Day 25:White Zombie

       White Zombie is often credited as the first feature length Zombie film. It stars Bela Lugosi at perhaps the height of his fame after the release of Dracula.  It tells the tale of a woman who is to be married to the love of her life. A jealous plantation owner on Haiti goes to Lugosi for help in winning her love. Lugosi turns her into a mindless zombie to grant his wish.

      Despite being the zombie movie that started it all, White Zombie has very little in common with modern zombie cinema. The term Zombie was originally referring to a reanimated corpse that was resurrected as a result of voodoo. Zombies didn’t spread like an infection and they didn’t feast on the flesh of the living. These genre mainstays didn’t show up till the 60’s with George Romero’s masterpiece Night Of The Living Dead. White Zombie depicts its undead in a more traditional manner and even questions whether or not they’re undead at all or just under a trance.

     This was an independent production. So the budget was low and the acting reflects that. Most of the actors turn in poor efforts. The lone exception of course is Lugosi. He is perfectly sinister and menacing in his role. The closeups of his eyes when he gives his trademark glare are actually haunting. His character bears some similarities to his portrayal of Dracula. But that probably just explains why Lugosi performs to perfection here.

     White Zombie isn’t going to be for everyone. It’s got bad production values and a slow moving plot. But it’s hard to say it’s a bad movie. It’s actually pretty good. It’s carried by Bela Lugosi’s chilling performance. Still, casual horror fans may lose interest after the opening scenes. White Zombie is historically significant to hardcore horror fans and I recommend they check it out.

Body count:7