Movie Description
Made in 1962 on an extremely low budget, Herk Harvey's classic CARNIVAL OF SOULS has become legendary for its ability to create a tensely creepy atmosphere with virtually no special effects. A young woman (Candace Hilligoss) is involved in a car crash when her car falls off a bridge while drag racing with some friends. After she pulls herself from the river, she moves to a new town to take a job as a church organist. Meanwhile, a distinctly eerie and hollow-faced man seems to be following her wherever she goes, while an abandoned lakeside amusement park beckons her with an almost gravitational pull. The effective organ score enhances the film to great effect, as do the bleak landscapes of Utah's salt flats.
| Credits | | Producer: | Herk Harvey | | Cast: | Frances Feist, Herk Harvey |
Notes
Film debuts for entire cast.
VidAmerica's release of "Carnival of Souls" was taken from a newly-struck 35mm print of the complete 80-minute director's cut. Other versions of the film exist, most taken from inferior prints and only running 73 minutes.
Filmed on location in Salt Lake City, Utah, and in Lawrence, Kansas, and at the Centron Studios in Lawrence. Centron made industrial, educational, and social guidance films in the 1950's and 1960's, employing director Herk Harvey, screenwriter John Clifford, and most of "Carnival"'s technical staff. Director Robert Altman also made industrial films for Centron during this period.
Estimated budget: $30,000.
Editorial Reviews
"...A genuinely creepy movie....In its own quietly lurid way, CARNIVAL OF SOULS is a sophisticated piece of character psychology..."
Los Angeles Times - Peter Rainer (04/20/1990)
"...This black-belt cult item feels a lot like a vintage Twilight Zone episode..."
USA Today - Mike Clark (05/19/1990)
"...Cult horror....Carries an eerie chill..."
New York Times - p.C14 - Stephen Holden
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