Ahoy-hoy, peoples! Welcome to another edition of WTFHM!
So, this week we review an entry from the Criterion Collection. What, do you ask, is the Criterion Collection?
The Criterion Collection is a collection of movies assembled by a video company that includes classic, independent, and generally really well-made gems within the movie field. The movies span all genres and include B-movies and A-list stars, sometimes at the same time.
Right? For that reason, I have to say that regardless of my personal opinion of any of these movies that I review, it’s getting a jewel on general principle. If it made it to the Criterion Collection, there had to be a reason.
That being said, however, keep in mind, I’m not going to sing the praises of a movie that I didn’t like. The thing about horror is that there are movies that are stunningly beautiful that are also painfully awful. Some of those movies are among my favorites as well. (See Suicide Club. No, really, you should watch it. It’s so awful and so great.)
Okay, so this week’s movie:
Carnival of Souls starring Candace Hilligoss, Frances Feist, Sidney Berger, Art Ellison, Stan Levitt, and a cast of zombie men that all look the same to me, but I was shocked to find out they were played by different people.
So, Mary Henry(Hilligoss) is going for a drive with her girlfriends when a group of guys pulls up next to them and challenges them to a race. They say “Let’s do this!”
They race until they reach a rickety old bridge. Mary Henry’s car goes over the edge and is submerged under the murky depths of a lake. Sometime later, the whole town is out looking for the submerged car and lo and behold, she comes crawling out of the muddy water.
Sometime later, we see Mary playing a large organ. Her boss comes to her and tells she’s the bomb and she should stick around. Mary’s got other plans, however. After almost dying and losing her friends, she’s decided that she wants to start over in a new town and a new life. She’s accepted a job as an organist at a church in Utah.
So, Mary jumps in her car and drives to Utah. Along the way, she starts seeing ghostly faces. One even tries to run her off the road. She rights herself, however, and continues on.
She sees different sites along the way, including an old abandoned pavilion. When she stops to get gas, she asked about it to the attendant, who tells her that it used to be a few things before it was finally a carnival….for SOULS.
I just added that last part for flavor. :D
So, anyway, she makes it into town where she stays in a boarding house managed by Mrs. Thomas (Feist). A kindly old woman who tells her that tells her that her only other tenant is Mr. Linden (Berger) staying in the room across the hall. Mary thanks her and goes about unpacking…with a creepy ghost checking her out in the window.
The next day, she goes to her job and plays the organ for her new boss, who shows her around and when she asks about the old pavilion, he offers to take her out to take a look at it.
So, they do and she reveals that she wants to see it because she’s curious about it. They can’t go into it because that’s breaking in, of course, but she can’t shake the feeling that there’s something there.
When she gets back, Mrs. Thomas offers to bring her some dinner. She thanks her and tells her that she’s going to take a nice bath.
She does and while she’s in the bath someone knocks at her door. She gets out, expecting Mrs. Thomas. When she opens the door, she sees Mr. Linden there and the creeper fest begins.
So, she tells him to wait by the door…no…wait…she INSISTS that he wait by the door and she has to insist because he’s basically just squeezing himself in through the door that she’s trying to hide behind. Once he’s back on the other side, she puts on a robe. Creep sneaks a peak while she’s getting dressed.
She lets him in and he’s trying his best moves on her and, not surprisingly, she turns him down…you know, because he’s a creeper with all the charm of a pedophile.
After he leaves, she goes out into the hall and sees a creepy ghost man coming up the stairs. She panics and runs back in her room and locks the door. She hears the footsteps however slowly coming up the stairs.
Ending with a knock on the door. Mrs. Thomas is on the other side with sandwiches. She opens the door and asks Mrs. Thomas if she saw the man on the stairs. Mrs. Thomas doesn’t know what she’s talking about and tells her she better eat some food because she’s losing her mind.
The next morning, her alarm goes off and she gets up. Knocking at her door is the creeper from down the hall. Creeper comes in with coffee in hand and tells her that he knows she was up because he heard her alarm go off…because THAT’S normal.
She invites him in this time and they have coffee. He immediately takes out alcohol to put in his coffee and offers her some. She tells him that she can’t because she has to go to work at her job at the church. He goes all; “I didn’t know you was one of them praying chicks!” She assures him that the job is just that to her. Just a job.
So, she tells him to wait by the door…no…wait…she INSISTS that he wait by the door and she has to insist because he’s basically just squeezing himself in through the door that she’s trying to hide behind. Once he’s back on the other side, she puts on a robe. Creep sneaks a peak while she’s getting dressed.
She lets him in and he’s trying his best moves on her and, not surprisingly, she turns him down…you know, because he’s a creeper with all the charm of a pedophile.
After he leaves, she goes out into the hall and sees a creepy ghost man coming up the stairs. She panics and runs back in her room and locks the door. She hears the footsteps however slowly coming up the stairs.
Ending with a knock on the door. Mrs. Thomas is on the other side with sandwiches. She opens the door and asks Mrs. Thomas if she saw the man on the stairs. Mrs. Thomas doesn’t know what she’s talking about and tells her she better eat some food because she’s losing her mind.
The next morning, her alarm goes off and she gets up. Knocking at her door is the creeper from down the hall. Creeper comes in with coffee in hand and tells her that he knows she was up because he heard her alarm go off…because THAT’S normal.
She invites him in this time and they have coffee. He immediately takes out alcohol to put in his coffee and offers her some. She tells him that she can’t because she has to go to work at her job at the church. He goes all; “I didn’t know you was one of them praying chicks!” She assures him that the job is just that to her. Just a job.
