63 Years Later, This Low-Budget Psychological Horror Is Still Better Than Most Modern Flicks

Horror is more susceptible to obsolescence than any other genre. What made viewers afraid thirty years ago no longer impresses us – we are tired of gloomy ghosts, unexpected jump scares and creepy demons.

However, even within the horror genre, there are movies that manage to keep viewers on the edge of their seats even after more than half a century. And one of them is Carnival of Souls, released in 1962.

What Is Carnival of Souls About?

A car with three women in it falls off a bridge into a river. When the police give up hope of finding anyone alive, Mary Henry comes to the shore.

After recovering from the shock, she moves to a small town and gets a job in a local church. Mary begins to see a creepy, pale man, and soon stranger things begin to happen – sometimes people seem to stop noticing her, and the pale stranger appears more and more often.

Carnival Is Reminiscent of Both The Twilight Zone And Roger Corman's Filmography

A small but shining diamond in the frame of 60s horror, Herk Harvey's Carnival of Souls could fit into the filmography of Roger Corman and the list of episodes of the original Twilight Zone.

This modest film is related to the legacy of the former by its inventively used small budget of $33,000 and the speed with which it was produced – the script was written in three weeks, the production took the same amount of time, and the film crew consisted of only six people.

Carnival of Souls shares not only a fascinating surreal atmosphere with Rod Serling's series, but also a plot pattern: in the 1960 episode The Hitch-hiker, the main character, who also survives a car accident, is on the run from a mystical stalker.

Carnival of Souls Is an Almost DIY Movie Made on a Shoestring Budget

Herk Harvey spent 33 years as the principal director of Cetron Films, a company specializing in educational, commercial and industrial short films. Carnival of Souls is his only feature-length film.

That's why it's all the more interesting to see how the director, with simple means bordering on the DIY approach, creates an unforgettable otherworldly atmosphere and draws the main character and the viewer into a whirlwind of fears and anxieties.

Carnival of Souls Influenced Many Prominent Horror Masters

Carnival of Souls, despite its commercial failure, which happened due to a simple mistake – the director forgot to print a copyright notice on the film, which made it immediately available to the public – influenced several generations of directors.

George A. Romero, David Lynch, M. Night Shyamalan – many great horror directors have been inspired by Carnival of Souls.

Where to Watch Carnival of Souls?

Carnival of Souls is available to stream on Shudder.