A Brief Thought
Carnival of Souls is a slow-burn horror story driven by plot and character development. It's a tale about the uncertainty of Death, how the Reaper can reach down and take us at any time. It is a tale about the fragility of life. The film poses the question: What aspect of our beings are more fragile than our fleshy bodies? By the end of the film it answers with a resounding: Our sanity!
The opening credits hint at an oblique narrative. The typography slanting along the contours of the river landscape and waterlogged tree branches tell as much. Discordant organ music accompanies us, until the credits retreat whence they came.
The Carnival Pavilion
Our main protagonist, Mary, experiences non-existence, periods where she seems unable to talk to anyone. During these ominous scenes we hear background organ music, chaotic organ noise. It's no coincidence that Mary is an organist. When she plays it's joyful and soothing, but during her dark experiences the music becomes a tool of despair. The organ is Mary's thread to reality. As the music descends into chaos, so does Mary's sanity.
Honestly, I don't want to hear another organ for a very, very long time. Despite that, I really enjoyed this tale of madness. This film has no special effects, no monster make-up, nor has it copious amounts of gore. It does have one very important thing though, perhaps the most important - a story! Although the twist at the end was a little predictable, the journey was well told.
Enough nonsense - Time for the review!
Creeeepy
Carnival of Souls!
Two street cars are drag-racing, a couple men versus Mary and her friends. This is some edge-of-your-seat action. No seat belts required. With cigarette in hand, the cars race each other on a dirt road leading out of town.
"Of course racing across Death's Bridge is safe!"
Racing side-by-side, bumpers grinding against each other, they zoom over a bridge. The car carrying Mary veers off the bridge, plummeting into the watery grave below.
"Check this out! I saw this move in a James Bond film once ..."
The local authorities fish for the submerged car using a twine grappling hook. No wonder they came up empty, using the wrong bait is a classic mistake.
"This 40 pound line should work, right? I usually fish for Pike, not Chevrolet."
Mary stumbles ashore, drenched and muddied. None of her friends survived. Days later Mary visits the bridge, she gazes forlornly into its murky depths.
"This mud spa is a sham!"
After her near-death experience she sees the haunted faces of unknown persons, they stalk her at night, then disappear without a trace. Creepy!
"Peek-a-boo!"
Go Go Dramatic Creep-Zoom!
Mary is drawn inexorably to an abandoned pavilion, once home to a carnival. She wanders through the stark building while the chaos-organ jams its tune. Later when Mary revisits the abandoned carnival we see strangers dancing to the sound of the organ.
The gothic tango lessons went down well with the town folk.
Mary's grip on reality is reflected by her organ playing. As she spirals downward, so does her music transform into chaos. We realize this is the same organ noise we keep hearing throughout the film.
Closeup of Candace Hilligoss as Mary Henry
Conclusion
Carnival of Souls is a pretty good film. Sometimes it is nice to just watch a slow-paced horror story with a big bowl of popcorn. If this sounds like your kind of pace, why not give this film a try!
Poor Equality
I should mention this film portrays elements of sexism.
Firstly, the portrayal of the false belief that "hysteria" was a medical condition, as portrayed by Dr. Samuels. The American Psychiatric Association did not drop the term "hysteria" until the 1950s -- a couple hundred years too late if you ask me!
The second issue I want to bring to your attention is the blatant objectification of women, as portrayed by the character John Linden, who tries to seduce Mary lecherously.
These issues damage an otherwise great story. I blame the writers - one of whom is also the producer and director! So thrice-times blame goes there. For shame!
Posters
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