a little girl (many years ago) and it is as frightening now as it was then. The main factor I see in it as an adult is the woman's obstacle in "crossing over" because she denies having any form of sprirituality. But the bottom line is that this is one scary film without having to resort to gore, sex or even color. And I still thank my brother for having me watch it.

THIS MOVIE IS SUCH A BLAST FROM THE PAST-I JUST LOVE IT. IT IS STILL VERY SPOOKY. I REMEMBER SEEING CARNIVAL OF SOULS IN THE EARLY 60'S...JUST THE ORGAN MUSIC WAS ENOUGH TO MAKE ME SHAKE. I ALWAYS HAD A THING FOR AMUSEMENT PARKS AND THIS MOVIE ALWAYS SEEMS TO POP INTO MY HEAD WHEN THEY CLOSED DOWN FOR THE SEASON.

IF YOU LOVE THE OLD BLACK AND WHITE HORROR MOVIES AS I DO, YOU WILL LOVE CARIVAL OF SOULS.

I first saw "Carnival of Souls" in Sydney Australia in the mid sixties. It is a movie that I have never forgotten. There is something magical about the characters. They are all "off beat", and the timing of the dialogue is just a half click off center. A true horror movie which has its basis in story, and which uses the powers of sugestion and anticipation in order to create a feeling of disquiet in the viewer. Hilligoss and Berger are magnificent.

BOY, THIS IS ONE SCARY MOVIE!
When I saw this film as a young whippersnapper, it frightened the pants and shirt off of me...leaving me ALMOST naked! In 1990, I bought the vhs tape of this and it was great to see this movie again. It didn't scare me as much when I watched it again, BUT...it still scared me nonetheless. First, however, the film's flaws.

For one, the acting is atrocious and some of the dialogue is pretty bad. And Mr. Lindsey, the other tenant in the boarding house, is the most annoying character I've encountered in any movie. What a creep this guy is! The actor who plays him does too good of a job portraying him...thank the Lord he never appeared in another movie again! The psychiatrist(or counselor) and the landlady have some very weak lines!
HOWEVER..........
Everything else about this movie is great! The zombies are very frightening, especially that man that the main character keeps seeing...indeed, the zombies may be the best actors in the movie!
Candace Hilligoss does a very good job in the lead role..she's quite stunning to look at and makes her character more sympathetic as the movie goes on.
The movie has a very eerie, Twilight Zone feel about it and I like that the movie never really explains itself. David Lynch must have really loved this film. The organ music is very appropriate, tho' it's hard to know when it's being used as background music or when it's actually being heard by the characters in the film.
I highly recommend this movie....
It is going to scare you!

This is not the kind of film you watch and forget. It has an effect whether you like it or not since it invokes a deeper reality. How much I enjoy PK Dick stories like UBIK, the Six Dimensions from the American Book of the Dead, and films like Siesta, and The Sixth Sense. Sometimes I wonder if I am odd because I like to explore the "underworld" - which is happening all the time, even as you read this, and if you don't know what I mean or believe it, watch "Carnival of Souls." -- (beetlejuice, beetlejuice,...)