Carnival Of Souls DVD > Reviews > More Atmosphere Than Modern Horror

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Satisfactory
Special Effects	Standard
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	Really challenging psychologically
Disadvantages:	No special features

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Mary is out with her friends for the evening, at some point during the night they decide that’s it’s a great idea to have a race. Two cars compete against each other across one of the most treacherous pieces of road in the county. All goes seemingly well but when they reach the bridge one car loses control, plunging Mary and her friends into the icy water.

Seemingly unscathed Mary drags herself out of the water with the help of passers by. Shocked by the events of the afternoon Mary decides she has no alternative but to leave town.

Having arrived in a brand new town, Mary quickly sets herself up with lodgings and a job playing the organ at a church. But something inside her draws her to the derelict pleasure park on the outskirts of town. As the desire to go to the park gets stronger, Mary starts to act more and more strangely. It’s not long before this brand new life starts to topple around her ears.

All the time the burning desire to go to the pleasure park……

Carnival Of Souls is 45 years old (at the time of writing) it’s shot in black and white, but unlike many other movies of the time it looks older than it actually is. The acting is edgy at best, and on initial gut instinct you cannot help but ask why the hell your watching this awful film.

Watching Carnival Of Souls I can only imagine to be like I night on acid; it messes with your perception and your senses. While Mary is going up the wall so are you. I find myself asking a hundred times “Why did he/she do that?” as Mary is visited by strange bizarre zombie style creatures. The most random things happen without need, cause, or justification. All the time you’re travelling this strange psychological journey with Mary. What Carnival Of Souls lacks in special effects, and general viewing delight it doubles up in psychological terror. I can quite honestly say this is the only older horror movie that affects me in any way. Its effect time, after time, after time does not diminish; it just grows in intensity.

The most alarming part of the movie is the ending! It has a very modern final end that comes at you like a bolt from the blue. This ending delivers the joy of that “Oh My GOD!” scenario that gives you a buzz from head to toe, so often delivered in the past but seldom now.

Carnival Of Souls is not without controversy, hideously cut in the 60’s in order to get the movie into cinemas, it was not seen on television in the UK until 1998. When in 2000 all the parts of the movie, much of which was considered lost shortly after director Herk Harvey’s death it became a hit again. There are numerous DVD releases around the world varying in price from £2.99 - £59.99. And almost every version of the movie has something slightly less or slightly more about it. The only truly uncut version of the movie is the US Criterion edition.

The pleasure park used in the movie; The Saltair also has its fair share of controversy. First constructed in 1893 it was originally owned by the Mormons. In 1925 most of the Saltair was destroyed by fire, immediately it was rebuilt bigger and better. It caught fire again in 1931, and then again in 1933. In 1970 the main part of the Saltair was completely destroyed by fire. But a population explosion caused the Saltair to be rebuilt in 1981, only a few weeks after opening the whole sight was flooded when the Salt Lake rose to unprecedented levels. By the end of the 1980’s it was all but finished. In 2005 the doors opened again when the site was restored in its most costly form. The building remains open as a pleasure park to this day.

Carnival Of Souls is available from £2.99 on play.com with no special features. 

Pictures for the review

Display pictures

The Saltair in the 60's and before