Rating: 
Summary: More haunting the first time but still interesting
Review: The first time I saw this better than average 'B' film was when I was fairly impressionable. Seeing it recently, it didn't have the same effect and the flaws were more obvious. One can understand how some may say it's one of those 'so bad it's good' films but I think it is not really that bad. In fact the concept was great: a woman who dies in a car crash wanders the Earth in search of her soul, pursued by a dead man-apparently. The car radio only plays weird organ music; on the horizon she sees a haunting looking carnival dance hall ( or in her mind's eye); she gets sacked for her 'lack of soul' when playing the organ at a church; she has weird experiences at every turn; she can't connect with people and seems dissociated. Eventually her dead pursuer lures her to the abandoned carnival where she joins in the dance of the dead. No explanations, no blood and gore required, no mushy love interests, no high profile actors all adds to the haunting flavour. This movie has all the ingredients of something special but, sadly, on second look it falls well short of what I remember as an eerily haunting film in my youth. But it still deserves credit because the idea alone is worth gold. It is typical of Hollywood not to fully exploit this idea with subtlety but to use over the top 'in-your-face' concepts instead.
Rating: 
Summary: An eerie, disturbing fever dream . . .
Review: "Carnival of Souls" is an odd, Twilight Zone-like movie in which a heady atmosphere compensates for an exceptionally uneven presentation. Yes, I know you've heard that about many other horror films, but "Carnival of Souls" is one of the few times where such a description is warranted. It's the atmosphere of the film - best likened to an eerie fever dream, that made "Carnival of Souls" a cult film. The often skillful black and white cinematography turns the often mundane - even banal - locations seem mysterious and even sinister. This doesn't turn the movie into a classic winner, but it does help explain why a public domain movie like this is still remembered today.
Virtually the entire running time of "Carnival of Souls" is devoted to a moody young church organist (Candace Hilligoss) obsessed with a ruined amusement park not far from her church. Her odd behavior justifiably confuses her sleazy, wannabe boyfriend and as the film progresses her breaks with reality are more and more disjointed. This isn't a standard B-movie stocked full of scares, but a consistently odd, unnerving film. The ending, if anything is anticlimatic. Several scenes in which the organist is being pressured by her boyfriend (Sydney Berger) are actually far scarier than any of the supernatural elements in the film.
The Criterion DVD also includes generous documentaries, galleries, and a "director's cut" which share more than you need to know about this film. It pushes my rating of the film from 3 stars to four. It's nice to see a B-movie given this respect. However . . .
The main problem with the Criterion DVD is that, no matter how you frame it, this _is_ a DVD of an obscure, uneven B-movie. The cheezy electric, whirling organ score is only occassionally effective and there's little attempt to have Hilligoss mime convincingly to the music on those scenes when she is the organist. Most of the supporting actors are downright terrible, and the film's pacing drags at times. This isn't an "art movie" no matter what the pretensions of its creators. To be charged nearly 40 dollars for it (even though it has extras and is restored)is a bit excessive, not to mention insulting. If you're a purist, buy a used copy. If you're just want a copy of the film for your collection, there are plenty of other, more inexpensive, versions around, including a colorized one.
Rating:
Summary: good stuff, maybe not amazing though
Review: i was pretty into candace hiligoss in this movie. hot babe! the organ score in this movie really rules. seeing candace organ "sync"-ing throughout the movie is a corny yet pleasureable sight. the organ score gives you two simultaneous feelings, first one of the sacred,the church, and the other of the carnival, somewhat bawdy and profane. it was a very brilliant twist to have the lead charactor as an organist, because this duality carries the vibe of the whole movie. it's really hilarious in the scene where she's jamming at the church to practice the hymns, and then she gets overtaken by the spirits or whatever and starts getting into some dark twisted carnival organ. the spirits "take over" her fingers and she starts jamming evil organ in the church.
even though this movie seemed to tense out my girlfriend, i can't say i found it scary. it's full of atmosphere, due mainly to candace's weird and kinda bad acting, the great organ music, and the wonderful setting of the amusement park pavillion on the lakeside.
the atmosphere is what'll attach you to it.
Rating: 
Summary: In the dark, your fantasies get so far out of hand.
Review: The sound was horrible in this film. The acting seemed like it was done by high school students. The score was unneeded. The direction was horrible. Nothing was explained.
I loved this film.
I know, many of you are probably wondering why I loved a film that denounces everything I feel is needed in a film, but for some odd reason in this film it worked. This was a very scary movie. Not the kind of scary that you need blood or violence to make you jump, but the kind that the violins seemed to shrill your way to behind a pillow. I was really impressed that this film was released in 1962. I would put money down that if this film were to be released today it would do really well.
As I watched this film, I made the comment that this could very well have been a Mystery Science Theater 3000 film. There were certain elements to it that I could see Joel or the bots just making fun of. So, in that sense, I am glad that I didn't see the film with those guys commenting through it, I may not have enjoyed it as much. This was a film full of symbolism, of imagination, and of surprises. I loved the way that Mary went from real life to when people couldn't hear or see her. It showed that something supernatural was at work instead of just some crazy guy following her around. The carnival was spooky. This is one of those films that you would put on at Halloween with a great bottle of wine and your best girl by your side.
Without giving too much away, I enjoyed how this film came to it's conclusion. As the visions of the phantom man became greater and greater, it was obvious that the cops were getting closer and closer to finding the car. I also enjoyed the fact that the "undead" of the film all came out of water to be reborn. It was great foreshadowing to what would happen to Mary.
The director took many risks with the symbolism that he used, and it worked better than some films with today's CGI abilities. You could tell as you watched this film that imagination was flowing with the writer of this film. It proved that even without a budget you could make a film that would last the test of time, and even be remade over and over again. The surprises were easy, but fun. I saw the ending of this film coming a mile away, but it still kept my attention.
