Review of Carnival of Souls (1962) by Kendall I — 25 Aug 2011

At times it feels like a Twilight Zone episode, wooden acting and everything, but when Carnival of Souls gets the mood right it never lets you go. Yes, mood, there was a time when movies had a sense of atmosphere, of building tension. All this with the right direction, the right selection of music, performances, not CGI and loud soundtracks.

Carnival of Souls works around it's budget and supporting cast issues by creating great moments, using wisely it's very obvious influences from german expresionism. Candice Hilligoss carries around the movie in a solid performance, and the director himself will keep creeping the crap out of you. People grown with thrillers/"horror" movies of the last decade will just try to keep guessing the ending. As for the rest of us, the journey of the movie will be the real joy here.