Carnival of Souls (1962)

Well, it’s my pleasure to introduce the ever‑present and always‑insightful blogger Mr Brian Hanna’s The Magnificent 60s, a sharp, curated look at one of cinema’s most transformative decades, mixing weekly reviews with production histories, box‑office insights, and behind‑the‑scenes stories. Its archive spans spy thrillers, westerns, biopics, musicals, and modern films that echo the era’s spirit. So, without further ado…

Here’s the latest from The Magnificent 60s

You can see where this is going from the outset but that doesn’t stop it being a brooding entertainment, the kind of cinematic compulsion that invokes the likes of Alain Resnais Last Year at Marienbad (1961) and has enough in the cuckoo tank to be keep us engrossed. You can see why it’s become a cult number with shades of The Twilight Zone and in keeping the main character trapped in the camera headlights conjuring up Hitchcock.

Professional church organist Mary (Candace Hilligoss) should have drowned after a drag race went wrong. Instead, she emerges from the river, the only survivor of the cash, and heads off to a new job. She’s not the type of woman given to fancy, she plays the organ as a profession, not because she immerses herself in music. She’s chastised for not showing enough soul in her playing. But she’s haunted by her imagination, a ghoul appears in her car passenger window, and she imagines an abandoned building, previously home to a carnival, is full of dancing ghouls…

…Read the Full Article @ The Magnificent 60s