dougdoepke I often wonder what war-time audiences of the forties thought after leaving "...Zombie". Who could have been prepared for what lay behind the penny-dreadful title, surely one of the most poetic renderings of horror in genre history. Books have been written about its creator Val Lewton, and deservedly so. But what's on screen is traceable to the unerring pictorialism of director Jacques Tourneur, and his mastery of the fluid camera. Forget the plot and dialogue, too much of which is half-baked philosophizing, and the performances which, excepting Sir Lancelot's lovely sing-song, are largely secondary. Focus instead on the lyrical scenes that unfold like a shadowy dream as the camera pulls back to reveal the poetic beauty of atmosphere. This is the perfect antidote for viewers max'ed out on the over-FXed, overly literal staple of today. "Zombie" shows that Tourneur grasped what Lewton and Hitchcock already knew - that the greatest fright repository is your own imagination.

Charles Herold (cherold) There are a lot of terrific elements in this movie. It is moody and atmospheric, subtly ominous, and like many Lewton movies leaves its supernatural elements ambiguous.But the most unusual thing aspect from a 1940s movie is how it treats black. First off, note that the West Indies natives don't speak in either the "yass ma'am" or "ooga booga" styles that represented the entire spectrum of black portrayals in the U.S. at the time. They talk in slightly accented, but perfectly normal English. Also, the movie specifically mentions the slave industry at least twice. There is a wonderful scene near the beginning in which the main character discusses the island's history with her driver. He mentioned they were brought here in chains, she says, well at least they brought you to a beautiful place, and he says, very politely "if you say so."That is such an awesome exchange. He is a servant and he's not going to argue with her, but he also won't kowtow. It is a conversation you can actually believe will happen.The movie also shows surprising respect for the Voodoo aspects. The natives believe in it, but they aren't mocked for it, and in the ceremony they do actual African dance, instead of some weird Hollywood fakery. The movie, again typical of Lewton, has a lovely complexity to it. Characters are more than they appear to be, and their motives are not simple. It's not a perfect movie. Some of the acting is less than stellar and I suspect some explanatory scenes were cut, as it sometimes feels rushed and slightly disconnected. But it is not to be missed.

Johan Louwet Well the original meaning of a zombie is not a dead creature that is brought back to life or became a flesh eating monster due to a virus as in today's tales, but is it is a human that has no more will of his own and is directed by witchcraft in this case voodoo. That is what we see with the blonde lady and also the black guard with his big eyes. Well the voodoo scenes are done really well and that is why I pass this movie. However it falls pretty flat in story and characters. None of them is remarkable and the dramatic story with relationship intrigues is just as uninteresting as the standard soap opera. Besides there is too many characters involved which made the whole pretty tedious to watch. The location was nice though.

bkoganbing After watching I Walked With A Zombie I was shaken a bit, a little unnerved as it were. But when I started to analyze the film I was wondering just what did I see?Frances Dee has been hired to look after Tom Conway's wife Christine Gordon who is in a coma, but this is the sleepwalking type of coma and the natives have identified here as a zombie. Here illness whatever it is has cast a pall on the household. Conway and his mother apparently make a nice income which is half brother James Ellison drinks a lot of it away.One thing that was interesting and highly unusual. The natives are the descendants of escaped slaves and the heritage there is one of reverting back to their tribal beliefs as an act of defiance. Slavery with few exceptions is rarely dealt with from the slave or former slave point of view.Edith Barrett plays Conway and Ellison's mother. She likes Dee and views here as an ideal daughter-in-law for one of her kids. She also has another role on the island, one I can't reveal here. Val Lewton produced and Jacques Tourneur directed I Walked With A Zombie. It's not great, I think it was butchered in the editing department. But the mood that is created will linger with you. And the ending is decades ahead of its time, something you might see in a Stephen King work.