Before the days of Herschell Gordon Lewis, when heavy gore in the average horror movie started to become a staple, filmmakers had to scare audiences in other ways. Through mood, lighting, and plot movement, CARNIVAL OF SOULS manages to accomplish just as much horror as any modern flick.
This is the story of Mary Henry (Candice Hilligoss), a church organist who, one fateful day, finds herself in the passenger side of a car engaged in a drag race. Granted, the cars are obviously moving very slowly, but they do race across a bridge. Suddenly, Mary and her friends plummet off of the bridge (it doesn't clearly show why this happens) and the credits roll. Later, Mary is seen rising up from the waters below, cold and wet but otherwise unharmed.
This is only the beginning for poor Mary, as she starts having flashes in which everything around her goes silent and people completely ignore her, as though she didn't exist. She also begins seeing a pale, ghastly man everywhere she goes. The man torments her relentlessly, later joined by an ensemble of zombie-like people who pursue her.
In spite of the somewhat campy dialogue and effects, CARNIVAL OF SOULS does stand up to the test of time and is very much worth watching for fans of older horror movies. It is currently public domain, so anyone wishing to see it might be able to find it for free online.
This is the story of Mary Henry (Candice Hilligoss), a church organist who, one fateful day, finds herself in the passenger side of a car engaged in a drag race. Granted, the cars are obviously moving very slowly, but they do race across a bridge. Suddenly, Mary and her friends plummet off of the bridge (it doesn't clearly show why this happens) and the credits roll. Later, Mary is seen rising up from the waters below, cold and wet but otherwise unharmed.
This is only the beginning for poor Mary, as she starts having flashes in which everything around her goes silent and people completely ignore her, as though she didn't exist. She also begins seeing a pale, ghastly man everywhere she goes. The man torments her relentlessly, later joined by an ensemble of zombie-like people who pursue her.
In spite of the somewhat campy dialogue and effects, CARNIVAL OF SOULS does stand up to the test of time and is very much worth watching for fans of older horror movies. It is currently public domain, so anyone wishing to see it might be able to find it for free online.