Featured Audience Ratings

• Universal D

  
  A drive in the country past an delapidated amusement park proves to be more than simply moody and atmospheric for an young woman just starting out in life ... or is she? A heavy church organ music background proves to rattle even the strongest nerve in this justified cult classic.

• Chris W

  
  After a tragic car crash during a drag race, the sole survivor, a Kansas woman named Mary takes a job playing the organ at a church in Utah. On her journey ot Utah she begins experiencing ghostly visions and odd compulsions to visit an eeir abandoned carnival. Things get even weirder… More
  After a tragic car crash during a drag race, the sole survivor, a Kansas woman named Mary takes a job playing the organ at a church in Utah. On her journey ot Utah she begins experiencing ghostly visions and odd compulsions to visit an eeir abandoned carnival. Things get even weirder and more spooky from there, and her attempts to live a normal, quiet life seem all but impossible to do. Released in the early 1960s, this is a low budget indie before that concept really became what it is today. It might a horror film with a bunch of no names and little funds, but it makes the msot of what it has, and the result is a surprisingly fun and creepy atmospheric chiller that has become quite successful in the nearly 50 years since its release. The cinematogrpahy is surprisingly quite good, with the visuals being reminiscent of European arthouse fare as well as a bit of film noir. The acting is a bit stiff and wooden, and some of the makeup looks a bit cheesy in hindsight, but comared to a lot of stuff that came out after it did, these could have been far more terrible. The key to this film's success is in its atmosphere, which is quite excellent, and really strengthened thanks in large part to the film's organ score which is really hypnotic, creepy, and mesmerizing. The film has a heavy Twilight Zone vibe to it, and the increasing moodiness and bizarreness of events make for a fun little horror yarn. All in all, this is a strong effort given the circumstances, and I really liked it. I get the impression that I should love this, but even though as of now I merely just really, really enjoyed it, I think I could see myself eventually falling in love with it. If you want an entertaining and eerie film that helped set a certain standard for future similar films, then you need to give this one a watch.

• Graham J

  
  A film that creeps up on you and delivers. With breathtaking cinematography and direction, It's not just any regular old B-movie.

• Tsubaki S

  
  At times it feels like a Twilight Zone episode, wooden acting and everything, but when Carnival of Souls gets the mood right it never lets you go. Yes, mood, there was a time when movies had a sense of atmosphere, of building tension. All this with the right direction, the right… More
  At times it feels like a Twilight Zone episode, wooden acting and everything, but when Carnival of Souls gets the mood right it never lets you go. Yes, mood, there was a time when movies had a sense of atmosphere, of building tension. All this with the right direction, the right selection of music, performances, not CGI and loud soundtracks. Carnival of Souls works around it's budget and supporting cast issues by creating great moments, using wisely it's very obvious influences from german expresionism. Candice Hilligoss carries around the movie in a solid performance, and the director himself will keep creeping the crap out of you. People grown with thrillers/"horror" movies of the last decade will just try to keep guessing the ending. As for the rest of us, the journey of the movie will be the real joy here.

• David L

  
  When it comes to cult classics of the horror genre, I lump Carnival Of Souls into the same category as Night Of The Living Dead (1968). This movie had an extremely low budget - it was made for $30,000, or $17,000, depending on the source. Whatever it was, it was dirt cheap to make.… More
  When it comes to cult classics of the horror genre, I lump Carnival Of Souls into the same category as Night Of The Living Dead (1968). This movie had an extremely low budget - it was made for $30,000, or $17,000, depending on the source. Whatever it was, it was dirt cheap to make. But in my opinion, sometimes low budget movies are better than the polished big budget movies with top-of-the-line actors and special effects. When it comes to horror movies, a small amount of money can produce the same desired result as big budget movies, which is to scare the audience. The goal is to create an eerie and spooky and scary atmosphere that taps into a person's feelings of fear. You really don't need a lot of money to accomplish this. A lot of low budget B horror movies are very effective. Carnival Of Souls is one of them. This movie was shot in Lawrence, Kansas and also at the Saltair Pavilion amusement park in Salt Lake City, Utah. This movie stars Candace Hilligoss as Mary Henry, a church organist who survives a car accident in which her two girl companions died. The accident was the result of a car full of guys challenging the girls to a drag race. The race turns tragic as the car goes off a bridge and plunges into a river below. Her two companions die in the accident, but Mary somehow survives basically unscathed. She then goes to Salt Lake City and takes a new job playing organ in a church. Throughout the movie, she often sees the ghostly image of a man (played by director Herk Harvey) practically everywhere she goes. This man seems to be haunting her. Nobody else but her sees this man. It isn't long before she seems to become non-existent to the people around her, all of whom don't see or hear her. Along the way, a fellow tenant named John (played by Sidney Berger) who lives across the hall from her takes a great interest in her. At first she pushes him away, then at other times she wants to be with him and goes out to dinner with him. But at one point he realizes that she is "off her rocker" and storms out of the room and never sees her again. Mary seems to be scared of unknown forces throughout the movie. It also seems as if what is living and what is dead is a blur to her. She can't tell the difference. She basically is caught between the living and the dead. She is even haunted by her own organ music, which changes from happier tones early in the movie to more sinister and darker tones while she's practicing at the church one night. It seems as though ever since she saw the pavilion she became drawn to it. As a result, she falls into a trance and sees, in her mind, zombies coming out of the water near the pavilion to delight in her sinister organ music. Suddenly the church minister appears out of nowhere and disapproves of her organ playing and fires her. At first it appears she's still in a trance. Then it becomes apparent that she's probably in shock about being fired. Near the end, it seems as if Mary has been dreaming about these zombies at the abandoned carnival. The end of the movie has a bizarre ending that I won't reveal. Watch it to find out what happens. This movie's score is 100% theater organ, performed by Gene Moore. That's it - an organ. The organ music is eerie throughout the movie and seems to be off key a lot of the time (intentionally, of course) and has an underlying, subtle carnival melody during a lot of the scenes at the pavilion. I must say I'm surprised that Candace Hilligoss only appeared in one other movie (The Curse Of The Living Corpse in 1964). She is nice looking, has very good screen presence, and does a good job in her role. This movie can be classified as having subtle, atmospheric psychological horror. This movie has no blood and gore. Instead, the music, camera angles, lighting, howling winds, shadows, and feeling of emptiness make this movie creepy. This film is a must see for any fan of classic horror.

