Close Up

26 February 2016: Take Two: Carnival of Souls / Yella

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Carnival of Souls
Herk Harvey
1962 | 75 min | B/W | Digital

Herk Harvey’s macabre masterpiece gained a cult following through late night television and has been bootlegged for years. Made by industrial filmmakers on a modest budget, Carnival of Souls was intended to have the "look of a Bergman" and "feel of a Cocteau," and succeeds with its strikingly used locations and spooky organ score. Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss) survives a drag race in a rural Kansas town, then takes a job as a church organist in Salt Lake City. En route, she becomes haunted by a bizarre apparition that compels her to an abandoned lakeside pavilion.

Yella

Christian Petzold
2007 | 89 min | Colour | 35mm

Based on the narrative structure of Carnival of Souls, Yella transports the action to modern day Germany. In this chilling mystery thriller, Yella takes up a new job in the West and finds herself in the unfamiliar world of venture capitalism. Coached by the manipulative Phillipp, an executive in a private equity company, she soon enjoys the thrill of mind games and the quick money to be earned. But Yella’s past keeps unsettling her new existence.