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Summary: Truly frightening and eerie film experience
Review: If you would like to experience a very frightening and eerie movie, watch Carnival of Souls. Although it was made in a time where nearly all horror movies of the time relied on camp and nostalgia, this one dosn't. All around this equals a great film made greater by the good people at Criteron(who also restored my favorite film, The 400 Blows) -Constantin Luke
Rating: 
Summary: the point is......
Review: This film was very confusing. You would need to just watch it very hard and see where it is taking you. The first minute, the lady is somewhere then she wakes up and its a dream. I have not much to say about this thriller. I do love the black and white films alot, but I give this film only 3 because it didn't make too much sense the first time i watched it through. I bet if you watch it over and over again, you will understand. Although, some people dont like that kind of movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Carnival of Souls
Review: Creepy and atmospheric, brooding and frightening. The pace is slow at times but the overall effect is hypnotic. The plot has been borrowed by a couple of very successful films recently - better not say which ones! Shows what you can do on a shoestring budget.
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Summary: Great movie, bad tape.
Review: I have watched this movie several times over the years and consider it to be very well done for a "B" movie. Because it was filmed in b/w the mood was made eery without having to use a lot of special effects. In fact several parts are VERY eery. The only thing that kept me from rating it 4 or 5 was the terrible quality of the tape. The first time I saw it I rented it and was rewarded with a flawless tape. When I bought the tape I was rewarded with junk. The picture completely disappears for seconds at a time and jumps and jitters almost continually. My suggestion would be to skip the tape and go for a DVD.
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Summary: Herk Harvey's Cult Carnival!
Review: One of the most powerful, artistic, and truly terrifying films of all time is an eerie low budget classic, Carnival Of Souls. Produced by little-known filmakers, on a budget of $30,000, Carnival Of Souls is an endearingly eerie and odd horor film. It never stops being creepy, as Mary Henry (Candance Hilligoss), is the only survivor of a fatal car crash. She works as a church organist ("capable of stirring the soul"), who moves from her small town in Kansas, to Salt Lake City, and has the creepiest car ride ever! The radio stations are all the same, a man (director Harold "Herk" Harvey) looks at her in her window, and the strange image of an old, abondened carnival. There's TONS more after the car ride, but it's to terrifying to reveal!
Criterion has turned out a nother DVD masterpiece, and this classic is worthy of it's treatment. It's quite possibly the best film of all time! P.S. The DVD case is sweet too, and dude, it's a darned double-disc! Also: Get a hold on Criterion's The Blob, and Fiend Without A Face. Two more Cult Classics!
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Summary: Beware of incomplete versions
Review: This is probably my favorite movie of all time. It's simple and beautiful, but you can read other reviews for that stuff. All I want to say is be careful about which version you order, because this particular one(the reddish box that says "Sidney Berger" at the bottom)IS NOT THE COMPLETE VERSION OF THE FILM. When the movie was released, it came out in several different shortened forms in order to fit double bills at drive-ins, and the print they used for this particular video is definitely missing a bunch of little scenes here and there. Video companies are often unscrupulous about the quality or completeness of the prints they choose to format, because if you've never seen the film before, you wouldn't know the difference. This one's still good as far as picture quality goes, but if you are a neurotic like me and you strive for completeness, don't get this one. They re-released the original film in the 1990's, a fully restored version, I'm not sure which one it is, but don't confuse that with the reMAKE from the 90's. Bad. So don't get the reddish one or the remake. The good version has an introduction by Herk Harvey, director/lead zombie, that plays before the film. Great movie though, find the full version and snap it up. See you in zombieland!
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Summary: TOP-DRAWER CULT CLASSIC
Review: Herk Harvey's CARNIVAL OF SOULS is considered among the "Holy Grail" of cult-dom, and with very good reason. With a plot that plays like a lost episode of "The Twilight Zone" and a luminous star like Candace Hilligoss, how can this film NOT have a cult following?! Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss) and her two girlfriends challenge two slack-jawed yokels to a drag race, before crashing off a bridge and sinking into the inky depths of the river below. Mary is found emerging from a river bank, covered in mud and clearly traumatised. She later gets a job playing the organ in the local church before being offered another gig in a nearby state. This is where the fun starts. Mary is taunted and haunted by images of zombies and a "Man" (Herk Harvey himself) that appers everywhere with a lewd expression etched on his ashen-white face. Periodically Mary crosses over into a new plane of existence where there is no sound and she is seemingly invisible. Mary begins to panic, for "they" have come for her for the last time, begging her to dance with "them" at the carnival of souls held just for her... The ending is still a supremely affecting one, and still gets me every time. With Sidney Berger, Stan Levitt, Larry Sneegas, Tom McGinnis and Art Ellison. Filmed mostly in and around the small town of Lawrence, Kansas.
