A few years ago I was thrilled to find that the star of this film (Candace Hilligoss) is active on Facebook. I found that she does sell autographed photos of herself and so I requested one. Carnival of Souls is a film that haunted my nightmares as a kid and later in life my memories, because after I grew up I didn't know if it was really a movie or something I dreamed as a child. I asked many other people through my life if they knew what movie this was, describing to them the few scenes I could remember but, nobody ever did... Until one day when I was in my 40's a guy I was working with said "I know exactly what film that is!" and the next day he came to work with a DVD copy for me to watch. He had nailed it, Carnival of Souls. This might sound weird but, because so many years of thinking it was probably just a memory of my childhood nightmares, the images and feeling of this film had haunted me in a way that felt deeply personal. All these years later I'm so happy to have a personalised autographed photo of Candace addressed to me after having spoken with her on Facebook that it feels like one of life's mysteries come full circle to completion.
What a cool story! It’s such a dreamy/nightmarish film, I can easily see it becoming one of those that sticks with you for years even if you can’t recall it’s title. It’s also nice to see that Candace Hilligoss is still active with fans and signing autographs. I might have to look into that!
I posted a picture of the photo that she signed for me and I was a little surprised that she asked me to remove that picture from the internet because she was worried about her real signature being online. I didn't think that was a real cause for concern but, I honored her request and did remove it from Facebook.
I'm a huge fan of this movie and ~atmospheric~ movies in general. One of my favorites in that regard and in which I also find some similarities with Carnival of Souls, is Last Year at Marienbad (organ music and creepy old palace!)
The Salt Air Pavillion was still standing in 1982 when I was driving west on my way to California. I was able to explore it without too much trouble (or permission). It was definitely creepy (as phuc), Nothing much left now. All has been reclaimed by the salt lake.
Candace Hilligoss is now 88 (at the time of my comment). In fact, I'm waiting for an autographed photograph of her. "Carnival of Souls" is definitely in my top ten films of all time. I've seen it more times than I can count!
I've only seen this movie once, and I was pretty damn underwhelmed. I thought that aside from some cool shots, it was dragged out and boring. I later realized that I saw a version on youtube that included deleted footage. I can tell why it was deleted. I hadn't thought much about the movie afterwards, just that it was a little overhyped and just ok. Around 3 or 4 months after seeing it, I had a pretty long day at school and immediately passed out once I got home. I woke up at around 3 am with no one to talk to and nothing to do. I went to the kitchen to grab an apple and I had the strangest feeling that maybe that strange man from Carnival of Souls was just outside my window, staring at me. I was terrified and at the same time, really happy that I finally got to appreciate the eeriness and beauty of Carnival of Souls!
Yeah, I get it! I remember the first time I watched it, I was a bit underwhelmed too. I guess I had a different idea of what it was going to be in my head. I liked it for sure, but I didn't really come to appreciate it until probably my 2nd or even 3rd viewing. Regardless, all those shots of the strange man looking in windows and rising from the water are pretty much guaranteed to stick with you!
Just a couple weeks ago me and my Grandson (11 years old) did a tour of locations in Lawrence and Lecompton, Kansas were parts of it was filmed. Without telling my grandson why, we visited the different locations , then came home and watched the movie. I would then pause the movie and look at pics that we took, or remind him of the spots that we were at. He thought that was pretty cool! Thanks for the review with clips! Enjoyed it
@@JoshuaSutlive Thanks. It really was. He was surprised at how much things have changed, such as the bridge over the Kansas river at Lecompton. Also the area in Lawrence where the drag race was. They raced down what became Clinton Parkway,, They started the race at the corner, of 23rd and Iowa. Clinton Parkway still looks like a good dragstrip to me lol For the fun of it, I suggest google mapping, using satillte, of those areas and checking out how much the areas have changed since the movie was shot. Edited
Always enjoy this film. As far as creepy atmospheric films, my favourites are The Changeling (1980) and The Haunting (1963). I also like Ghost Story (1981).
