Review - I Walked with a Zombie (1943)

Starring James Ellison, Frances Dee, Tom Conway
Directed by Jacques Touneur

Review by Mr. Blunderson

Last night Turner Classic Movies premiered a new documentary called Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows followed by a marathon of his films. For those that don't know, Val Lewton was a producer who made low budget horror movies in the 1940s. If you're wondering just how far off the rails the horror genre in American Cinema has run as of late, a look at the films of Val Lewton will serve as a reminder that small and simple can be so much better.

Movies have come a long way in the the 60 plus years since Cat People and I Walked with a Zombie, but as I always like to say "not all progress is progress." In an age where the screen is being drenched in blood it only takes a few moments from these classics to realize that less is plenty and that shadow and imagery can do more to frighten than watching people being skinned alive.

Due to complications of everyday (and evening) life, I walked with a Zombie was the only film besides the documentary that I caught in it's entirety. Visually speaking I was stunned. Frances Dee's journey through the sugar cane to the voodoo temple is where this movie truly won me over. The use of shadow, light (as in all Lewton films), and music underscore a pervasive sense of dread that builds
steadily from beginning to the startling conclusion.

This is classic horror at it's best, which is why I rate it a "way decent" on the Mr. Blunderson Scale. I Walked with a Zombie can not help but be a little dated, but don't let that keep you from enjoying a great wealth of depth and nuance that come pouring off the screen.

In a horrifyingly ironic twist, I have just learned that the asshats behind the Saw franchise have plans to remake this movie. It's bad enough that modern cinema is churning out one steaming pile of crap after another making good movies harder to find than ever, but steamrolling over classics from the past seems a most disgusting act of blasphemy. Lewton and Tourneur (who directed the original and was a horror visionary as well) deserve better, and so do we.

As for the documentary Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows, all I can say is Marty Scorsese's voice is like butter. I could listen to that guy talk about anything. This was an amazing documentary, I nearly watched it twice.