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Long before the likes of "The Blair Witch Project" was Carnival of Souls - arguably the first truly "psychological" horror movie. There are no monsters, axe murderers, or cheap scares. But there are some odd and creepy images and a thought provoking story.

Candace Hiligoss plays Mary, a church organist who tickles the ivories for a paycheck, and nothing more. She has no faith or religion and doesn't seem to be interested in meaningful personal relationships with anyone. She is out joyriding with some girlfriends one afternoon when they get into a "drag race" with some boys in another car (note: this is just about the slowest "race" I've ever seen on film. A couple of homeless people pushing shopping carts would have been faster - but I digress). Somehow, the car Mary is in goes out of control and off of a bridge into the river. All of Mary's friends drown, and only she survives.

She leaves to take another organist job in Salt Lake City (though most of the film was shot in Lawrence, Kansas). As she drives through the west Utah desert at night, she spots a huge, shadowy building looming in the distance. She later enquires about the building, and learns that it is an abandoned resort on the shore of the Great Salt Lake (the real Saltair resort, which was long-abandoned at the time the film was shot). She inexplicably finds herself drawn to the place. On her second visit, she encounters a ghostly group of people dancing to eerie music, wearing all black with pasty white faces (Pre-Goths, if you will). They chase her menacingly, and she flees in terror.

Thinking she's gone crazy, she visits a psychiatrist who tries to convince her that she is neither insane, nor is she seeing ghosts. Despite his efforts to help her, however, she finds herself pursued through the city streets by the pre-goths and soon notices the people suddenly aren't paying attention to her. It's as if she has ceased to exist. She must return one more time to the "Carnival of Souls" to discover the truth.

Fans of modern horror films will readily recognize many elements of Carnival of Souls in films like "The Sixth Sense" and "The Shining", to name but a few. It is also interesting to note that the entire story was inspired by a location - the Saltair resort, which had been closed down by flooding several years earlier. Herk had seen it while traveling, and found it spooky-looking enough to craft an effective supernatural tale around it. Although the film occasionally suffers from hammy acting and meandering subplots, it still gets its central themes across quite nicely.

Drive-In Triple Feature Picks for Carnival of Souls:

Jacob's Ladder- A more dense and polished film that explores similar themes.

Session 9 - another well-made low-budget psychological horror film inspired by a creepy real-life location - the abandoned state mental hospital in Danvers, Massachusets.

Oh, and be sure to stay far away from the 1998 remake. It is a complete fucking hatchet job. It says it's presented by "Wes Craven", but he didn't even direct it, and even if he had I doubt he could have done the original any justice.

This film is suprisingly adept at telling its story, considering how amatuerish the entire affair is, especially since this was the first-time film project for both writer/director Harvey and Lead Actress Hiligoss. Not only is the ending chilling and thought-provoking, but the abandoned Saltair resort provides a satisfyingly creepy backdrop for the supernatural events to unfold. Props to Herk Harvey for giving us this rare gem. It's too bad his feature film career was cut so short.

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originally posted: 09/01/02 20:51:37
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