Much has been written and discussed about “Carnival Of Souls” over the years since its 1962 release. It has inspired many other filmmakers, including horror guru Wes Craven, who produced a 1998 remake.  Upon repeated viewings I have seen parallels to several later movies, including "The Sixth Sense" and "The Others."

Directed by Herk Harvey, a documentary and educational film director with a credit list of over forty films, including an episode of PBS Television's “Reading Rainbow,” “Carnival Of Souls” stands as the directors only feature film. And with a rumored budget of a mere $33,000, most of the films shortcomings can hardly be blamed on Mr. Harvey.

The story is pretty simple. Mary Henry, played by Candace Hilligoss, is riding in a car that goes off a bridge, and everyone but her is killed. Mary is cool and reasonable, and moves on with her life, taking a job as church organist. She moves to a town in Utah, and gets a room in a boarding house. Her landlord, Mrs. Thomas is a bit dotty. Her only neighbor in the house, John Linden, is a sex starved, borderline alcoholic. 

Through her relations with these two characters, and her minister boss at the church, we discover that Mary is not a spiritual person, she is painfully practical, and has never had a close relationship, and in fact might be considered fridged. 

But when she discovers the old carnival pavilion next to the lake, weird things start to happen, including a strange ghostly man with dark eyes who keeps turning up, and an entire host of the dead that chase after the heroine. Mary has hallucinations in which no one can see or hear her. And it all comes to a head in a ballroom dance of the dead.

Technically, the entire film comes up short. The camera work and lighting are utilitarian. The editing is pedestrian and even sloppy. And the audio...

 

The audio in this film is at once distracting, and compelling. Most of the dialogue is in sync, but there are large blocks of conversation that have been shot silent, and then “dubbed” or “looped.” The sound quality of this conversation does not match with the background, and stands out from the scene. While in a polished Hollywood production of today this would be an instant turn off, for some reason it works, and creates an odd sense of the surreal.

 

Then there is the organ. Mary plays the organ in several scenes, but her hands move nonsensically over the keys, and the music doesn't match the notes she is supposedly playing. Again, this lack of connection could, and should, kick the audience out of the film. Instead it creates an eeriness from the start, an eeriness that plays out throughout the rest of the film.

 

And finally, many of the sound effects are just wrong. Most notably, the footsteps as Mary walks are not only out of sync with the picture, but they sound distant and hollow. One might argue that this was intentional, but it seems more like sloppy sound editing. Still, it adds to the overall alienation the character is feeling, so mistake or not, it enhances the film's weirdness level. 

 

 

Special effects are limited. Stunts are absent. Sets were locations. Most of the small budget was probably spent on securing permits for the locations, and on the car that plummets off the bridge into the river. Yet without all of the sugar candy Hollywood force feeds down our throats, “Carnival Of Souls” somehow manages to capture the attention and imaginations of film-goers everywhere. 

 

It has become a cult classic. It is a must see for any true Film Warrior, and you can watch the entire film online for free, right HERE!

 

One final thought. While it is not a good film, it is a pure film. By this I mean, it was made by filmmakers who love their art-form, and did the best with what they had. The result comes across in the final cut. I applaud Herk Henry for his effort, and will continue to enjoy, though a bit guiltily, the chills created in this simple ghost story.

 

“It's a thousand years to Christmas, Mr. Halloway.”