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Summary: Something wicked this way comes
Review: I can only imagine how this movie must have seemed in 1962 upon release- nearly 40 years later it creeped jaded (and click on my "about me" link to see how jaded and mean I can be) me right out. Yes, a modern audience will see the ending coming from about 50 miles away. Yes, it was clearly made for about the price of a happy meal. And yes, some of the acting is so stiff you will wonder if everyone in town is recently embalmed. But there is a pervasive creepiness that is captured in this movie, and a real beauty as well. The Carnival itself is fantastic- I'd love to know what happened to it. It looks like something that has been deserted for eons, and the lunar-looking shores of the Great Salt Lake add to the weird atmosphere. Pop this one in the machine late one night, lower the lights and enjoy. You WILL be creeped out!
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Summary: A Paradigm for the Cinematic Danse Macabre
Review: It only takes one word to sum up what makes the low-budget CARNIVAL OF SOULS a great horror film--atmosphere. In their only commercial effort targeted for cinematic distribution, director Herk Harvey and his co-writer John Clifford whip up an ambiguous and unsettling narrative open to many interpretations--social alienation, emotional or mental breakdown, and feminist aggressiveness, to name just a few--and then pepper it with the palpable imagery of death and the afterlife. And just in case the seasoned horror fan isn't unnerved enough, the spookiness is further augmented by a musical score comprised of an ethereal Bach-like organ music. This creates a moody ambiance that reaches a bone-chilling apogee rarely achieved in even some of the more popular horror flicks, and by the time the film arrives at its haunting climax, viewers have sprouted goose bumps aplenty. The story centers on Mary Henry, a young and ordinary Midwestern girl who is the sole survivor of a deadly auto accident. In an effort to put the tragic accident behind her, Mary takes a job in a town several states to the west. All of her efforts seem for naught, however, when she becomes haunted by spirits who beckon her to join them in a nightly danse macabre. Ultimately, Mary comes full circle when events compel her to return to her hometown and face the truth about her own personal reality. Wonderful as it is, CARNIVAL OF SOULS is not without its minor production faults. Though actress Candace Hilligoss is outstanding as the pretty yet odd protagonist, many members of the supporting cast are obvious amateurs with little, if any, acting experience. Director Herk Harvey was, by vocation, an industrial filmmaker who often peopled his productions with any "soul" who happened to be at hand, and it seems he adhered to this practice when casting this film. In addition, it is glaringly obvious in some spots that the dialogue looping is either out of sync or is altogether different from the lines actually delivered by the actor. Oddly enough, though, these few faults don't detract in the least from the strong, moody psychological narrative; if anything, they actually add to the surreal and creepy atmosphere. CARNIVAL OF SOULS is one of those rare low-budget independent films that has risen above its modest beginnings, as well as some of its big-budget contemporaries, to become a cherished and well-respected cinema classic. That it succeeds is a tribute to its creators, a handful of talented people who, against all odds, were determined to realize their artistic vision and to share that vision with the public. And what a delightfully frightening vision it is! A must-see for the serious horror aficionado, and a fun and creepy little curio for movie buffs of any calibre.
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Summary: Great Spooky bargain!
Review: I recently bought a Carnival of Souls / Horror Hotel combo DVD for dirt cheap, since I wanted something spooky for Halloween. This DVD, if you can find it, is a great deal at $6! Carnival of Souls is the Blair Witch Project of the 1960s - a horror film made on a nothing budget that developed quite a cult following. Sure, the acting is B-tier and the black and white film doesn't have that Hollywood slickness, but it's quite good! Some of the images, especially at the end, are rather disturbing and even remind me of classic horror silent films. The second film, Horror Hotel, is another great B-tier horror film from the 1960s. I'd never heard of it, but I was pleasantly surprised by it, despite the silly title. Christopher Lee has a small role in it, too. Anyhow, it's a film about a college student who travels to a small New England town to do research on witchcraft for her term paper. Of course, she discovers more than she bargained for (that's all I'll say about the plot, I don't like to give away plots). The film reminds me a lot of the classic Italian horror film Black Sunday (with Barbara Steele) and Hitchcock's Psycho. The photography is moody and eerie, and the film still has the power to frighten us, even in this day and age. A few words about the DVD - both films are presented on the same side. Sound is strictly monophonic and perhaps a little shrill at times, but it is overall quite acceptable. The video quality varies. Carnival of Souls was really crystal clear (surprising in a budget DVD) with only the occasional scratch or dust mark; the only thing I didn't like was this wavy thing that sometimes wandered across the image. Kinda like some RF modulation wave (I'm not a tech-head, so that's the best I can describe it). Still, unless you have the money to buy the very expensive Criterion DVD of carnival of souls (quite a good DVD, I hear), this DVD is more than good enough. Horror Hotel's video is not as clear and tends to have a softer appearing image. Kinda like watching a black/white film on TV, I think. But the image is still very acceptable, and hey, for $6, you get two great horror films! How can you lose? I recommend this DVD if you can find it!
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