Carnival of Souls

A low-budget exercise in indie horror with a profoundly eerie atmosphere, CARNIVAL OF SOULS was largely ignored on release but has since been widely hailed as an innovative cult classic. Taking a break from making corporate promotional films, director Herk Harvey shot his one and only feature mostly in guerrilla style around Kansas and Utah. Candace Hilligoss stars as a young woman who survives a tragic car accident, only to be haunted afterward by nightmarish figures, notably a ghostly stalker played by Harvey himself. The director cited Ingmar Bergman and Jean Cocteau as stylistic influences on the film’s striking monochrome look.