It would be ill-advised to rush into the All Souls Day mood abruptly like a hanged man through a trapdoor, it is much more appropriate to slip into it quietly and gently, like a scalpel into a cadaver, or a coffin into a cremation furnace. And Carnival of Souls, the opening film of the Shockproof All Souls Day Special, will help you to do exactly that. A black and white independent horror film produced and directed in 1962 by Herk Harvey for an estimated $33,000, it did not gain widespread attention when originally released, today, however, it is regarded as a cult classic. The story of a young woman who after a traumatic accident is beeing haunted by a ghoulish, pasty-faced figure, relies more on atmosphere than on special effects to create a unique mood of unease and foreboding. Carnival of Souls enjoys a haunting afterlife in the viewer's mind and although the film has been remade once and reimagined countless times, it is always worth returning to the source - after all, you cannot step into the same river twice. Happy mourning, dear friends.
