Was going to slam Revolt of the Zombies for cribbing so much from this until I discovered they had the same director (talk about a career decline). Anyway, this film is genuinely well made and really quite effective, plus Lugosi isn't as over-the-top as usual. Victor Halperin's slim filmography is that of a hack but at least he made one meaningful contribution to the horror genre!
White Zombie is aptly named because it features the whitest depiction of Haiti I've ever seen (there are black actors, but the black character with the most lines is a white man in black face - viewer beware). Bela Lugosi is all hands and eyes as the equally white houngan asked to steal the soul of a woman on behalf of the man unrequitedly in love with her... except he gets less and more than he bargained for. The memorable music, the production design, the make-up, and the acting are all out of silent film - look only at the climax and you could think it was made 15 years earlier - which gives this voodoo creep show a nightmarish quality. No doubt it looked awfully dated at the time, but unstuck in time, it works on an expressionistic level. And it has subtext, the creation of zombies (cinema's first) evoking slavery, which in turn comments on the heroine's fate, male domination, and marriage.
Add your comment
Comments 1 - 10 of 10
Torgo
Too bad this is boring most of the time (at under 70 minutes!). But you do want to see cinema's first zombies, don't you?evildeadthing
Was going to slam Revolt of the Zombies for cribbing so much from this until I discovered they had the same director (talk about a career decline). Anyway, this film is genuinely well made and really quite effective, plus Lugosi isn't as over-the-top as usual. Victor Halperin's slim filmography is that of a hack but at least he made one meaningful contribution to the horror genre!AFGiant
For one that's supposedly so influential, this really wasn't very good...mook
The first zombie film features an Haitian setting, voodoo, Bela Lugosi, a creepy atmosphere & nice camera tricks. 5/10.Follow me on Twitter @LastFilmSeen
St. Gloede
Startet off nicely but ended up as silly drivel.Siskoid
White Zombie is aptly named because it features the whitest depiction of Haiti I've ever seen (there are black actors, but the black character with the most lines is a white man in black face - viewer beware). Bela Lugosi is all hands and eyes as the equally white houngan asked to steal the soul of a woman on behalf of the man unrequitedly in love with her... except he gets less and more than he bargained for. The memorable music, the production design, the make-up, and the acting are all out of silent film - look only at the climax and you could think it was made 15 years earlier - which gives this voodoo creep show a nightmarish quality. No doubt it looked awfully dated at the time, but unstuck in time, it works on an expressionistic level. And it has subtext, the creation of zombies (cinema's first) evoking slavery, which in turn comments on the heroine's fate, male domination, and marriage.ThomasFTB
Does still manage to feel a tad dateddemagogo
(removed by mod: please post in English)Jumping Elephant
http://www.archive.org/details/WhiteZombieThe_Comatorium
http://thoughtsfromthebooth.com/2013/07/29/film-review-white-zombie-1932/My Review