Review of I Walked with a Zombie (1943) by John T — 12 Jan 2014

Many compare this film to Charlotte Bronte's classic Jean Eyre, but with supernatural undertones in the form of the island natives strange belief in voodoo. This is the second successful collaboration between producer Val Lewton and director Jacques Tourneur released one year after the their slightly better "Cat People".

The basic story revolves around voodoo in a Caribbean island and the effects it has on one particular family. The whole film provides a horror film's necessary elements of atmosphere and great cinematography, but there is no violence or gory scenes; just a lot of suspense, leaving a lot to the imagination. There is a constant pounding of faraway drums during the picture which increase in tempo and sound level to indicate impending doom. This film is not in the same genre as the classic film Night of the Living Dead or from The Walking Dead television series and anyone looking to see cadavers returned from the grave, meandering about looking for flesh to feast upon will be disappointed. These are traditional, mind-erased zombies, unfeeling, unthinking and unresponsive to anything.

The two leading actors, Tom Conway as the family patriarch and Frances Dee as the nurse are both very good. Although Christine Gordon, as Jessica the voodoo stricken comatose wife, says not a word during the whole film, she manages to steal every scene she is in. The calypso singer, portrayed by Sir Lancelot, was hilarious in a dark humor sort of way when he sings about the family's history, spilling the beans for the audience. Edith Barrett was good as the mother who plays a rather surprising role at the end.

There are several creepy sequences, most notable when Jessica mindlessly walks thought the sugar cane fields (hence the title of the film) to the place where voodoo worshippers gather. The following scene of a voodoo ritual was also memorable.

I Walked With A Zombie is definitely worth a watch. I rate this movie as one of the Tourneur/Lewton best and highly recommend it to all lovers of the genre.