Later, she goes out to the store for clothes and in the middle of shopping suddenly finds that no one can see or hear her. She freaks out and runs out of the store, running into a doctor who offers to help her. She sits down and talks to him and…
By the way, it’s not until she starts talking to him in his office that he admits that he’s not a psychiatrist. We never do find out what kind of doctor he actually is, but…yeah.
Anyway, while talking to the doctor, she decides that the only thing for all the weird stuff that keeps happening to her is to go to the old pavilion.
She breaks in and walks around the place. She doesn’t find anything strange, per se, but something is still watching her.
She goes home, has another messed up interaction with Creepy Neighbor.
So, the next day at work, she’s playing the organ when all of a sudden, things get all wavy and she starts playing weird eerie music. The minister stops her and flips out, calling the music sacrilege and profane. Needless to say, she’s fired on the spot.
As she’s leaving, Creepy Neighbor is hanging out by the door and walks her home. She tells him that she doesn’t want to be alone, so she agrees to go out on a date with him.
That night, they’re at the bar. He’s drinking like a fish and she’s got the whole Million Yard Stare going. The next few minutes is this painful exchange where he gets pissed at her for not being personable and she gives in to him and tells him that she really wants to be with him. He plays on her vulnerabilities and manages to get her to take him back to her room.
They get there and start making out (albeit stubborn thing. Things are kind of heading towards date rape central) and she looks in the mirror and lo and behold, there’s the ghost man. She freaks out and Mr. Charming runs out of the room pissed off because he thinks she’s gone crazy.
K, so. She spends the night barricading herself in her room. Mrs. Thomas calls the doctor (yes the same doctor Mary saw earlier) and he doesn’t know what’s wrong with her…because he’s not a psychiatrist. He tells Mrs. Thomas that what he does find out is that she’s planning on leaving the city…which she does.
She leaves the boarding house and packs her car up and tries to leave. Her car starts acting up, however, so she takes the car into the shop. The mechanic tells her he will have a look at it, she opts to stay in the car as he lifts it up on the hydraulic lift.
While up in the lift, she starts seeing the ghost people. She freaks out and jumps out of the car and runs away. She tries to buy a bus ticket out of town, but the weird invisible no one can hear her thing happens again and she can’t. She tries just hitching a ride on a bus, but the bus is full of ghost people.
She runs away and ends up at the pavilion. She wanders until she happens upon a ballroom area where all the ghost people are dancing around and around. She slowly realizes that one of the people is actually her.
By the way, it’s not until she starts talking to him in his office that he admits that he’s not a psychiatrist. We never do find out what kind of doctor he actually is, but…yeah.
Anyway, while talking to the doctor, she decides that the only thing for all the weird stuff that keeps happening to her is to go to the old pavilion.
She breaks in and walks around the place. She doesn’t find anything strange, per se, but something is still watching her.
She goes home, has another messed up interaction with Creepy Neighbor.
So, the next day at work, she’s playing the organ when all of a sudden, things get all wavy and she starts playing weird eerie music. The minister stops her and flips out, calling the music sacrilege and profane. Needless to say, she’s fired on the spot.
As she’s leaving, Creepy Neighbor is hanging out by the door and walks her home. She tells him that she doesn’t want to be alone, so she agrees to go out on a date with him.
That night, they’re at the bar. He’s drinking like a fish and she’s got the whole Million Yard Stare going. The next few minutes is this painful exchange where he gets pissed at her for not being personable and she gives in to him and tells him that she really wants to be with him. He plays on her vulnerabilities and manages to get her to take him back to her room.
They get there and start making out (albeit stubborn thing. Things are kind of heading towards date rape central) and she looks in the mirror and lo and behold, there’s the ghost man. She freaks out and Mr. Charming runs out of the room pissed off because he thinks she’s gone crazy.
K, so. She spends the night barricading herself in her room. Mrs. Thomas calls the doctor (yes the same doctor Mary saw earlier) and he doesn’t know what’s wrong with her…because he’s not a psychiatrist. He tells Mrs. Thomas that what he does find out is that she’s planning on leaving the city…which she does.
She leaves the boarding house and packs her car up and tries to leave. Her car starts acting up, however, so she takes the car into the shop. The mechanic tells her he will have a look at it, she opts to stay in the car as he lifts it up on the hydraulic lift.
While up in the lift, she starts seeing the ghost people. She freaks out and jumps out of the car and runs away. She tries to buy a bus ticket out of town, but the weird invisible no one can hear her thing happens again and she can’t. She tries just hitching a ride on a bus, but the bus is full of ghost people.
She runs away and ends up at the pavilion. She wanders until she happens upon a ballroom area where all the ghost people are dancing around and around. She slowly realizes that one of the people is actually her.
When she realizes it, she runs away and all the ghosts run after her. She makes it to the beach and collapses, where the ghost people close in on her.
Meanwhile, back in the small town that she left, they finally find the car that she was in and are dragging it out of the river. In the car, they find her friends as well as Mary Henry, dead as doornails.
The End.
Meanwhile, back in the small town that she left, they finally find the car that she was in and are dragging it out of the river. In the car, they find her friends as well as Mary Henry, dead as doornails.
The End.
So, yeah, like I said, getting a jewel on principle BUT I’d give this a jewel whether or not it was a Criterion Collection movie. I mean, it’s very B-movie with a very weak plot, but it’s positively hypnotic to watch. I’d recommend it highly.
So, next week is yet another from the Criterion Collection. Don’t Look Now with Donald Sutherland! See you next week!
O~
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