Carnegie Mellon University Libraries celebrates true independence in horror cinema this All Hallow's Eve with all-day screenings of Herk Harvey's "Carnival of Souls" and CMU alumnus George A. Romero's "Night of the Living Dead," on view in the 1st floor seating area across from the circulation desk in Hunt Library.
These films, available in the public domain through Archive.org, represent a formative time in low-budget cinema, when independent filmmakers burst onto the scene with original, thought-provoking content rarely seen in studio features. Both Harvey and Romero worked as industrial filmmakers, creating educational shorts for their respective local markets, with Harvey residing in Lawrence, Kansas and Romero working right here in Pittsburgh. These innovative film creators used the ingenuity fostered on these industrial films to work within the limited budgets of their directorial debuts, and in doing so created an atmosphere and aesthetic that has long been duplicated but never equaled.
Candy will be on-hand as the films loop continuously throughout the day, and if you can't make it in, feel free to watch the films below. Happy Halloween!
Carnival of Souls
Director: Herk Harvey
Year: 1962
Download at Archive.org.
Night of the Living Dead
Director: George A. Romero
Year: 1968
Download at Archive.org.