• Tim S

  
  Much more interesting visually than story-wise. Kind of reminded me of Polanski...perhaps a poor man's Polanski. Well, that is, before there even was a Polanski. Anyway, the story is a pretty predictable affair and some of the performances are pretty schlocky, but the overall… More
  Much more interesting visually than story-wise. Kind of reminded me of Polanski...perhaps a poor man's Polanski. Well, that is, before there even was a Polanski. Anyway, the story is a pretty predictable affair and some of the performances are pretty schlocky, but the overall atmosphere, mood, and visuals are what make this film worth watching.

• AJ V

  
  This is one of my favourite horror films of the sixties, it keeps you guessing till the end, and it's very atmospheric and creepy. I love this movie and I highly recommend it.

• Cindy I

  
  The inspiration for Night of The Living Dead. When I saw it, I recognized the....ghosts? zombies?... as being in my dreams or nightmares Or maybe I saw it in my childhood and buried the memories. With good reason...even though the phantoms are just in cheap whiteface, they and this… More
  The inspiration for Night of The Living Dead. When I saw it, I recognized the....ghosts? zombies?... as being in my dreams or nightmares Or maybe I saw it in my childhood and buried the memories. With good reason...even though the phantoms are just in cheap whiteface, they and this whole film still scares the hell out of me. UPDATE: Yep, still scary.

• Randy T

  
  This is one of those rare films where the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. The budget is low, the acting is suspect, the editing is choppy, and the makeup is downright cheesy - and yet <i>Carnival of Souls</i> is wonderfully creepy. A horror classic.

• Cassandra M

  
  I love this film! It's one of my all time favourite movies and I'd rate it as a deservedly acclaimed cult classic and the eeriest, most strangely compelling, most unforgettable and greatest horror movie of all time. The camera work is beautiful. The organ music, creepy… More
  I love this film! It's one of my all time favourite movies and I'd rate it as a deservedly acclaimed cult classic and the eeriest, most strangely compelling, most unforgettable and greatest horror movie of all time. The camera work is beautiful. The organ music, creepy carnival and director Herk Harvey as the figure of Death are all unforgettably eerie. The first time I saw this film (I had already read about it's making in an issue of Fangoria) was on BBC2's Moviedrome introduced by Alex Cox (himself the director of Repo Man, the lackluster and innacurate Sid & Nancy and the amazing Well Did You Evah music video. On watching the film I was captivated and fascinated and ultimately at the film's conclusion had a strange feeling of déja vu, as if I'd seen it before in a dream or something, long ago. There are a number of surreal and creepy scenes in the film. The scene where Mary (Candace Hilligoss) goes to the abandoned carnival during the day has a surreal, dreamlike and sensual beauty. Whereas the later scenes of Mary playing the church organ and seeing in her mind, the dead rising from the sea and the film's carnival/beach conclusion are at once dreamlike and yet somehow documentary like at the same time. It's unforgettable imagery like this that makes this film such an unforgettable experience. On the other hand, the drunk lodger's attempts to seduce Mary are amusing and some of her biting dialogue and sarcasm helps keep the non horror moments entertaining. The film is also notable for having a clear influence on films and filmmakers like George A Romero's classic "Night Of The Living Dead" (another 60s b/w horror classic) and David Lynch (compare Herk Harvey's ghoul with Killer Bob's surreal and frightening appearances at unexpected times in Twin Peaks). Be warned however, once you experience the dreamlike qualities of this eerie masterpiece, I can't guarantee you'll ever awake from it.

