Part of Staff Picks and programmed by Bri, who says, “?A perfect example of how resourceful low budget filmmaking can transform a forgotten B-movie into an enduring classic. Credited as inspiration for films such as NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and ERASERHEAD, this eerie tale places the viewer directly into one woman’s waking nightmare.”
A young woman in a small Kansas town survives a drag race accident, then agrees to take a job as a church organist in Salt Lake City. En route, she becomes haunted by a bizarre apparition that compels her toward an abandoned lakeside pavilion. Made by industrial filmmakers on a modest budget, the eerily effective B-movie classic CARNIVAL OF SOULS was intended to have “the look of a Bergman and the feel of a Cocteau”— and, with its strikingly used locations and spooky organ score, it succeeds. Herk Harvey’s macabre masterpiece gained a cult following on late-night television and continues to inspire filmmakers today. (Synopsis from Janus Films)
“It places the supernatural right in the middle of everyday life and surrounds it with ordinary people… Ventures to the edge of camp, but never strays across the line, taking itself with an eerie seriousness.” —Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times