Mary Henry (Candace Hillingoss) miraculously appears from what should have been her watery grave as the sole survivor of a car accident only to be plagued by visions of a man who is apparently stalking her.

It’s hard sometimes in our age when you get so used to the amazing sights and the sounds and the colours to dip back into an age of cinema long gone and never to return. But when you do you know you did right. And if you wonder about it long enough you can practically see the air go wavy and hazy until you’re cross-legged on the living room floor right in front of the one TV ready for the late night chiller you can watch because your big sis is necking with her boyfriend at the drive-in and your babysitter’s happy to leave you alone because her football jock boyfriend’s snuck round for some fun.* In any other horror situation this kind of behaviour would be punishable by, oh, lets say stabbing, but this is 1962 and we’re going to watch the TV chiller – it’s Carnival of Souls tonight. Well, it is Fright Night, and after all, this is long before anyone could ever dream Asian cinema would go so nutty, why we don’t even know they make movies! So, gather round and let’s begin…
And just like an old episode of The Twilight Zone this black and white tale of death diversion is a most eerie interlude to our multi-coloured modern viewing. When Mary starts to see her ghoulish apparition, it isn’t difficult to imagine the outcome of this particular chiller, particularly when, if we zip back to the present day for just a sec, we’ve become so used to these creepy tales; the old Twilight Zones, the new ones, Tales from the Darkside], Tales from the Crypt, The Outer Limits, etc, etc. We’ve been spoilt for choice over terrifying tales and have learned what to expect from their outcome.

So Carnival of Souls isn’t necessarily about a twist ending. Why, I hear you ask, whatever is it about then? Well, that is part of it, the nostalgic tale of reckless American youth from an era when horror meant not a drop of blood spilt, where the story was more nightmarish than horrible, but that isn’t the reason why this film is far superior to many other horrors then or now. Carnival of Souls is the kind of rare film that surprises you so much that after you’ve had a good think about it you want to watch it again, to experience again this haunting spell director Herk Harvey has produced before your very eyes. With only the bare minimum of special effects and simple but effective make-up, it is Harvey’s direction which brings this frightening tale to life. With the almost constant organ score and minimal dialogue this film plays very much like a silent movie, coupled with the expressionist style it’s obvious this film was as influenced as it would come to be influential itself. There is certainly homage to some of the silent screen’s classics, most overtly Nosferatu. But there is also evidence of the surrealism which was to be so influential in turn on so many countless other films and directors, the kind of small town surrealism achieved by the suspension of reality for just a fraction of a second too long too feel quite right.
However, it’s not only Harvey’s expert direction but also Hillingoss’s unique performance of a uniquely fascinating character which makes this film so enthralling. Like a blonde Audrey Hepburn she graces the screen with all the ladylike reserved elegance befitting a star of the early 60’s. Though Mary is no Holly Golighlty. She doesn’t drink, isn’t really interested in men and, horror of all horrors, only plays the organ in church because it’s her job. Like the woman who wasn’t there, there is a more ethereal quality to Mary then any of her spooky visions, and this is what gives this strange tale its subtle sadness. It isn’t actually the story which is so bleak but the peculiar figure of Mary herself who, in an age where women were the pinnacle of conformity, seems completely unable to integrate herself into society, and so Harvey’s scenes of total isolation are only really an exaggeration of her whole life’s feelings. As Mary says, she thinks she’s always been that way.
…And so wavy hazy air and back to the present day. Have we got the surround sound back? Check. Digitally remastered picture? Check. Extreme violence? Check. But did we enjoy our trip back in time, where Herk Harvey’s beautiful camera work told us a story of light and shadows, and Candace Hillingoss’s amazing big eyeballs of terror performed their own version of dialogue? We most certainly did, and we’d like to pretend it’s always been that way.

An amazingly creative and artistic piece of horror history. Uniquely frightening and beautiful in equal measure, 9/10

*Please note any nostalgic references to American youth are purely fictional, we never had this much fun over here.