• Greg S

  
  A church organist survives a drowning accident and finds herself seeing visions of a pale, ghostly man while she's drawn towards a mysterious abandoned amusement park on the outskirts of town. Made for next to nothing by a first-time feature director, written by a first-time… More
  A church organist survives a drowning accident and finds herself seeing visions of a pale, ghostly man while she's drawn towards a mysterious abandoned amusement park on the outskirts of town. Made for next to nothing by a first-time feature director, written by a first-time feature screenwriter, and featuring a first-time actress (the mesmerizing Candace Hilligoss), the haunting CARNIVAL OF SOULS is a masterpiece of bargain-basement atmosphere and a small miracle on film.

• jd c

  
  One of my favorite older horror films. Definitely on the top ten of older classic horror movies. This is one spooky ride. Drenched in creepy atmosphere beyond belief and one of the spookiest horror scores I have ever heard. This movie reminds me of just one long Twilight Zone episode,… More
  One of my favorite older horror films. Definitely on the top ten of older classic horror movies. This is one spooky ride. Drenched in creepy atmosphere beyond belief and one of the spookiest horror scores I have ever heard. This movie reminds me of just one long Twilight Zone episode, which is great, because The Twilight Zone is probably the best horror series ever to be created. Carnival of Souls is the perfect movie for a dark and stormy night, and it wouldn't feel better any other way. This movie was only made for night time viewing, period. Even better, a great movie to watch around Halloween time. Up there with "Horror Hotel", this is one of the most atmospheric horror films ever made. And spooky too. I highly recommend Carnival of Souls(that is of course if you appreciate older horror films). This movie is truly a classic! Plot - "Mary Henry is enjoying the day by riding around in a car with two friends. When challenged to a drag, the women accept, but are forced off of a bridge. It appears that all are drowned, until Mary, quite some time later, amazingly emerges from the river. After recovering, Mary accepts a job in a new town as a church organist, only to be dogged by a mysterious phantom figure that seems to reside in an old run-down pavilion. It is here that Mary must confront the personal demons of her spiritual insouciance." Other Reviews: "Creepy, creepy." - ColeSmithey.com "A genuinely creepy thriller, humble in scope and lacking some polish, but executed with ghoulish intuition." - Nick's Flick Picks "A cult classic that would have subtle yet meaningful influences on the horror genre for decades to come." - eFilmCritic "An influential little horror gem." - Lawrence Journal-World "A chilling ghost story with artistic pretensions." - TV Guide's Movie Guide "A haunting ghost story." - Ozus World Movie Reviews "Carnival of Souls works well enough as chill-up-the-spine cinema." - Washington Post "It depends on crisp black-and-white photography, atmosphere and surprisingly effective acting." - Roger Ebert "Carnival of Souls is unlike any other movie I've ever seen. I don't think it would make any serious film fan's "best ever" list, but it is unique and at times chilling enough to have carved a niche for itself in horror history." - Classic-Horror <a href="http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm89/JDHallowEEn/?action=view¤t=CarnivalofSouls.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm89/JDHallowEEn/CarnivalofSouls.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

• Pierluigi P

  
  A bit dated and made with low budget, but it has very interesting premise and some moments of bone chilling psychological horror. A "drive-in" classic.

• Lafe F

  
  A nightmarish experience captured on black and white film! A woman loses her sense of belonging and moves away to a strange town, where she attempts to start a new life. She has several eerie spectral encounters with white-faced beings at various points throughout the movie;… More
  A nightmarish experience captured on black and white film! A woman loses her sense of belonging and moves away to a strange town, where she attempts to start a new life. She has several eerie spectral encounters with white-faced beings at various points throughout the movie; it's creepy. She seeks help from a psychiatrist, but keeps having strange visions. This movie is effective, as a scene shift unexpectedly from being ordinary to total horror; it jarred me several times. The answer lies at the "Carnival of Souls", a haunted pavillion out in the countryside. A great spooky as heck little movie which is a classic horror flick.

• Dr Blood  

  
  Very scary in places with a chilling atmosphere and some great camerawork. Candace Hilligoss is highly watchable and makes the whole thing very believable.

• Michael G

  
  Creepy and psychologically scary. The twist isn't all that surprising, but still well done.