Oooh, man! I love your background on the making of the movie and the development of the movie, the added clips were so helpful. Definitely subscribed! 💗 I can’t wait to watch your other stuff! The Rifftrax version of this is super funny and cute too! I think the reason this movie is so terrifying (at least to me) is the lack of knowing. You don’t know Mary’s backstory at all, you don’t know who The Man is or where he came from, you don’t know who or *what* the Ghouls are or what they’re after, you don’t know why the abandoned carnival is so integral to the story or why that’s it’s the heart of the film that she keeps being drawn to, and you don’t even really know what happens to her at the end. It’s like the audience goes through the same feelings of confusion and terror as Mary because nothing is ever explained, which somehow makes it ten times worse. The way the ghouls kept grinning whenever they would get close to Mary added to the creepiness and I couldn’t tell if that made them more or less menacing. The grainy quality and the odd acting adds to the sense of uneasiness.
My favorite atmosphere in a movie is Mama by Guillermo del Toro. Constantly feel like there's just something around the corner, and I love that. I feel like you don't really need jump scare after jump scare to get the audience going.
Have you checked out “Rosemary’s Baby?” I always thought it was a silly crazy film, till I recently researched cults who actually believe this stuff...More real than I thought!
Yeah, that's another one that has some good dream sequences! It's probably one of the scarier classic horror films because, among other reasons, it's a bit more grounded in reality than most. Much like The Exorcist would do for people a few years later, it eases you into its more supernatural elements; you see everything through Rosemary's eyes, trying to figure out if what you are experiencing is real or just in your head!
A few years ago I was thrilled to find that the star of this film (Candace Hilligoss) is active on Facebook. I found that she does sell autographed photos of herself and so I requested one. Carnival of Souls is a film that haunted my nightmares as a kid and later in life my memories, because after I grew up I didn't know if it was really a movie or something I dreamed as a child. I asked many other people through my life if they knew what movie this was, describing to them the few scenes I could remember but, nobody ever did... Until one day when I was in my 40's a guy I was working with said "I know exactly what film that is!" and the next day he came to work with a DVD copy for me to watch. He had nailed it, Carnival of Souls. This might sound weird but, because so many years of thinking it was probably just a memory of my childhood nightmares, the images and feeling of this film had haunted me in a way that felt deeply personal. All these years later I'm so happy to have a personalised autographed photo of Candace addressed to me after having spoken with her on Facebook that it feels like one of life's mysteries come full circle to completion.
What a cool story! It’s such a dreamy/nightmarish film, I can easily see it becoming one of those that sticks with you for years even if you can’t recall it’s title. It’s also nice to see that Candace Hilligoss is still active with fans and signing autographs. I might have to look into that!
She's up in years so you should act quickly. She seemed genuinely touched that fans still reach out to her.
I posted a picture of the photo that she signed for me and I was a little surprised that she asked me to remove that picture from the internet because she was worried about her real signature being online. I didn't think that was a real cause for concern but, I honored her request and did remove it from Facebook.
I'm a huge fan of this movie and ~atmospheric~ movies in general. One of my favorites in that regard and in which I also find some similarities with Carnival of Souls, is Last Year at Marienbad (organ music and creepy old palace!)
The Salt Air Pavillion was still standing in 1982 when I was driving west on my way to California. I was able to explore it without too much trouble (or permission). It was definitely creepy (as phuc), Nothing much left now. All has been reclaimed by the salt lake.
The opening of Blue Velvet provides some effective atmosphere
Definitely! Good choice!
Excellent review and properly researched. Interesting channel: subscribed.
Thanks!
The movie could have been an episode for TV series THE EVIL TOUCH.
Hosted by Anthony Quayle.
Candace Hilligoss is now 88 (at the time of my comment). In fact, I'm waiting for an autographed photograph of her. "Carnival of Souls" is definitely in my top ten films of all time. I've seen it more times than I can count!
Wow! That’s cool!
@@JoshuaSutlive Thank you, Joshua. I received the autographed photo, and I sent for an 8" x 10" frame from Amazon. She was a beautiful young woman!
John Clifford was my grandpa. ❤ Love your review!
Wow! That’s awesome! I’m glad you liked it!
