I thought this was a brilliant film. The dark atmosphere and haunting music complimented each other. There were some really creepy scenes, the ending scene for example when the girl sees the souls dancing and gets chased by them only to become one of them.

I wasn't sure how I wanted to review this, because it's one of those movies where the less you know about it, the better.
At less than an hour-and-a-half runtime, _Carnival of Souls_ does't waste any time getting to the point, while at the same time, being very slow the first time you watch it. Fact is, nothing much happens in the movie. It's just a girl - Mary Henry - going about her business, to the extent that the first viewing may have you scratching your head wondering "what the hell am I watching?"
While the story here is very thin, that's not what makes the film worthy of many viewings: it's the swirling organ music, the creepy imagery, and the beautiful Candace Hilligoss.
Made in America during the 1960s, this feels like a German expressionism movie, e.g., _The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari_.
Atmospheric, ahead of its time, and undoubtedly influential.
For fans of classic, black-and-white horror, this is absolutely a must watch.

Perhaps I should have been suspicious of this movie's cult status and that it alone doesn't guarantee that the movie is actually any good. Many of the shots in the movie made absolutely no sense. Some may interpret that as it's "art". I call it padding.

I love old horror/suspense films. I’ve seen this one on a bunch of favorite lists, so I decided to give it a try. Some scenes had me scratching my head…the plot wasn’t a strong point. Honestly the guy in the room across the hall was more unsettling and scary than anything else in the movie and I don’t think that was the intention. Predictable ending, even though I was thinking throughout the whole movie that it wouldn’t make sense if they actually had the ending that they did. I liked the idea of reality changing when she went in the dressing room and came back out. Reminded me of some creepy thoughts I had as a kid. It’s worth a watch if you like this sort of genre. Not one of my favorites though.

Pretty good but far from a masterpiece.

Good performance from the beautiful lead.

6/10

I don't really have anything to write about. Not my jam. I didn't enjoy as much as everyone did. Its a bit odd story and inconsistent how sometime people can see her, sometime they can't. I feel like the lead role doesn't fit in this one. Mr. Linden is creepier than all the ghosts combined.

No jump scares
No CGI
No dopy teenagers
No endless chatter
No twisty turns

and what you get is an effective horror film. See it can be done.

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Carnival of Souls’:

1. That bus scene was pure nightmare fuel.

2. I give this old film points for the creepy vibes. All brought on by a super atmospheric score and some haunting visuals (see thought :pound_symbol:1).

3. I thought the story was lacking. About to do a deep dive into the meaning of what I just watched. I have my theories. And I’m sure many of today’s horror films learned a thing or two from this movie. But, in the end, I was scratching my head.

the strangest movie i have ever seen...