• Matthew Y

  
  A modestly regarded Horror film that has been considered a cult hit for some time. Carnival of Souls has a very low-budget, which normally isn't much of a concern for me but when the production value effects the quality of the sound it can be very bothersome to watch. I was… More
  A modestly regarded Horror film that has been considered a cult hit for some time. Carnival of Souls has a very low-budget, which normally isn't much of a concern for me but when the production value effects the quality of the sound it can be very bothersome to watch. I was unimpressed with much of the film, short of a good concept and smart script. Underwhelming acting and produce grade bogs down the production and makes it a very tiresome watch even with its short run-time (67 minutes in the version I saw). Better films were made at the time and Carnival of Souls is an easy skip.

• Ryan M

  
  8.4/10 "Carnival of Souls" is a spectacularly made horror film. It was released in 1962 and has been revived successfully by its cult audience, which is one that it deserves. The film was made on a low-budget much like several of the genre greats, and it's… More
  8.4/10 "Carnival of Souls" is a spectacularly made horror film. It was released in 1962 and has been revived successfully by its cult audience, which is one that it deserves. The film was made on a low-budget much like several of the genre greats, and it's very possible that it works better now than it ever did then. It's even gotten the honor of being granted a release courtesy of The Criterion Collection; the people that specialize in giving classic films, or cult films that have an audience not filled with endless stupidity, another chance at life. They also tend to release art-house films; because they know their audience will appreciate films of that sort. I like horror used as an art rather than a device for mere exploitation. "Carnival of Souls" is such a good horror films because it does indeed feel like an art-house production, but with real scares and real suspense. The black-and-white visuals are perfect (although I haven't seen the colorized version, I can't assume it improves on the film in any way), as those two colors tend to give anything a certain added layer of true beauty and mystery. The story is absolute horror-genre gold. Mary (Candace Hilligos) is driving with her friends when some boys challenge the driver (of the car she is in, presumably it's a friend) to a drag race. Eventually, the race ends up on a bridge; and disaster strikes when the boys decide to give the protagonist's car a little bit of what some would call a "bump" or a "nudge". This unintentionally (or at least hopefully unintentionally) sends the car into the river. Mary survives; her other friends probably drowned. We learn that Mary is a talented musician who fancies the organ. The unfortunate events that start the film out right have put a dent in her spirit; and she isn't able to put her "all" into her work. She travels to Salt Lake City to see if she can find new work, and she does; as an organist for a Church. However, it is also in this new city that Mary begins to see ghoulish beings staring at her from her car window, and following her all around; even in her new home. There is one ghoul, in particular, who the film refers to as "The Man". He is played by Herk Harvey, who already has the physical appearance haunting enough for this sort of role, save for the fact that he's also accompanied by make-up that allows him to appear even more ghostly than before. He isn't the only ghost in the film; in fact, there are many ghosts. There seems to be a whole other realm within the film's universe where the ghastly creatures roam; and they particularly seem to enjoy the carnival scene. Most of them are the same in terms of the make-up that is applied to the face; although it's still creepy nonetheless. When you look at them from a shot set afar, it appears that they have almost hollow eyes! There is no emotional value to be found here. The film inhabits a cold, very scary world; and in that sense, it knows that we can't care too, too much about its characters. We care, I suppose, because it's good acting all-around; but tragedy never truly comes into the equation, and most of the time, it's just straight horror, which is fine by me. I like my horror films suspenseful, with smart build-up, instead of gory and revolting. There are actually some good ideas and story-telling techniques going on here, as long as you can look past the sometimes flamboyantly ridiculous aspects (such as ghosts appearing in car windows) and observe the artistic intentions from an even closer angle. The film does not make us think; it allows us to. It contains some radical imagery, some of it being very surreal, and it deserves the title of "classic", if only for its genre. I'm not sure if I would call it perfect, but there isn't anything particularly WRONG with it. "Carnival of Souls" takes much of what I like to see out of a horror film and gives it to me in a stylistic, visually impressive fashion. Perhaps the simplicity, and the fact that some narrative questions are never answered, are the filmmakers' way of making the film stick with the people watching it. It is a truly haunting, ghoulish experience, and it was made with enough efficiency to make it gripping, if only on an atmospheric level. But that's good enough for me.

• Lesley N

  
  Spooky black & white sixties film about a girl in a car accident who finds herself being stalked by a mysterious ghostly-faced man (the director) afterwards. As she plays a church organ and is persistently drawn to an abandoned fairground, there's plenty of atmospheric… More
  Spooky black & white sixties film about a girl in a car accident who finds herself being stalked by a mysterious ghostly-faced man (the director) afterwards. As she plays a church organ and is persistently drawn to an abandoned fairground, there's plenty of atmospheric funereal merry-go-roundy music ... woooo. <img src="http://www.best-horror-movies.com/image-files/carnival-of-souls-terrified-mary.jpg">

• Duncan R

  
  Some of the performances are a bit wooden, but it's one of the most atmospheric horror movies I've seen in a while. The ending came out of nowhere, but in a good way.

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