Mary Henry ends up the sole survivor of a fatal car accident through mysterious circumstances. Trying to put the incident behind her, she moves to Utah and takes a job as a church organist. But her fresh start is interrupted by visions of a fiendish man. As the visions begin to occur more frequently, Mary finds herself drawn to the deserted carnival on the outskirts of town. The strangely alluring carnival may hold the secret to her tragic past.
The mesmerising power of the carnival and dance-hall sequences far outweighs the corniness of the awkward intimate scenes.
– ,
Time Out,
24 Jun 2006
fresh:
It depends on crisp black-and-white photography, atmosphere and surprisingly effective acting.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
Carnival of Souls works well enough as chill-up-the-spine cinema.
– Joe Brown,
Washington Post,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
There isn't very much here to sustain interest.
– Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader,
21 Sep 2007
fresh:
Occasionally a feature film emerges from the midwest, although this is the first ever out of Lawrence, Kans, where a group of commercial film pros veered off into a try at producing theatrical entertainment.