Candace Hilligoss superb as Mary.

 What gets me we're always hearing about overrated types like Sondra Bullock, Meg Ryan, Sharon Stone, et al--who haven't got half the talent as Hilligoss.

How does that happen? Sadly, it happens all the time.

(It happened to Judith O'Day, who appeared in the original Night of the Living Dead, and it happened to the gifted Marilyn Burns, who had the lead in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Am totally baffled why these absolutely excellent actresses were never used again. I don't get it, and never will.

I mean nobody, BUT NOBODY HAS EVER TURNED IN A MORE POWERFUL FILM PERFORMANCE THAN MARILYN BURNS! Her turn as "Sally" simply fries your brain. Not to mention the incredible job of acting by the great Edwin Neal in the same film as the Hitchhiker... Where is the fairness? These folks should have been given some special award ages ago! Why didn't it happen? Why doesn't it happen now? Because they were all in a horror film? So what? Horror is a legitimate genre. Why should it ever matter that it was horror? A strong, believable performance is a STRONG, BELIEVABLE PERFORMANCE.)

Also, the director here: Herk Harvey, directs rings around the  over-publicized types like Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarentino, Coppolla, Spielburg... This guy was way better than Wes Craven, George Romero (who lifted plenty from Carnival of Souls, by the way), Eli Roth and their ilk...and yet when Carnival of Souls, made for paltry thirty grand in Lawrence, Kansas, first came out in the early 1960s it was panned by the ignorant critics...

What does that tell you? Two things: Don't pay attention to  critics-- & it appears that those with the least amount of talent very often are praised to the sky.

Herk Harvey, producer/ director, John Clifford, the screenwriter, and their lead Candace Hilligoss, created an undisputed horror classic.

In addition, kudos to Candace Hilligoss'es co-stars.

Unfortunately, due to the drubbing received by the so-called professional film critics, Mr. Harvey, a documentarian by trade, never made another feature. Our loss.
Candace Hilligoss superb as Mary. What gets me we're always hearing about overrated types like Sondra Bullock, Meg Ryan, Sharon Stone, et al--who haven't got half the talent as Hilligoss. How does that happen? Sadly, it happens all the time. (It happened to Judith O'Day, who appeared in the original Night of the Living Dead, and it happened to the gifted Marilyn Burns, who had the lead in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Am totally baffled why these absolutely excellent actresses were never used again. I don't get it, and never will. I mean nobody, BUT NOBODY HAS EVER TURNED IN A MORE POWERFUL FILM PERFORMANCE THAN MARILYN BURNS! Her turn as "Sally" simply fries your brain. Not to mention the incredible job of acting by the great Edwin Neal in the same film as the Hitchhiker... Where is the fairness? These folks should have been given some special award ages ago! Why didn't it happen? Why doesn't it happen now? Because they were all in a horror film? So what? Horror is a legitimate genre. Why should it ever matter that it was horror? A strong, believable performance is a STRONG, BELIEVABLE PERFORMANCE. )

Also, the director here: Herk Harvey, directs rings around the  over-publicized types like Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarentino, Coppolla, Spielburg... This guy was way better than Wes Craven, George Romero (who lifted plenty from Carnival of Souls, by the way), Eli Roth and their ilk... and yet when Carnival of Souls, made for paltry thirty grand in Lawrence, Kansas, first came out in the early 1960s it was panned by the ignorant critics... What does that tell you? Two things: Don't pay attention to  critics-- & it appears that those with the least amount of talent very often are praised to the sky. Herk Harvey, producer/ director, John Clifford, the screenwriter, and their lead Candace Hilligoss, created an undisputed horror classic. In addition, kudos to Candace Hilligoss'es co-stars. Unfortunately, due to the drubbing received by the so-called professional film critics, Mr. Harvey, a documentarian by trade, never made another feature. Our loss.