Rating: 
Summary: A little disappointing...
Review: I gave this movie two stars, and that was mainly because I thought the actress in it, Bobbie Phillips, is very attractive and a pretty decent actress. I usually enjoy a good Wes Craven movie, but this isn't one of them. The story is hackneyed and tired, and seems like it direction was phoned in....the original 'Carnival of Souls' is so much better with it's inherent creepiness and subtly. I had saw the 1962 version first, and was curious if this was a true remake but it's not. It has little or none of the charm and originality of the 1962 version.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the truly memorable cult classic horror films ever
Review: "Carnival of Souls," the only theatrical film every directed by Herk Harvey, is a cult classic with a most deserved reputation that puts it on a par with dead George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" in terms of shoestring productions (In fact, the two films appear together on a DVD Double Feature). Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss) accepts a car ride from a group of other young girls, only to end up in a drag race that sees the car go over a bridge with only Mary surviving. Having taken a job as a church organist in Salt Lake City, Mary heads for her new home, passing a deserted pavilion on the outskirts of town. Mary is drawn to the ruined bathing center/carnival, but has bigger problems since she keeps seeing a leering, corpse-like man (played by Harvey) watching her. Again and again Mary has the eerie of experience of suddenly finding herself in a silent world where no one seems to notice her. Eventually she returns to the pavilions to understand her final fate. "Carnvial of Souls" came about because Herk Harvey drove by Saltair, the deserted 1940s tourist resort outside Salt Lake City, and decided it would make a powerful location for a horror film. Harvey recruited John Clifford to come up with a screenplay that would involve Harvey's image of dead bodies rising from the lake to pursue their victim. The finished product certainly evokes a nightmarish quality that makes you ignore the technical problems with overdubbing, campy performances by the supporting cast, and such. Hilligloss, trained in the Method by Strassberg but denied any hint of her character's motivation by the director, only made one other film, "Curse of the Living Corpse" (1964), but this film is enough to secure her reputation in the field. Sidney Berger (the all too friendly guy down the hall at her boarding house) does a cameo as a cop in the 1998 "Wes Craven Presents Carnival of Souls" debacle, which does not compare on any level to this evocative horror classic.
Rating: 
Summary: Carnival of Souls
Review: Wes Craven have better works. This remake is really poor. Sorry Wes-
Rating: 
Summary: What happened to appreciation of subtle horror?
Review: I loved this movie, in much the same way I loved Alien and Hellraiser. All three were slow moving, and used subtlety over bruntness for most of the horror. Yes, I know Alien had the cool Gieger designed creature, and Hellraiser had the guy with no skin and Pinhead, but it was really the mood they put you in. In much the same way, Carnival of Souls works. If you aren't patient, don't watch this movie. If you can't handle an ambiguous ending, definitly don't watch this movie. But if you enjoy psychlogical horrors, this is for you. Highly Reccomended. P.S. The picture and sound quality is good.
Rating:
Summary: One of the truly memorable cult classic horror films ever
Review: "Carnival of Souls," the only theatrical film every directed by Herk Harvey, is a cult classic with a most deserved reputation that puts it on a par with dead George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" in terms of shoestring productions (In fact, the two films appear together on a DVD Double Feature). Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss) accepts a car ride from a group of other young girls, only to end up in a drag race that sees the car go over a bridge with only Mary surviving. Having taken a job as a church organist in Salt Lake City, Mary heads for her new home, passing a deserted pavilion on the outskirts of town. Mary is drawn to the ruined bathing center/carnival, but has bigger problems since she keeps seeing a leering, corpse-like man (played by Harvey) watching her. Again and again Mary has the eerie of experience of suddenly finding herself in a silent world where no one seems to notice her. Eventually she returns to the pavilions to understand her final fate. "Carnvial of Souls" came about because Herk Harvey drove by Saltair, the deserted 1940s tourist resort outside Salt Lake City, and decided it would make a powerful location for a horror film. Harvey recruited John Clifford to come up with a screenplay that would involve Harvey's image of dead bodies rising from the lake to pursue their victim. The finished product certainly evokes a nightmarish quality that makes you ignore the technical problems with overdubbing, campy performances by the supporting cast, and such. Hilligloss, trained in the Method by Strassberg but denied any hint of her character's motivation by the director, only made one other film, "Curse of the Living Corpse" (1964), but this film is enough to secure her reputation in the field. Sidney Berger (the all too friendly guy down the hall at her boarding house) does a cameo as a cop in the 1998 "Wes Craven Presents Carnival of Souls" debacle, which does not compare on any level to this evocative horror classic.
