A lost classic from 1961, Carnival of Souls crossbreeds a neo-Bergamesque feel, as the heroine's vacuum of a life unravels, with some hints of Nights of The Living Dead to come as Hilligloss is drawn to an abandoned carnival, where pasty-faced zombie dress extras dance around in eerie fashion.
What emerges is an extremely creepy thriller, lacking style, but superbly executed of is a genuinely creepy thriller, humble in scope and lacking some polish, but a standard bearer within the genre that no doubt influenced the likes of Cronenberg, Lynch and Romero.
Produced on a shoestring budget, Carnival of Souls is early proof that the size of the scare isn't always proportionate to the size of the budget. Well worth owning