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Summary: Utterly mesmerizing and hypnotic . . . a must-see movie!!
Review: A young woman (Candace Hilligoss) apparently drowns and is thereafter followed by an eerie phantom figure throughout this juicy little thriller. Watch it once and you'll be hooked. Very atmospheric, yet subtle in other ways. Great B&W photography. Truly deserving of its cult status. A good example of what can be done with a limited budget and some highly creative people.
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Summary: Turn the lights down.....
Review: Cheaply made:yes. Even so, this movie gives me the creeps every time I watch it. A short summary: A couple of young girls go for a car ride, only to run off the road and into a body of water. The only girl to survive is now haunted by a strange man that pops up now and again to scare the witts out of her (and me!). There is no great make-up wizardry in this movie, but there is no need for it. A classic black and white with great suspense, a must see for any movie buff.
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Summary: How did they do this with no money?
Review: This is an eerie, atmospheric b&w film that is not nightmarish, but more like a disturbing dream. A carload of girls goes off a bridge and only one crawls out of the water. After that she fades in and out of people's perception and keeps encountering others who seem to be not quite alive. There could not have been a better place to film it than that deserted amusment park. A cult classic, best watched late at night with the lights off--and probably not by yourself.
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Summary: Creepy 'lil low-budget flick has a feverish feel.
Review: This movie has retained the feel of the $1.50 budget it must have had, but it does have moments of real creepiness. There are even a couple of shocks -- the mysterious man who is following her everywhere she goes, the final scenes in the Carnival. It has the feverish feel of early Polanski, and Ms. Hilligoss (Night of the Living Dead) is an unlikely (and passive!) heroine.
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Summary: One of the few thought provoking horror films
Review: Carnival Souls admittedly is one of those low budget productions, yet the film generates a feeling of anticipation and geniune fright.It's like your actually in the film, and experiencing everything that existentialist Mary Henry is experiencing.There are also political undertones in this film.If you read The Stranger by Camus,or any work by Kafka you will like this film.
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Summary: Horror Classic for Lovers of the Genre
Review: It has always been my opinion that horror is an underappreciated genre. No matter how good the film is, it is pre-labeled "bad" and "trash" by so-called movie critics, whose job they feel is to only heighten the movies that fall into either the musical, drama, or comedic categories. How sad that such people will miss such a fantastic film as "Carnival of Souls." It conveys more mood and subtle atmosphere than almost any film I have ever seen. The story is intruiging, and does not give away too much too soon. Great performances from the cast, a commanding use of light and film, Carnival of Souls is a chilling Tour de Force.
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Summary: Flat out bad
Review: Cult "classic" is basically a long and mostly dull Twilight Zone episode. Occasional creeps mix with poor acting and a tiresome storyline. It is at least superior to the dreadful George Romero zombie films.
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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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Summary: I love you church organist
Review: Carnival of Souls aka "Corridors of Evil", is a crowning jewel in American Cinema. Despite the low budget and poor film quality, this 1962 masterpiece stands as a cult more than 40 years after it's release. Candice Hilligoss' fine performance will overwhelm you as she portrays a character caught in a purgatory between life and death. Her beauty alone will strike the viewer in a way few actresses can. Her physical acting, facial gestures, and line delivery will leave you wondering why this woman did not become a household name like Marilyn Monroe or Raquel Welch. The story is as simple as it is complex. A woman is an innocent passenger in a car that gets into a drag race with some teenage thugs. The result is her car going over a bridge into a fast running, sandy river. As she crawls out of the wreckage covered in mud, the viewer thinks she has survived, but has she? Ms. Hilligoss' character is a musician, an organist to be exact who takes a job as a church organist in Salt Lake City, Utah. As she begins her journey she is terrified of images of a phantom of sorts who seems to be seeking her out. Anyone who has driven for an average of twelve hours straight can tell you that driving can take its toll, and the mind can play tricks on a sleepy driver. However, after she checks into her room, she finds the same phantom lurking in the window, then in the hallway. Who is this creature, what does he want, where is he from? The main point of the film is not horror, but human nature. Are we all alone in this world? Is everyone an island unto themselves. The lesson is thrown upon our character by a minister, a psychologist, and a would be male suitor. They all try to help her in their own way (except the suitor who is only interested in her for a chance to have sex). But our character waves a hand at them all, convinced that she can do it her own way. She is an independent woman who needs no man or companionship; a view that may have gone against society's thinking in 1962. The male suitor (or 'just your normal guy' as he likes to call himself) is an obnoxious oaf to say the least. His headstrong pursuit of her is only his own selfish desire to have her. He's not an alcoholic he claims, yet he drinks at dawn. He quit college because he doesn't like to learn. This is not an ideal resume for a long term relationship for her or any other woman. When she is truly frightened by the visiting spectre, and she reaches out to him as a last resort for help, he runs. Not wanting to get involved, he was only interested in her for her body and his own sexual desire. Yet another lesson in this film for all the young ladies who care to pay attention. As the story goes on Candace's soul seems to deteriorate. She slips in and out of reality and a strange sort of parallel world. This dimension looks the same as real life, but she cannot be seen or heard. The department store dressing room for example, shows how the lost spirit must learn that she is no longer of this world, but now belongs in the spirit world, where yet another companion awaits her. Who is this man that haunts her in visions? We see at the end of the film that they are to be together forever. In the final seen where we see Candace's peek at her after-life. She screams in horror as the ghosts dance eternally as the haunt the carnival. She is finally captured by the ghosts and is spirited away. The police and minister are confused and baffled as her footprints and final body print leads nowhere. The minister gives a knowing look as if he has known all along, but says nothing. The minister must have known there was something wrong with his new organist when he first met and eventually fired her. She had not the soul of a musician, she only had a knowledge for music. She was told this too by the organ builder in the beginning of the film. When she is possessed in the church and her true musician ship comes out as she plays without control, that is her true spirit, but the misinster fires her for 'blasphony'. This film cannot be watched once and dismissed. It deserves to be watched over and over again. It is a timeless movie where something seems new every time you watch it. I applaud you 'Carnival of Souls'. One of the greatest movies ever made.
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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.
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