I Walked With a Zombie

(1943)**1/2

A voodoo tale set in the West Indies. Betsy Connell is a nurse hired by a wealthy farmer to look after his listless wife. The wife, you see, has fallen into an inexplicable trance. The farmer’s alcoholic brother also lives on this large plantation and we learn that a love triangle may have resulted in the wife’s “zombie” state. As Betsy befriends the numerous native servants who run the plantation, she becomes intrigued by the voodoo ceremonies that they hold in the fields. Having exhausted all other means to revive the zombie-wife, Betsy decides to bring her to one of these ceremonies as a last-ditch effort to awaken her. As the film unfolds we learn the dark family history and who may be responsible for the wife’s tragic condition.

Remember that scene in The Simpsons when Bart, Milhouse, Ralph, and Nelson are leaving the movie theater and Nelson says, I can think of at least 2 things wrong with the title of that film" - the film being Naked Lunch? Well I can think of at least one thing wrong with the title of this film. It is certainly not about zombies, but rather a moderately intriguing mystery. Although slow at times and not really “horrorthonific”, I Walked With a Zombie ultimately rewards our patience with a clever ending. I’ve really been enjoying these Van Lewton films. They have a nifty, creepy, noirish style.