Forgotten Gems: Carnival of Souls

This is the first entry in what will be a regular feature on the blog. It will feature great but forgotten horror films from the past. First up is "Carnival of Souls". The film tells the story of Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss) a church organist who along with two other friends was in a car that veered off a bridge and plunged in to a river as the result of a drag race. A short time after the accident she emerges from the river appearing to be the only survivor.

Candace Hilligoss

After the accident a cold,distant and seemingly disconnected Mary takes a job in Utah playing the organ for a church. Along the way from Kansas to Utah Mary passes by an old abandoned carnival which she becomes inexplicably drawn to. At the same time Mary is being stalked by a ghost-faced figure known only as "The Man" which is played by director Herk Harvey.

Herk Harvey 

As the movie goes on Mary's visions of "The Man" continually increase as if he's getting closer and closer. As Mary continues to weave in and out of reality she is eventually driven out of her mind and visits the old pavilion one last time to dance at the carnival of souls.

By now I'm sure you've figured out Mary didn't survive the accident and was all along just a soul floating between the living world and the spirit world. Now the story isn't totally unfamiliar. 3 years prior to it's release the story had been done before as an episode of the Twilight Zone called "The Hitchhiker" and even before that Lucille Fletcher wrote a radio play containing the same storyline also called "The Hitchhiker" that became a Mercury Theater production starring Orson Welles.

So even though the storyline was most certainly lifted to make "Carnival of Souls" the story was retold exquisitely. Using eerie organ music to score the film (composed by Gene Moore) and relying on less special effects but rather using atmosphere and potent visuals to create a chilling film.

Even though you can get it for free online I do recommend getting the Criterion Collection edition which features the theatrical version of the film and the extended version of the film along with tons of other goodies.

The film can be legally be downloaded or watched here:

http://archive.org/details/CarnivalOfSouls1962

"OH GOD, MOTHER....BLOOD....BLOOD ! "



Back in 1960 audiences were terrified and shocked as they sat in their seats to watch a story about a boy and his mother. The film was "Psycho". It's one of those films that has stood the test of time and has retained it’s creep factor. It has and will always remain one of my all-time favorites. If you have never seen it please stop reading this....slowly step away from the computer....and do yourself a favor and check it out. There was at one time some items at Universal Studios "House of Horrors" in Hollywood that had some items on display from the original “Psycho”.  When I went to Los Angeles last year I was hoping to see them but, they were not on display anymore. Besides these items at Universal to my knowledge only 2 other props used in the original film exist today. One of the Items is a prop knife supposedly used in the shower scene and the other was quite an interesting find.

A prop knife claimed to be used during the shower scene.
The knife has a short blade so it could give the impression of a plunged knife.

A few years ago I came across something amazing. After knowing very few props from the original film still existed I stumbled upon something that at least to me and everyone I know in the prop collecting community thought no longer existed. The original screen used head of Mrs. Bates used in the original  "Psycho".  A long time ago I shared the picture I found on the Nightowl Forums. One of the members just happened to be going to Paris where the head currently resides at the Cinémathèque Française Archival Museum. It turns out it was given to the museum by Alfred Hitchcock in 1961. I shared these photos a long time ago to the AWESOME site www.thepsychomovies.com after getting permission from the guy who took them. For whatever  reason the site still hasn't posted the Mrs. Bates pictures I sent. So without further delay the photos taken by Nightowl Forum member "Chainsaw" here they are :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richchard J. Brooker (1954-2013)

While I was setting up this blog sad news hit the the world of horror. I did want to mention it sooner but time did prevent me from doing so. On April 8th Richard J. Brooker passed away. Brooker played Jason in Friday the 13th Part III and has the distinction of being the first Jason to wear the now famous hockey mask. I consider myself quite fortunate to have met him at a Monster-Mania convention in Hartford, Connecticut back in 2009. He was a very nice and polite man. Although our meeting was brief I did get an autographed picture. I will always treasure that autograph and experience. 

Richard Brooker as "Jason Voorhees"

 

Brooker unmasked during the filming of the long lost alternate ending for Friday the 13th Part III. Brooker is also wearing the 1st make-up designed created by Academy Award winning special effects make-up artist Stan Winston. This make-up was used throught the film until the the barn scene reveal when the 2nd make-up design was used. Winston was not credited in the film for his contribution.



Location ! Location ! Location !

In movies things aren't as they appear. I know...I know. Take for example the filming location for "Psycho II". To the casual observer it would seem it was filmed in the same location 22 years after the first film. In fact your a mile or so away from where the original was shot. Here's a map I made of using Google Maps satellite imagery.

It's of the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot illustrating the locations of the motel and house from Psycho I, II and III. "Psycho III" was the last film in the franchise to star Anthony Perkins to be shot at Universal Studios Hollywood. The house from "Psycho III" still remains in the same location to this day. The original set stood on the backlot from 1959 until December 1980. The house looks a bit different as it was used in various t.v. shows and movies after the filming of "Psycho". The picture below shows the house being dismantled.

Copyright Mark Brindle and Ann Cook

The next photo is from 1982.Here we see the house removed from it's original location getting ready to be refurbished and used in "Psycho II".

Copyright Douglas Hill

A screenshot from "Psycho II" illustrating a mix of reality and movie magic

The above photo is the house moved into place and the motel fully rebuilt in 1985 for the filming of "Psycho III". Although the house and motel have remained in place since 1985 it has been slighty altered over the years. The exterior of the motel was altered for the miserable remake of the original. The stairs have also changed. All of the locations had a path at the top of the stairs that ran along the left side of the house as seen in the photo below of the reconstruted house at Universal Studios in Orlando where "Psycho IV: The Beginning" was filmed. Sadly that house or the motel no longer exist.

In The Beginning....

Well, here's my first blog entry. I wanted to take some time to explain exactly what I'm about. Since I was a child horror films both fascinated me and scared me. I was born and raised in Massachusetts and WSBK in Boston had two shows called the "The Movie Loft" and "The Creature Double Feature" in the 80's. They showed what were at the time classic horror films and what have since become classic horror films. I remember as a young kid tucking in to bed watching them on an old black and white television wondering if  those monsters could really be outside my window. Needless to say I was scared but as I said I was also fascinated by those movie monsters on my television....and thats where it all it began....