Carnival of Souls, a psychological horror film, was made by independent director Herk Harvey, and written by John Clifford from a story by Clifford and Harvey.
Grade: B
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The tale centers on Mary Henry (played by Candace Hilligoss), a young woman whose life changes as a result of a car accident. She relocates to a new city, where she’s unable to assimilate with the locals, and becomes drawn to the pavilion of an abandoned carnival.
The movie contains one scary nightmare, at the end of which Mary awakes in her car.
In the end, Mary is drawn back to the pavilion, where she finds her tormentors dancing, a pale version of herself paired with The Man. When she runs away, the ghouls chase her onto the beach and she collapses.
The following day, Samuels, the minister, and police go to the pavilion to look for Mary. They find her footprints in the sand and they end abruptly. Back in Kansas, her car is pulled from the river, with Mary in the front seat with the other two women.
Director Harvey also appears in the film as a ghoulish stranger who stalks her throughout.
Shot in Lawrence, Kansas, and Salt Lake City, Carnival of Souls was made on a miniscule budget of $33,000. Harvey employed guerrilla filmmaking techniques to complete the production.
The film is loosely based on the French short “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (1961), an adaptation of the 1890 story of the same name by Ambrose Bierce.
Harvey claimed that he was inspired by the visual style of Ingmar Bergman and Jean Cocteau.
Carnival of Souls, which was Harvey’s only feature film, did not gain attention when originally released in 1962, as a double feature, with the now mostly forgotten “The Devil’s Messenger.”
Set to an organ score by Gene Moore, the film has been later noted by critics and scholars for its cinematography and foreboding atmosphere.
It proved influential on numerous filmmakers, including David Lynch, George A. Romero, and Lucrecia Martel.
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Cast
Frances Feist as Mrs. Thomas
Sidney Berger as John Linden
Art Ellison as Minister
Stan Levitt as Dr. Samuels
Tom McGinnis as Organ factory boss
Forbes Caldwell as Organ factory worker
Dan Palmquist as Gas station attendant
Bill De Jarnette as Mechanic
Steve Boozer as Chip
Pamela Ballard as Dress saleslady
Herk Harvey as “The Man” (the main ghoul)
Credits:
Produced, directed by Herk Harvey
Written by John Clifford; story by Harvey and John Clifford
Cinematography: Maurice Prather
Edited by Dan Palmquist, Bill de Jarnette
Music by Gene Moore
Distributed by Herts-Lion International Corp.
Running time: 80 minutes
Budget: $33,000
