The film is basically about a young lady who is in a car that goes off a bridge into a river. Although the others in the vehicle drown, she arrises from the water. She then takes a position as a church organist and finds herself haunted by a strange man and visions of the carnival populated by the dead. Hoping to discover what the visions mean, she ventures out to the structure, where the figures then rise from the waters and claim her.
Despite the crudities due to its low-budget, this is a marvelous film. The pace is fairly slow(which is exactly the way this kind of story should be told)and the plot is very original. Gene Moore's organ soundtrack is completely effective in giving this film an out-of-this-world, creepy quality. Maurice Prather's photography is extremely fluidic and atmospheric, adding an heir of classy, artsiness that is rarely seen within horror films. The dialogue is fairly decent, but most of the acting is pretty amateurish. The lead performance by Candance Hilligoss, however, is very good. Her lack of character motivations and the way she seemingly just drifts quietly about, makes her even more convincing as someone who is already dead. The greatest thing about this film is it's quiet nature and lack of action. It just lingers over atmospheric, artsy images in almost complete silence, which gives it a haunting, poetic quality. Overall, I rank this as one of the greatest horror films of all time.
Mary Henry
A woman haunted by visions of the dead.
Disturbing Image
The dead rise to claim Mary.
