Carnival of Souls (1962) colorized
vor 64 Jahren Carnival of Souls (1962) colorized
„Carnival of Souls“ is a 1962 psychological horror film and directed by Herk Harvey, who also wrote the screenplay together with John Clifford.
In Kansas, Mary Henry rides with two young women who flirt with danger by accepting a reckless road-race challenge from a man. The race ends abruptly as their car is struck and plunges off a bridge into a river. After hours of searching, Mary inexplicably emerges alive from the muddy water, shaken and unable to explain her survival, while the fate of the others is left grimly assumed.
Seeking a fresh start, Mary relocates to Salt Lake City to work as a church organist. On the drive through the desert her radio fills with unearthly organ music, and she glimpses a pale, corpse-like stranger known only as The Man. She also becomes fixated on a decaying pavilion beside the Great Salt Lake, learning from a gas station attendant that it once served as a bathhouse, dance hall, and carnival before being abandoned. Mary rents a room from a prim landlady and encounters the house’s only other tenant, John Linden, whose awkward friendliness unsettles her.
At church Mary meets the minister, but her isolation deepens as she begins slipping into disturbing episodes in which she is unseen and unheard by everyone around her. The Man appears repeatedly, silently watching her, and Mary seeks reassurance from Dr. Samuels, who admits he is unqualified to treat her growing terror. During organ practice, Mary drifts into a trance, playing dissonant music and envisioning The Man and other ghouls dancing wildly at the pavilion. Horrified, the minister condemns the music as blasphemous and demands her resignation.
Lonely and frightened, Mary briefly leans on John for companionship, but when she confesses her visions he retreats, convinced she is unraveling. Feeling irresistibly drawn to the pavilion, Mary attempts to flee town by bus, only to discover the passengers are ghouls like those from her visions. Awakening in her car, she returns to the lakeshore, where the dead gather in a macabre dance and a ghostly double of Mary partners with The Man. She runs, collapses on the beach, and is overtaken.
The next day investigators find Mary’s footprints ending abruptly in the sand. The final revelation returns to Kansas, where the submerged car is raised from the river. Mary’s corpse is found inside with the other women, revealing that her escape was an illusion and that she has been dead since the crash.
Cast:
- Candace Hilligoss – Mary Henry
- Frances Feist – Mrs. Thomas, Landlady
- Sidney Berger – John Linden
- Art Ellison – Minister
- Stan Levitt – Dr. Samuels
- Tom McGinnis – Organ Factory Boss
- Forbes Caldwell – Carpenter in Organ Factory
- Dan Palmquist – Gas Station Attendant
- Bill de Jarnette – Mechanic
- Steve Boozer – Chip, Man at Juke Box
- Pamela Ballard – Dress Saleslady
- Larry Sneegas – Drag Racer
- Cari Conboy – Lake Zombie
- Karen Pyles – Dress Store Customer
- T.C. Adams – Dancing Zombie
- Sharon Scoville – Mary’s Girlfriend
- Mary Ann Harris – Mary’s Girlfriend
- Peter Schnitzler – A Walking Corpse
- Bill Sollner – Lake Zombie
- Reza Badiyi – Bus Ticket Customer
- Ed Down – Man at Bridge
- Herk Harvey – The Man’
- Wayne Schmille – Sheriff at Bridge
„Tanz der toten Seelen“ (Carnival of Souls) ist ein psychologischer Horrorfilm aus dem Jahr 1962, bei dem Herk Harvey Regie führte und zusammen mit John Clifford auch das Drehbuch schrieb.
Nach einem traumatischen Unfall wird eine Frau von einem mysteriösen, verlassenen Jahrmarkt angezogen.
Mary Henry genießt den Tag, indem sie mit zwei Freunden in einem Auto herumfährt. Als sie zu einem Wettstreit herausgefordert werden, nehmen die Frauen an, werden aber von einer Brücke gestoßen. Es scheint, dass alle ertrunken sind, bis Mary einige Zeit später wie durch ein Wunder aus dem Fluss auftaucht. Nachdem sie sich erholt hat, nimmt sie in einer neuen Stadt eine Stelle als Kirchenorganistin an, doch sie wird von einer mysteriösen Phantomgestalt verfolgt, die sich in einem alten, heruntergekommenen Pavillon aufzuhalten scheint. Hier muss sich Mary den persönlichen Dämonen ihrer spirituellen Sorglosigkeit stellen.