Watched: 10/10/2026
Format: Criterion Disc
Viewing: Second
Director: Herk Harvey
I'm the guy who thinks Carnival of Souls (1962) is a great movie. I liked it so much after the first time I saw it, I bought the disc. I sent money to star Candace Hilligoss and got a signed picture.
For me, this is a terrific, gothic American horror story. And (spoilers) I dig that the explanation leaves more questions than it answers.
Hilligoss is *great*. With a camera shoved in her face almost non-stop, she carries the film with a mix of bewilderment, iciness, and desperation. She's not an easy heroine. She's not likeable. She's not a final girl. But she's *compelling*.
The script places Hilligoss's Mary Henry with feet in the world of the mundane and the spiritual - she's to be an organist at a church. She declares it's just a job, it has no religious significance to her - and whether that was her stance before or after she went in the water, we don't know.
But now she's a lost soul, slowly realizing she's a spirit among the living, her human wants and interests dissipating - knowing she should want human contact, but spinning away from even the sleazy kindness offered her, as well as the friendship of the church.
It's sort of a great novella or short story of a film. No, the budget isn't spectacular, and you have to accept the limitations, but it's nonetheless effective.
Anyway, I know this is one that a lot of people came to thru Riff-Trax or whatever, but that's because it was out of copyright. There are weaknesses aplenty - only Hilligoss and Sidney Berger were regular talent. And this was Hilligoss's second time on screen. I dunno, I find the stilted delivery of everyone around Mary to feed the vibe.
If you tell me it's a bad movie, I'll say "it's an inexpensive movie, sure" but would defend what it's doing as what I find interesting in horror versus someone slashing kids at a summer camp.