Overall, this film is like a great wine. Imagine opening a bottle of merlot from 1962 and having the whole afternoon to enjoy it. That is how I feel about this film. A definite for anyone to have in their collection!!
Grade: ***** out of *****
Rating:
Summary: CARNIVAL OF SOULS (original 1962)
Review: A young woman finds herself pursued by evil spirits who want her to come to a ghostly carnival after she "survives" a car crash.
Spooky little film was made on a shoestring budget, and is now considered a cult classic. Candace Hilligoss turns in a wonderfully bizarre performance as Mary Henry. Gene Moore's organ score is very creepy. Inspirational to such films as "Night of the Living Dead," "The Others" and "The Sixth Sense." Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Great DVD
Review: I really like this Criterion version of Carnival of Souls -- especially all the included background material on the locations and actors. You really get a sense of what it takes to make an independent film. I highly reccomend this DVD to anyone who is a film buff or is a film student.
However, I recently came across another DVD release of Carnival of Souls that is also very interesting. It features both the original B/W and new Color version of the film, which is suprisingly accurate to both the locations and the mood of the film. It also has an audio commentary by Mike Nelson of MST3K. In addition, there is also an effective 5.1 channel DTS soundtrack. You can find out more info on this version at www offcolorfilms dot com.
Rating: 
Summary: crap
Review: It sounds cheap. It looks cheap. There was nothing scary or entertaining about it. The plot doesn't make sense. People talk to her, everything blurs then they don't see or hear her. Dumb. I had to force myself and my friends to watch it. I love old horror films but this one was a dud. I don't understand the reviews saying how great this movie is. Don't waste your money.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing and Creepy cult classic comes to DVD!!!
Review: Carnival of Souls was made on a shoe-string budget by industrial filmmaker Herk Harvey and stars the enigmatic and beautiful Candace Hilligoss as the lead character who manages to be constantly isolated from everyone around her. There are so many excellent transitions and shots in the movie it was obvious that who ever put it together had been an excellent film editior at the very least. As the film has been extensively reviewed here I want to focus on the DVD releases. Aside from the original cut of the film, 82 minutes, there where several prints that had been trimmed down both by the director and perhaps for TV although I have seen the complete film on cable as well as edited versions. The Image "movie-only" release (by the way Image also co-produced the Criterion Collection release) has the complete version of the movie and best print that I have seen. There is an active menu with some of the spooky organ music with icons for chapters and the films trailer. At first I thought the icon for "recommendations" was just a link to a one page marketing promo. However, if you click on the title boxes you get a trailer for each of the other Image releases shown. Quite a nice little "Easter Egg"!
I am glad I have the other versions as well because I think the edited prints are also interesting. The Alpha Video version actually has a slightly higher bit rate than the Image edition and only a tiny amount of pixelization here and there detracts from a very sharp picture, it clocks in at 77 minutes and is a great bargain. The Diamond DVD release has an identical running time, but a lower bit rate and still some pixelization in a couple of scenes. However considering that you get a copy of 1960's "Horror Hotel" with Christopher Lee included it is a great buy for just a few bucks. Curiously, the Diamond edition "Carnival of Souls/"Horror Hotel" is supposedly out of print yet I found a copy in a store recently and got another new copy on-line for my little brother's collection. Goodtimes has released "Carnival of Souls" with a high bit rate and sharp picture but a few more skips and pops. Also, the running time is the shortest, 75 minutes, as it cuts out a couple more scenes such as when Candace Hilligoss stops for gas and directions entering Salt Lake City. However, my Goodtimes edition is a two sided disc with "Carnival" on one side and a decent print of "Night of the Living Dead" on the other. For those of you who don't like two sided discs, Goodtimes has also released both films seperately for just a few bucks each. Criterion Collection has released the utlimate edition with two cuts of the film and loads of extras including a commentary. However, it you are on a budget you do have other options. So make some popcorn and enjoy the show. Thanks, CAL
Rating:
Summary: "I'm not taking vows. I just play the organ."
Review: Carnival of Souls is the horror movie Albert Camus might have made. It's a lot like George Romero's original Night of the Living Dead - - black and white, low-budget, a simple horror story that's really about human beings' isolation in their own skins. The acting ensemble in Romero's film is consistently better, but Carnival of Souls only has one real character, and Candace Hilligoss as Mary is very good. It's probably only her performance that has kept this movie around for over forty years. It's 1962 in a small town, and two young guys in a hot rod and three young women in another car are drag racing. They get to the bridge outside of town, finally going fast enough to feel alive when . . . . . . Mary crawls out of the river, covered in mud, the only female survivor. The other two girls paid the price for giving in to the thrill of the boys' challenge. Seemingly unaffected (almost in the clinical sense of being without affect), Mary follows her plan to go to another small town where she's been hired as a church organist. She doesn't believe in the church, though; she's a musician and playing the organ is just a job. Mary's drive to her new town is the scariest bit of filmmaking I've seen in a long time. Trying to settle into her new life, Mary starts to crack up. Besides seeing an apparition connected to an old ruined carnival, Mary is suddenly unable to hear the people around her. Three men say they want to help her - - a would-be boyfriend who's only interested in sex and leaves her when she lets her despair show, a doctor who violently shakes her and orders her to his office for his expert help, and the minister she works for who fires her when something possesses her and she "profanes" his church with carnival music. Love, science, and God all fail her. If Mary had only been able to hang on for five or ten years, maybe she would have found more satisfying work, or support from other women, or been stronger herself. In 1962 Mary felt the nothingness eating her alive, but she couldn't see a way out in time. She lost the race.
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