A young woman in a small Kansas town survives a drag race accident, then agrees to take a job as a church organist in Salt Lake City. En-route, she becomes haunted by a bizarre apparition that compels her toward an abandoned lakeside pavilion. Made by industrial filmmakers on a modest budget, the eerily effective B-movie classic Carnival of Souls was intended to have “the look of a Bergman and the feel of a Cocteau”—and, with its strikingly used locations and spooky organ score, it succeeds. Herk Harvey’s macabre masterpiece gained a cult following through late-night television and continues to inspire filmmakers today.

Release Information:

• Original Release Year: 1962
• Studio/Distributor: The Criterion Collection

Feature Presentation:

• Genre: Horror, Indie
• Audio: Dolby Digital 1.0
• Subtitles: English

Special Features:

• New, restored 4K digital transfer
• Uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Selected-scene audio commentary featuring director Herk Harvey and screenwriter John Clifford
• New interview with comedian and writer Dana Gould
• New video essay by film critic David Cairns
• The Movie That Wouldn’t Die! – documentary on the 1989 reunion of the film’s cast and crew
• The Carnival Tour – 2000 exploration of the film’s locations
• Excerpts from movies made by the Centron Corporation
• Deleted scenes
• Outtakes, accompanied by Gene Moore’s organ score
• History of the Saltair Resort in Salt Lake City
• Trailer
• Essay by writer and programmer Kier-La Janisse

Technical Specifications:

• Format: Blu-ray
• Region: FREE

Cast & Crew:

• Director: Herk Harvey