Carnival of Souls (1962)

(On Cable TV, April 2019) The history of horror films is littered with examples of highly imaginative low-budget efforts that managed through sheer execution to overcome the limits of their production. Another example would be Carnival of Souls, a very low budget effort from the mid-1960s that relies far more on eerie atmosphere and scene-specific chills than an overall coherent story. It does understand one thing: horror must be grounded, and much of the film’s more pedestrian moments end up creating a fascinating depiction of life in early-1960s Salt Lake City. The plot itself doesn’t hold up—the point of the film is the striking imagery. Despite the limited budget, there’s a clever imagination at work here from writer John Clifford and director Herk Harvey, resulting in numerous scenes of surprising effectiveness even today: man appearing at a car window; a feeling of not being with the living at a commercial centre; a tour in an abandoned building with ghostly inhabitants. The cinematography is clean and crisp, with the featureless backgrounds of Salt Lake City bringing further focus to the actors in front of it. Said acting is not that good, at one crucial exception: Candace Hilligoss, a timeless beauty around which the film revolves. The gothic music and atmosphere add quite a bit to the atmosphere. When it’s all over, Carnival of Souls leaves with a lingering sense of unease—it’s surprisingly successful at unsettling viewers, and clearly hits above its weight. No wonder it has re-emerged as a classic after being rediscovered by later generations.