A mysterious woman emerges from the river, the only survivor after a car plunges from the bridge. Something seems to be calling her back.

One of the great surreal vibe pieces in horror cinema. The drifting organ, the nightmare drive through the desert, the dance of the dead in the Saltair Pavilion, Herk Harvey's weird ass face - are you even awake? I could experience Carnival of Souls in a loop for that alone, but it's got something else to show you, something not just part of a movie.

If you go to the grocery store do you ever experience mild surprise when the clerk actually sees you and notices the things you've placed on the counter, and stranger still, hands you change? This is about being ejected from the world the way a body rejects an organ transplant. Mary Henry is out of phase. I don't believe there's intentional allegory here; Herk Harvey was probably just making a cheap horror movie, but it inadvertently clicks with something in the back of the mind, finally saying it out loud. It sounds pretentious to say we don't belong in this world, but I think it can be demonstrated any number of ways that no, we actually don't. There's a strange sympathy to Carnival of Souls that I can get nowhere else.

And Candace Hilligoss is perfect. Not necessarily just her performance; I think it's actually her. It's probably another cosmic accident that she's in this movie, but there's something in her appearance and persona that fuses with this character. The world isn't just separating from her, she's separating from it. She's terrified and at times needy, but also detached, defiant, and just a little bit...dead. None of the other characters are truly sympathetic, and she doesn't bother about connecting with them either.

Especially not that neighbor guy. If her performance was perfect his was just sick, literally, disturbing, like need a shower after seeing it. He's a creep, but not a movie creep; he's a common creep like your actual neighbor. I have to watch this reunion special to remind myself he's just a really good actor.

There's a real ghost in the movie too - the Saltair Pavilion itself. It burned down again shortly after filming and exists only in the images here. I hope dying is like joining that dance in its great hall while Mary plays profane tunes on the organ.