Carnival of Souls

Starring: Candace Hilligoss Director: Herk Harvey

A young woman is haunted by unearthly phantoms of death in one of the all-time great horror films.

Following Night of the Living Dead this movie is the best of 60's horror and then some! I loved everything about it! It was scary and suspenseful. Shame to those who call this anything but fantastic!

This is one of the creepist movies I've seen in a long time. The non-religious organist who gets increasingly spooky is fabulous. The soundtrack (organ music) is unbelievably creepy! If you don't enjoy this movie, there is something wrong with you!

I sing the praises of this film to movie-collecting friends all the time. I know someone who lives in Lawrence, KS and she told me this film is a Halloween staple on local TV, and that in order to get to work she has to drive over the bridge featured in the film every morning. Oh, to live in Kansas, home of Herk Harvey and Dorothy Gale.

Good point about the three men in Mary Henry's life! I first saw Carnival of Souls on television in 1965 and it has haunted me for years. I got to see it restored and in a theatre in 1990. A very good friend of mine went to school in Lawrence, Kansas where the film was shot and got to meet Herk Harvey, the director, and other people involved in the movie's production. Alpha's disc is very well done for a budget company, I have dozens of Alpha discs and plan to get many more. Thank you for making so many films available to collectors at a good price.
Sam Moffitt St. Petersburg FL

A low-budget spine-tingler that uses its meager financial resources to the max! One of the best of the independent cheapies, and certainly deserving of its cult status. The juxtaposition of wide and almost wintery extertiorshots with claustrophobic interior shots sets up the mood of this film VERY nicely. CARNINVAL OF SOULS illustrates how a good story and directorial talent can triumph over an almost empty wallet. (Directorial wannabes take note!)

Extremely eerie film of a girl pursued by a phantom figure and her attraction to an abandoned dance hall pavillion after she has been seemingly drowned. Don't watch this alone or with the lights out! Really deserves the cult following that its earned.

Comparable to Night of the Living Dead. It captures your imagination to its limits!

This film is amazing. I can't belive that it has been basicly overlooked by most collectors and the film goers of the time. The quality of the Alpha disc is exceptional and I highly recomend you get this film.

I?m really surprised it took me as long as it did to discover this disquieting little gem of a horror film. It?s also surprising how ahead of its time it seems. The story is beautiful in its simplicity, but there?s sufficient depth to keep you thinking about it for days. It?s also got a pretty decent ending, and though I saw it coming a mile away, it was still powerful (and I might not have seen it coming in 1962).

The DVD itself is one of the consistently best from all the Alpha titles I own. The picture quality, in particular, is top notch.

If my review is vague, it?s because of the very nature of this film. Give it a shot if you appreciate slower, moody, and atmospheric psychological horror films.

My favorite horror film, Carnival of Souls is a masterpiece of spectral dread and the unnerving mysteries of the grave. Candace Hilligoss amazes as the puzzling and enigmatic Mary Henry, whose music can stir any soul but her own. She meets three men -a minister, a doctor, and a sleazy neighbor- who are interested in her soul, her mind, and her body respectively. But none can save her from the grip of the grave. Very acceptable print and DVD presentation.