Most of this thread is so bizarrely homophobic that I made an IMDb account just to comment.
Carnival of Souls is a HUGE, expansive movie that--because it's so simplistic--definitely leaves a lot to interpretation. That's part of the joy of movies like these. No one is "forcing" homosexuality on a character by interpreting Mary as a lesbian, or even someone who wants to escape compulsory heterosexuality. In fact, part of compulsory heterosexuality is the idea that people are assumed heterosexual at the start, without any information. If no information is given about her sexuality, then people are allowed to use the film's images to form their own judgments. It's pretty clear that there is some weight to an interpretation of the movie as, even in part, about compulsory heterosexuality. That doesn't negate other threads--her inability to connect in general, the fact that she is dead, her lack of "soul." Philosophical questions etc.
NO indications of her sexuality =/= heterosexual. THAT is compulsory heterosexuality.
This stems from more than her resistance to one creepy man (her neighbor). Think of the way the camera often lingers on men staring--at her, mostly. Men are often shot close up, their expressions vulgar. Think of the scene when she is running in the park and suddenly sees the man pressing on the water fountain. He lumbers toward her in a way that is zombie-like, but also similar to sexual aggression. At this time--afraid of a man--she is immediately psychologized by a doctor. Homosexuality was considered a mental illness until fairly recently. I could go into more detail but I'm writing this comment fairly quickly. There are many scenes like this. Also consider the figure of the homosexual, caught between the church that finds her obscene and the psychologist that is sympathetic but wants to classify her as mentally ill and the vulgar man who wants to assault her and peeps, disregarding boundaries, AND the older woman who understands her separation from men (the landlady has a hard time sleeping and mentions how men could hide in every corner of the house) but ultimately cannot relate or vocalize what is not socially accepted or understood. Think of Mary seeing images of men everywhere (the saints, or Jesus, in the church). Think of how her pursuer is simply referred to as the man. Think about the carnival dance--one man to one woman--and how horrified Mary is. Think of how she disassociates the first time in the department store, a place where women dress themselves in part to be appealing to men, or where capitalism legislates what is allowed to be feminine. Think of how the end suggests a choice: to die or to have been dead the whole time rather than to take part in the sick carnival dance.
This does NOT mean this is all that's going on--but it is definitely one thing going on--whether homosexuality or a fear of compulsory heterosexuality and the trappings (danger, isolation, vulgarity, the patriarchal morality of the church) involved.
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