Carnival of Souls (1998)

Of course I know it doesn't come close to the original film. I saw it years ago and didn't think much of it. Then a few years later I bought it on DVD as part of a set along with LEPRECHAUN and two of David Cronenberg's movies RABID and SHIVERS. When I revisited CARNIVAL OF SOULS the plot made a little more sense. But when I read the reviews on it's IMDb web page I noticed that this film was somewhat misunderstood.1. Like in the beginning of the film where Alex (Bobbie Phillips) drives her car into the ocean with Louis (Larry Miller) the man responsible for her mother's murder in the backseat. Right after this scene the film cuts to Alex waking up in her bathtub. Many seemed to have assumed she dreamed about the crash but that is not the case. When the film cuts to this scene it actually goes back a few days meaning Alex didn't dream about the crash it happened a few days later.2. There is another scene where Alex goes to see a psychiatrist and she talks to him like they've had several sessions together. But the psychiatrist reveals that he has never met Alex before. This is representative of the reality setting in of what really happened after that crash that took place which would lead us to the final revelation or the big twist ending. Of course at one point Alex is shown climbing out of the ocean and on to the pier she drove off where she sees the abandoned carnival grounds. In fact this is really Alex's soul climbing out of the water and on to the pier. The whole part between the crash and the twist at the end is really what we think is reality that slowly turns into what is actual reality.This is how I understand or interpreted it. CARNIVAL OF SOULS is really a thinking man's horror movie. You have to pay close attention to certain parts of the dialog to grasp what certain phrases actually refer to. Many plot elements are not presented in a very straightforward manner so it requires a long attention to figure out the plot.Overall, it's not the worst film I've endured. I also agree that the original is way better. But since this film strayed from the original I didn't really try to make comparisons.There is also an unofficial German remake entitled YELLA which is also better. and had it been an official remake it would be considered the more faithful of the two.

It's hard to find a remake that actually does justice to the original,but this one is almost downright insulting.Thre story has very little,if anything,to do with the one of the original.And whos idea was it to cast Larry Miller as the bad guy ?He is so terribly miscast.One thing I noticed about all the positive reviews is that they say the movie should be considered a 'drama' instead of horror.Please tell me,why name it after a horror movie if it's supposed to be a drama ? I would never believe a 40 year old original could still outdo a modern remake but apparently it can.

"Wes Craven's Carnival of Souls" is a pretty dull affair with a few good moments.**SPOILERS**Years after their mother's death, sisters Alex, (Bobbie Phillips) and Sandra Grant, (Shawnee Smith) are still upset the day their father Louis Seagren, (Larry Miller) killed her in front of them. As adults, weird visions start happening to them, making them wish to leave their small-town home quicker. When the visions start to get more intense, she starts to seek comfort with nearby worker Michael, (Paul Johansson) and they start a relationship. As the past keeps coming back to haunt her, she finally gets the strength to stand up to it before it is able to completely control both their lives.The Good News: When this one tries, it's not that bad. The big one is the hallucinations and the visions, which here aren't that bad. This one here pretty much goes with these as the solid points since all of them are really entertaining and some quite frightening. The freak-out in the car wash is the freakiest one, since it slowly builds up the potential for something with the ominous focusing on the one employee and the shadows in the background playing havoc. When it turns into the big hallucination attack, the atmosphere is built up beautifully, for it does that change beforehand and comes through perfectly. Another freaky scene is the one in the bathtub, which doesn't even start off like it would but then quickly changes into a pretty frightening vision at times. That there's the brief ones scattered all throughout are also quite nice, as it changes them up and really tries to do something with them. That they can happen at any time is a fantastic quality, as there's a feeling of suspense in waiting for the next one to occur. That alone is pretty good and gives it a good reasoning for a viewing. The back-story is decent enough and has some really creepy ideas thrown in. The last positive is the big stunt scene, which is the only real action in the film and really gets over. These here are the film's good points.The Bad News: Despite it's good points, this one was really underwhelming. The complete and utter inability to make the main villain a source of fear is something to get over. This one has a main villain that fails to do anything in here that could cause fear in them. Popping up in hallucinations and day-dreams, which are obvious when they occur since the villain shows up, to attempt to torment the victims yet never laying a physical hand on them is quite shocking, since the actions prove that they're something to be reckoned with, yet the behavior does nothing and really hurts the villain. That is also done in with the never physical but only mental harming, and these really drop the film down a lot. The dragged pace is also somewhat troublesome, especially since the film decides to concentrate simply on the hallucinations for the shocks. It really stretches out the film and makes them feel like they're done in pretty infrequent intervals with boring filler in between. That isn't far off, as most of the time spent waiting for the hallucinations to come back offer nothing but boredom, and these are really problematic. There's little minor flaws, such as the sex scene being really sloppy-looking and not coming off at all realistic or believable or the fact that this one never really tries to capitalize on the notion of clowns being something to add fear to the film with their constant appearances, but the main ones here are the first two flaws. Those will be the ones that keep the film down the most.The Final Verdict: While it's not that spectacular, there is enough going for it to be entertaining that there is something worthwhile about it. If the boredom can be overcome, then this one could prove watchable, but those looking for more than a few shocks won't be terribly impressed with this one.Rated R: Language, Violence, mild incest themes and a clothed sex scene

Weird that the vote totals have an inordinate number of "1" votes, more so than usual for this type of film. I'd dare to guess that either those votes were disappointed that it wasn't a typical Wes Craven gory kill-fest, or they just are mad at Wes Craven for some other reason. Still, this is an effective and spooky, if small-time, chiller that would have been much more well-received had it been foreign. There would be this whole crowd of intellectual horror buffs spouting about all the psychological twists and turns, and the underlying meaning of the water motif throughout, and how it foreshadows and gives hints as to the true ending, and so on. Well, all of that is still there, just not in French or Japanese. I mean, really, this is just as good as The Grudge, and just as easy to understand. She really DID drive the car off of the pier, and everything in-between the beginning to the end was her in a personal purgatory because she always blamed herself for not shooting the clown/killer before he killed her mom. Once she settled that guilt trip, she left this purgatory. That's what it is. In conveying this, the film does well, but if you've grown up on simple-minded slasher and gore horror, where you're led down every path and through every door without needing to think, then you won't get it and you'll be bored. Those who give it a "1", this means you. If you think the original Carnival of Souls is a "10" then you'll find this one enjoyable and more than adequate, though not great. One last note, there are some complaints that Larry Miller wasn't spooky enough, too much of a regular type of guy, like an accountant or such. Well, WAKE UP, those are the guys that get you! Those regular types are where you'll find the killers who will surprise you. Look at BTK. How many times have you heard, Oh he was such a nice neighbor, I can't believe he did it!