cinema history class: white zombie

Session: Pre-Code 1932 Horror on Tap, Week 4
Movie: White Zombie (1932)
Directed by Victor Halperin

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
A young couple is eager to be married in Haiti, but their plans are upset by a love-starved plantation owner and an evil voodoo master. Hilarity ensues.

Reaction:

White Zombie is the only film in this session that I'd seen before, and it's one that I love, so I was really looking forward to it. Interestingly, in the dozen or so years since I saw it last, I'd forgotten some of the plot points. Notably, I'd completely forgotten the love triangle angle. Somehow I'd combined two characters -- Neil Parker (Madeleine's fiance) and Beaumont (the plantation owner who wants her for himself) -- into one. So watching again I found that the plot was a little more complex than I had remembered. So that was a plus.

I'm not exactly an expert on Bela Lugosi, but this is (to my knowledge) his meanest, most sadistic role. In other movies he performs acts of cruelty, but there's always some kind of reason that a viewer can at least appreciate if not support. But in this, he's a sadist for sadism's sake. And it's fun to watch it, thinking "what a scumbag!"

But the plot touches on a couple of issues that hit me on a visceral level. The whole idea of being trapped, and knowing what you could have -- should have -- done differently is a big one for me. And that's the part of the movie I remember most clearly from the past.

It's worth noting the underlying racial dynamic built into this movie and even worked into the title. There's the implicit message that it's Legendre's (Lugosi) use of voodoo to turn people into zombies is all well and good as long as he's limiting it to the black people of Haiti. It only becomes a problem when he turns his attention to the pretty white woman from elsewhere. If they were top make this movie today, they would have to rework certain elements, and the title would have to be changed. Maybe "Zombie Bride" or something like that. But, while I am aware of this aspect of the movie, I'm also aware that this was made in 1932, and that has to be taken into account.

Christina noted something that I hadn't picked up on. Generally, the characters in this movie aren't well-developed. Legendre, played by Lugosi is the exception, as he actually has a bit of a backstory that's touched on in a teasing kind of way. But the others aren't. Madeleine and Neil are basically cardboard cutouts without any notable personalities. And Beaumont is hardly much better. His sudden deep infatuation with Madeleine is really inexplicable. Had Christina given her comments before me, thereby giving me a chance to consider her thoughts before I gave my rating, I probably would have given this film a lower score.

Ratings:

Me: 9.6

Christina: 8.2

Ethan: 9