CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1998)
Directed by Adam Grossman
Starring Bobbie Phillips and Larry Miller
Weak horror film, executive produced by Wes Craven, inspired by the original 1962 movie of the same name, but not a remake.
Phillips is too good looking to be realistic as a young bar owner who witnessed the murder of her mother 20 years ago, then starts seeing her Mom's supposedly dead killer (Miller) in a series of visions. Her mom's murderer was a clown, so many of the visions take on a carnival-esque theme. But there are also strange-looking bald creatures that look like they crawled out of a Brian Yuzna film.
Their presence in her visions is never logically explained, although they certainly look cool. The film starts off pretty nice, with Miller showing up to make crude comments about Phillips' adult anatomy, and you're left wondering if his character has somehow managed to carry his evil from beyond the grave, not unlike Freddy Krueger from Craven's "A Nightmare on Elm Street."
But unlike "Nightmare," this film doesn't really go anywhere. The most daring thing Phillips does about her situation is visiting a lousy therapist. And the ending is all too predictable. Executive producer Craven put his name on "Wishmaster"—and that was a great movie, even though he didn't direct.
But this movie sucks. Avoid.
