10 Most Visually Stunning Horror Movies Ever

Few films get across the experience of being alone in an unfamiliar world quite like Carnival of Souls. This low budget 1962 movie didn't make a huge splash at the time, and it doesn't offer a lot to chew on story wise, but it's become a cult hit purely for its visuals and atmosphere.

The movie follows a woman whose car plunges off a bridge and into a river. She somehow makes it out, but when she resurfaces, something seems off. Spoiler alert...she actually died in the crash, and she's dead for the entire rest of the movie. You'd probably guess that pretty quickly, though, because the whole film feels like one extended dream.

As with most of these movies, light and darkness is a huge theme, but in this case there are instances where nearly the entire shot is black except for one small section. The primary motif is long shots of empty locales, as Mary spends a good amount of time at an abandoned carnival. There are many scenes of Mary walking along in this place that should be bustling with activity but is now completely dead. We look down at her, and she's this lonely, minuscule dot struggling to find her place. With a film that's often so obtuse, Maurice Prather's cinematography is vital to understanding the film's importance.