@emilypaulsen6030 I met your grandpa back in 2003 when my wife and I visited Lawrence, KS. He was a very sweet man. 💖
Ohmygosh, so cool! That makes me happy to hear. :)
Just type Carnival of Souls into RUclips. The full movie is there.
I've only seen this movie once, and I was pretty damn underwhelmed. I thought that aside from some cool shots, it was dragged out and boring. I later realized that I saw a version on youtube that included deleted footage. I can tell why it was deleted. I hadn't thought much about the movie afterwards, just that it was a little overhyped and just ok. Around 3 or 4 months after seeing it, I had a pretty long day at school and immediately passed out once I got home. I woke up at around 3 am with no one to talk to and nothing to do. I went to the kitchen to grab an apple and I had the strangest feeling that maybe that strange man from Carnival of Souls was just outside my window, staring at me. I was terrified and at the same time, really happy that I finally got to appreciate the eeriness and beauty of Carnival of Souls!
Yeah, I get it! I remember the first time I watched it, I was a bit underwhelmed too. I guess I had a different idea of what it was going to be in my head. I liked it for sure, but I didn't really come to appreciate it until probably my 2nd or even 3rd viewing. Regardless, all those shots of the strange man looking in windows and rising from the water are pretty much guaranteed to stick with you!
Just a couple weeks ago me and my Grandson (11 years old) did a tour of locations in Lawrence and Lecompton, Kansas were parts of it was filmed. Without telling my grandson why, we visited the different locations , then came home and watched the movie. I would then pause the movie and look at pics that we took, or remind him of the spots that we were at. He thought that was pretty cool! Thanks for the review with clips! Enjoyed it
What a fun idea!
@@JoshuaSutlive Thanks. It really was. He was surprised at how much things have changed, such as the bridge over the Kansas river at Lecompton. Also the area in Lawrence where the drag race was. They raced down what became Clinton Parkway,, They started the race at the corner, of 23rd and Iowa. Clinton Parkway still looks like a good dragstrip to me lol For the fun of it, I suggest google mapping, using satillte, of those areas and checking out how much the areas have changed since the movie was shot. Edited
Interesting, I’ll have to check that out!
Always enjoy this film. As far as creepy atmospheric films, my favourites are The Changeling (1980) and The Haunting (1963). I also like Ghost Story (1981).
Great choices!
Oooh, man! I love your background on the making of the movie and the development of the movie, the added clips were so helpful. Definitely subscribed! 💗 I can’t wait to watch your other stuff! The Rifftrax version of this is super funny and cute too!
I think the reason this movie is so terrifying (at least to me) is the lack of knowing. You don’t know Mary’s backstory at all, you don’t know who The Man is or where he came from, you don’t know who or *what* the Ghouls are or what they’re after, you don’t know why the abandoned carnival is so integral to the story or why that’s it’s the heart of the film that she keeps being drawn to, and you don’t even really know what happens to her at the end. It’s like the audience goes through the same feelings of confusion and terror as Mary because nothing is ever explained, which somehow makes it ten times worse. The way the ghouls kept grinning whenever they would get close to Mary added to the creepiness and I couldn’t tell if that made them more or less menacing. The grainy quality and the odd acting adds to the sense of uneasiness.
My favorite atmosphere in a movie is Mama by Guillermo del Toro. Constantly feel like there's just something around the corner, and I love that. I feel like you don't really need jump scare after jump scare to get the audience going.
Have you checked out “Rosemary’s Baby?” I always thought it was a silly crazy film, till I recently researched cults who actually believe this stuff...More real than I thought!
Yeah, that's another one that has some good dream sequences! It's probably one of the scarier classic horror films because, among other reasons, it's a bit more grounded in reality than most. Much like The Exorcist would do for people a few years later, it eases you into its more supernatural elements; you see everything through Rosemary's eyes, trying to figure out if what you are experiencing is real or just in your head!
Yes I’d love to see a video on Rosemary’s Baby! One of my all time favorites, and definitely the movie I find the most unsettling
I have an enhanced colorized verzion that was released in 2016
Wait a minute the ghoulish looking man he looks like Joe biden, did biden make movies when he was young?
Biden is creepier.