For all its odd haunting moments, Carnival of Souls is best appreciated knocked off its pedestal.

Its imagery evokes not a horror of blood, but a horror of loneliness.

If not quite a neglected masterpiece, it shows what could be done by atmosphere and suggestion before the days of slash and splatter.

The strength of Carnival of Souls lies not in the big reveal, which is obvious almost from the beginning, but in the unsettling mood it creates and the striking images Harvey puts on the screen.