This past week, the Campus Theatre hosted the first night of Sunday Night Delirium. The theater runs a double feature each Sunday in October. The films range from science fiction to horror, with each one holding the status of a beloved cult classic. As a person who greatly enjoys holidays and movies, I could not miss the opportunity to attend. 

The event featured John Brahm’s “The Mad Magician” and Herk Harvey’s “Carnival of Souls”. The two films, while distinctly different in their plots, formed a collective experience that was engaging and enjoyable at every moment. The former centers around magician Don Gallico, played by Vincent Price, who loses his mind and commits a series of murders after his boss lays claim to his designs for illusions. The viewer is in cahoots with Gallico from the beginning, observing his efforts at deceit as the other characters attempt to uncover the identity of the murderer. The unique perspective provides a fun twist on the traditional detective story. With the investigators off to the side, the viewer can fully appreciate the campy, unsettling tricks that Gallico uses to obscure his involvement. Vincent Price’s impersonations and facial expressions allow for a mockery both directed by Gallico toward the other characters and regarding the magician himself. The film maintains a lighthearted atmosphere through its over-the-top acting and a number of absurd occurrences, which makes it a comical watch despite its lifelike masks and buzzsaws. 

“Carnival of Souls” began after a brief intermission. Alongside the progression in release dates from 1954 to 1962, the topics of the featured films became increasingly dark. “Carnival of Souls” depicts the story of Mary Henry, an organist who takes a job at a church shortly after emerging as the lone survivor of a car accident. Mary becomes haunted by visions of a ghostly man and the abandoned site of a carnival. As the film progresses, her plight becomes increasingly horrific. She is routinely denied help and goes through periods of invisibility and deafness. Mary’s inability to connect to the people around her amplifies the feeling of isolation, ramping up the suspense. From the eerie music to the absence of color, every aspect of the film contributes to a sense of great discomfort.

In sequence, the two films display contrast that makes for a fantastic pairing. Gallico’s comical exaggeration of emotion is starkly different from Mary’s detached methods of communication and lack of expression. Viewers experience both the cheesy charm of the former and the latter’s unsettling restraint. Additionally, the movies are able to satisfy fans of terror stemming from manmade and supernatural forces alike. The villain Gallico provides a fallible source of conflict, while the ghouls make it clear to Mary and the audience alike that no human can resist their pursuit. Regardless of what a viewer is looking for, it can be found at Sunday Night Delirium.

Alongside the terrific films, the event succeeded greatly in transporting my mind to the Halloweens of the past. The age of the theater and the cult classic films, as well as the frequent reminders to silence cell phones, allowed me to pretend for a few hours that I was one of the original viewers. The terrifically low prices likewise assisted my fantasy. In my opinion, making believe is what Halloween is all about. It is a holiday deeply associated with tradition, nostalgia and convincing oneself that something equally magical and terrifying may be lurking around any given corner. Walking home late Sunday evening with a light rain above me and a cemetery to my right, that intoxicating sense of imagination filled my senses in a way that I had previously feared —more greatly than any ghost or creature— that I had grown much too old to feel. Sunday Night Delirium has allowed me to begin my first October away from home with a sense of excitement, and it is unquestionably worth a visit for anyone chasing the Halloween spirit.