'Carnival of Souls' Review

The story behind the making of Carnival of Souls is perhaps as interesting as the movie itself. That's saying a lot, because this movie is one of the most unique and interesting horror films of the 1960s.

The movie revolves around an organist named Mary who somehow survives a deadly car crash. Shortly after the crash, Mary moves out to Utah to play the organ for a local church. She is continually plagued by ghoulish visions and other spooky phenomenon. I won't say more than that because I don't want to spoil this film for you .

These mysterious occurrences really are quite engaging, especially when accompanied by the spooky organ music the film has. It's one of the few movies that has really made me curious about what was going on. The ending is a little predictable for some, but even knowing the outcome doesn't really spoil the charm and wonder of this film.

It may seem like I'm being overly generous in this review, and indeed I am cutting this movie more slack than usual. Why? It was made by a man with no experience in this genre in under three weeks, and had a budget of well under $50,000. After running the drive-in circuit during its initial release, the film remained largely forgotten until the late 1980s when a special director's cut was shown in some theaters. Since then, its been hailed by many as a stunning achievement in independent filmmaking.

It really is amazing how good this film is considering the circumstances under which it was made. The black and white medium is used in a very effective manner here, and even things like make-up are exceptionally high quality for a low-budget film. The dialogue and acting seem a little amateur, but if we can deal with that in Star Wars, why not here?

As the film is now public domain, there are literally dozens of different versions of the movie out there. Some include nothing but the movie, while others have scores of extras. There's a colorized version complete with commentary by Mike Nelson of Mystery Science Theater fame, a two-disc Criterion Collection set with documentaries, interviews, and many other extras, and many other "boxed sets" bundling Carnival of Souls with other films. Unfortunately there are no websites offering this film for free download as of this writing, but that may change in the near future.

Carnival of Souls is an exceptional movie, due to the combination of a great story, brilliant directing and cinematography, and a truly spooky soundtrack. Dialogue and acting aside, this movie is right up there with classics like Night of the Living Dead. Our final grade:

Stats & Info
Rating: Not Rated
Rarity: Common
Genre: Horror
Released: 1962
Country of Origin: USA
Video: Black & White; Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Audio: English (Mono)
Plot: Woman mysteriously survives a deadly car accident and begins seeing ghoulish images
How Bad Is It? -Not bad at all.