I Walked with a Zombie

 
...reviewed October 3rd


It’s common knowledge that the Val Lewton “horror” classics attempt (and succeed, methinks) to be more than just spookshows with monsters. I Walked with a Zombie is not typical October viewing for me, believe it or not. I can watch the Val Lewton movies (prefer to, even) throughout the year, or anytime one of them show up on Turner Classic Movies. Certainly more sophisticated in story and characterization, the Lewton classics like Zombie were a breath of fresh air if an audience was tiring of a shambling Frankenstein’s Monster or Kharis Mummy. I have to figure Zombie will be one of the most beautiful, well written and acted, horror films to show up in my watch list this year. It wasn’t too long ago since I last watched it (last year, when Turner Classics ran a couple of them), but seeing it tonight just further gave me an appreciation in subtlety and the lovely grace of the image made atmospheric.












 

Voodoo practices on Saint Sebastian, an island where a sugar plantation has succeeded due to its slave labor, and how a newcomer (a nurse played by the gorgeous Frances Dee; the camera adores her) arrives, falls head-over-heels for both the location and the plantation’s owner (Tom Conway; his smooth delivery and mannered intellect called George Sanders to me as I watched him conversing with Dee, with an eloquence even when drowning in melancholy). The way Christine Gordon (as the catatonic “zombie” of the film) is evocatively photographed is especially a worthwhile part of the film that made tonight’s viewing a rich experience. I think Zombie is the case where everything, from lighting faces to capturing the allure of the locale (just the way the wind blows, how the water glistens, the mood applied to scenes, giving them somber strokes, the cane fields acting like mazes easy to get lost in), works so damn well. It isn’t about knocking you over the head, but enriching your eyes (and ears; the dialogue doesn’t talk down to the viewer and expects us to follow it with a degree of intelligence) and giving us something that lasts long after the fade to black. The voodoo ceremonies are even handled with a lack of racist sentiment; while considered “nonsense”, the characters seem to respect the beliefs of the slaves who work on and around the plantation, with the long-gone Jessica (told to Dee that she was a wicked woman who had splintered apart her husband and brother (Wes, played by the boyishly handsome James Ellison) through adultery and promiscuity) even taken to them for “help”. Then there’s the chill that Darby Jones brings to his scenes; mute, never uttering a word, his eyes deathly blank, walking as if he were a zombie, this actor is emblazoned in memory once someone watches Zombie. Even the romance that might seem wrong between Dee and Conway is handled with class and dignified by how both attempt to do the right thing by Gordon who probably doesn’t deserve such treatment. So I think when someone reads this they’ll know I have strong feelings coming out of this movie once again. It’s an absolute dynamo.


Edith Barrett, a doc, has a character I failed to mention in my comments and I feel kind of bad for not acknowledging her importance, especially when she admits to wanting Jessica to endure hardship for how she caused a rift between brothers. She spends most of her time with the slaves, tends to their ailments, is deeply involved emotionally in their welfare. This correlates with how well Dee’s caregiver also gets along with the servants on the plantation. There are warm, affectionate relationships between the whites and slaves on the island, but Jessica’s activities caused quite a stir…to the point that songs about her behavior are performed in the nearby village. There was a lot that happened prior to Dee’s arrival, and these events slowly become known to the nurse the longer she remains on the island. I think good storytelling often comes at the wake of events and how the present has damaged people trying to pick up the pieces, even as a reminder of what put them where they are is present in the walking zombie of Jessica.

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