THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE is another classic slice of Scandinavian horror and a follow-up for me after watching HAXAN: WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES. By comparison, this film's an entirely fictional production about the legend of a phantom carriage that trundles the globe, picking up the souls of the dead wherever it goes.
A troup of main characters interact with this legend in a tale of debauchery, drunkenness, and eternal condemnation. The film is heavy on the melodrama but in its story of human relationships and depiction of the human condition it hasn't really aged all that much. Still, the slim narrative comes second to the extraordinarily spooky visuals, as this is a film all about the cinematography. Creepy tinting, bombastic music, and above all the wonderful double exposure effects of the ghostly carriage and its occupants are what you take away from this, and they're wonderfully spooky in the best Halloween tradition.
A troup of main characters interact with this legend in a tale of debauchery, drunkenness, and eternal condemnation. The film is heavy on the melodrama but in its story of human relationships and depiction of the human condition it hasn't really aged all that much. Still, the slim narrative comes second to the extraordinarily spooky visuals, as this is a film all about the cinematography. Creepy tinting, bombastic music, and above all the wonderful double exposure effects of the ghostly carriage and its occupants are what you take away from this, and they're wonderfully spooky in the best Halloween tradition.