MovieChat Forums > Carnival of Souls (1962) Discussion > Overrated but still good

Overrated but still good

posted 8 years ago by wwwocls-72759
2 replies | jump to latest

The thing about Carnival of Souls is that its impact is only effective the first time you see it. Repeated viewings reveal too much inconsistency of plot. How are some people able to see her and talk to her but others can't? The film makes it seem like she's going in and out of the physical world but she can't be because her physical body is in the car. It seems to me that the plot was written to slowly build to the reveal and fool the audience. However, it isn't really fair play and doesn't make consistent sense unless we imagine the moments of physical contact are based on her body in the car hallucinating while she's nearing death while the moments when she sees the dead people are the real ones as she's crossing over. The date scenes with that dude are boring as hell and padded. Still, it's fun and creepy and a cut way above many films of its type of the period. Definitely has a Night of the Living Dead feel to it.

[–] Owlwise (1535) 5 years ago

I can see your valid point, but I think it's a mistake to try & pin it down to what's logical. For me, anyway, it works as a slow-building nightmare, almost surreal, with that dreamlike feeling where everything makes sense within the dream, but doesn't upon waking. What counts here is the emotional content & impact while within the film. Again, for me, anyway.

[–] twinA (4921) 5 years ago

Perhaps she was in different states of consciousness at the same time, where, her physical, external presence was simply deprived of oxygen while her mind was experiencing some sort of vision that felt real.

These visions can only be understood in context based on our own life experiences or foreknowledge (what we know). These kinds of encounters can be all kinds of things; demonic possession, various forms of divination, and other questionable modes of contact, to angelic meetings (please pardon the religious undertones but it's another perspective to make sense of this). That said, I have not seen this supposedly bewildering film based on your description.

~~/o/