The 1940's perfected the mad scientist zombie movie and strayed from true Voodoo which was the focus in the 1930's. I Walked With A Zombie got back to the roots though and kept strictly to Voodoo lore, more so than some of the movies in the 30's. It was, perhaps, the most accurate depiction of true zombie/Voodoo folklore so far. Voodoo ceremonies took place far out in sugarcane fields, freed slaves participated, and it was treated as a native religion rather than something to be afraid of for comic relief.
I've wondered if it would be good to make a movie that got back to the classic Voodoo but often think its just not relevant to whats happening in the world today. Today, horror audiences expect suspenseful scenes with a terrifying payoff and while this movie could be remade with a lot of producer Val Lewton's suspenseful style, its not the same type of scary that would be captivating today.
I Walked... is currently being remade by RKO and Twisted Pictures under the title "The Plantation". The original was said to be based on the novel "Jane Eyre" but you'd have to be slapped in the face with that information to recognize the similarities. The synopsis of The Plantation seems to be closer to Jane Eyre than it is to the original movie. I wonder if RKO/Twisted Pictures is just trying to get a piece of the "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" pie. Those involved in the remake are also known for Jason Goes To Hell and Conspiracy, neither of which did very well. I don't mean to be critical; I'll definitely watch it but it seems like it'll leave classic voodoo zombie fans still hoping for a true, modern, voodoo zombie movie.
Originally, Voodoo was the religion of natives and/or slaves in Haiti which made zombies an easy monster to convey a negative message about slavery. Much like infected zombies today are an easy way to talk to the idea of global warming, or capitalism, etc. Although it is never explicitly talked about in I Walked With a Zombie, the theme of slavery was present right from the beginning. The main characters were a family with a slave owning past who had fallen on hard times. A fountain in their courtyard was made with a figurehead from the ship that brought slaves to the plantation in Antigua. It is seen over and over in the film, every time someone wants to leave the plantation to go into the darkness where voodoo ceremonies can be heard in the distance.
It wasn't a bad movie, actually. Released the same year as Casablanca, it was a pretty successful poverty row picture. Lots of movie reviews out there will list this one among the best zombie movies of all time. Betsy, the main female character is brought to Antigua to nurse the wife of plantation owner, Paul, back to health. Right away, we can see that she has been zombiefied and know nothing the nurse can do will bring her back. The movie then focuses on the torment of the family for a while and Betsy starts to come between Paul and his brother. Later to find out that an earlier love triangle between the brothers and zombie wife, Jessica, has happened before, somehow leading to her current state.
Because of her strange and unexplained, love for Paul, Betsy decides to find a cure for his wife once and for all and take her to a voodoo ceremony for help. This leads to some of the most suspenseful scenes of the movie. As the two young ladies walk through tall sugarcane fields, in the dark, with chanting and music quickly approaching, the camera is positioned above and behind them to make it feel like they are being followed by a large predator. Very unsettling.
After a few surprising scares involving zombies, the movie gets back to is focus of the tragedy that has befallen the family and the zombie wife. I was glad to see the writers gave an explanation of what was really happening. Like Bowery at Midnight, this story easily progressed from scene to scene and there wasn't a lot on nonsensical bs and comic relief. I'm guessing this is why it was so successful compared to the other poverty row flicks.
Even though this movie contained some of the scarier scenes of all the zombie movies so far, I wasn't really scared. The classic voodoo is much more entertaining to watch than the mad scientist movies but it still doesn't pose a huge threat to random people, thus making it less terrifying for anyone who is not commanded to be killed; or the audience for that matter. I can't really tell, yet, when zombie movies made that transition to everyone being attacked vs. specific victims, but I hope it happens sometime before 1968 in Night of the Living Dead. We'll all start getting really bored if we have to wait that long. How did zombie fans make it through the 50's?
Stats for I Walked With a Zombie...
Style of zombie: Classic
Threat to humans: yes, when they are commanded
Dead or alive: alive
How they become zombies: voodoo
Other: nothing really new here
How to kill them: any way a human can be killed
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