FREAK FILMS: CARNIVAL OF SOULS

If you're a fan of horror or cult films and you haven't seen Carnival Of Souls, you should be shot. I'm not talking about the shitty remake Wes Craven-produced which had nothing to do with the original 1962 film by Herk Harvey. A couple of frat rats challenge a girl and her two friends to a drag race. The guys, eager to avoid being out-driven by girls at any cost, force the girls off a bridge and their car is sucked under by the muddy river beneath. Only Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss) survives. With no memory of the accident, she goes on with her life, taking a job with a church in a nearby town. Soon she finds herself stalked by a Grandpa Munster look-alike who resides as one of the undead in an abandoned carnival house. Despite how obvious the movie is, it's still one of the best cult horror films ever done. Criterion has recently re-released the movie in a 2-DVD set, including the original 83 minute director's cut, along with a slew of extras. One of the high points is that the background info focuses on the underrated career of Herk Harvey. The DVD is well worth the purchase (or rental, you cheap bastard). By the way, for all you fans of easter eggs, if you highlight and select the Trimark logo at the main menu, you can view trailers for Dead Alive, another excellent horror flick, and The Dentist, more ass-tasting fodder.