Rating:
Summary: Scary Psychological Thriller
Review: I read alot of horrible reviews before catching this movie. I watched anyway. To my surprise,I really enjoyed it. I think the problem people had was that it was marketed under horror. These days horror has to make you jump out of your seat every 5 seconds to be successful. I truly enjoyed the psychological aspects to this movie. I completely understood and felt the sadness,confusion,and finally acceptance Alex Grant(Bobbie Phillips)went through. People just don't have patience anymore to allow time for a story to unfold. I think this is a terrific throwback to the understated films of the past.
Rating:
Summary: A good movie, for horror fans! I liked it!
Review: If you want ILM special effects, famous actors and to eat popcorn while watching - forget this movie. But if you like movies where the director left something to think for the audience and if you prefer psychologic horror and atmosphere - you will definately like this horror-puzzle movie!
Rating:
Summary: Where's Candace!
Review: Sorry folks, but this remake of a horror classic is an absolute joke! Nothing in this bubblegum flick could remotely compare to the original (or the beautiful Candace Hilligoss!)
Rating:
Summary: An insult to its source material
Review: This film is a remake of the 1962 horror classic of the same name. The 1962 original was atmospheric, darkly poetic, haunting; its story a subtle balance between two alternate interpretations. This is none of those. This remake is a clunky mess, arbitrarily meandering through pointless scenes and aimless "monsters" lifted from JACOB'S LADDER. Aside from the monsters, a line, too, is lifted from JACOB'S LADDER. The one about demons and angels. This makes *some* sense, as both the original CARNIVAL OF SOULS and JACOB'S LADDER are inspired by Bierce's "Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge." The 1962 film had a beginning, a middle, and a twist ending. This 1998 remake has numerous beginnings, middles, and ends. Scenes switch back and forth as the lead character keeps "waking up" to indicate that all that went on before was a dream. If not for the rough road map provided by the original film, we'd have an even murkier idea of what's going on. Basically, a woman drives into the river, and at times seems to have escaped, at times is just now escaping, at times appears never to have driven into the river at all... Not clever, just confused and confusing. The original film's cool lead actress portrayed a young woman afraid of life, who "hadn't really lived." It was subtle, yet the point was made. In this new version, the character helpfully tells the audience that she "hasn't lived," in case we don't "get it." The pedophilia "update" to the original film's storyline doesn't add anything. This 1998 film's lead actress, Bobbie Phillips, guest-starred as the "bug woman" in THE X-FILES.
Rating: 
Summary: Maybe I have a different take on the whole thing....
Review: I read about 20 reviews at IMDb, all of which said that this movie ranked somewhere between mayonaise and earthworm sandwiches and that funky smell in the bathrooms of roadside rest stops. I disagree. Why? I'm glad you asked... Well, see, I once dated a woman who had been abused by a neighbor in very much the same way the main character of this movie was abused by Luis (Larry Miller). Therefore, I personally found this movie to be the most terrifying piece of film I have ever seen (ranking up there with the last 15 minutes of "Fire in the Sky"). If you've ever known anyone who has lived through that sort of ordeal, then you know that the portrayal of a survivor done by Bobbie Grant is so realistic that it is in itself horrifying, even without the supernatural, revenge-after-death clown motif. I did not find the ending confusing, as many others did (much like "Jacob's Ladder," I thought)but that was just me.... Anyway--if you have never known anyone to experience anything like this, then this movie probably will be boring and lame; if you have known this kind of experience, then you certainly don't need this movie to frighten you.
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