Its official, 1946 was the year the zombie officially joined the ranks among bloodthirsy monsters...finally! I think, for this reason alone, I enjoyed this movie more than any others so far. Although I didn't have to look away from the tv or hide behind a blanket, it still had some legitimately scary moments. As the zombie walked towards the camera with a crazed look on his face, I got pretty creeped out.
The writing was good despite some really weird lines. Ex: "Lets head over to Dr. Maynard's office and see if we can pick up a clue that will lead us to the peculiar party that has a passion for pickling" when a cop is talking about trying to find out who is embalming all the dead bodies that keep showing up. One other piece of the movie I thought was great, and something I know I'll harp on over and over in this blog, is the music. It was truly in the classic horror movie style and contributed to the scariness, as it should. I really don't like to feel happy go lucky or bored to tears during a zombie movie and the music is mostly to blame in those situations.
The directing also showed much improvement from earlier zombie movies. During the Great Depression, an independent film production company called Republic Pictures gobbled us various other small companies including Monogram Pictures who brought us Revenge and King of The Zombies. Thus allowing Monogram's people to continue their zombie movie work. New in the Hollywood scene was director Philip Ford who would go on to direct westerns, crime movies, and some episodes of Lassie. His other genre specialties were pretty evident throughout the movie which included a car chase scene, shootouts, and mystery solving cops with very CSI-like one liners. Unfortunately, though this was his only zombie movie.
The synopsis was pretty basic. Theres a crazy guy, Ormond Murks (Ian Kieth), who somehow uses ancient voodoo to turn his own dead body into a zombie. Or possibly just put himself into the trance-like state in order to reanimate himself later, it was a little confusing despite a very well executed flashback scene in the beginning to explain the plot. Anyway, he keeps steeling bags of blood from a local doctor's office, gets caught, and is forced to go on a killing spree to get the blood he needs to sustain his zombie life. Then you've got your pretty standard, helpless, pretty nurse whos only role in the movie is to be the love interest to the brave and handsome doctor who is to eventually save the day. Nurse Susan (Lorna Gray) and Dr. Evans (Robert Livingston) were just silly. I could have gone for less nurse and doctor and more cops chasing the crazy zombie guy.
As for the zombies in the movie, well, there was only one. He talks about a place called the Valley of The Zombies where he learned how to turn himself into a zombie using voodoo so he could "appear to be dead, but still be alive". Why he wanted to do this wasn't explained well and I think he was just crazy. Up to the late 40s, there hadn't been a zombie that acted on his own accord, they've all been under the control of a master of some sort. So, when watching this movie all on its own, its not all that great as a zombie movie. However, its contributed a lot to the evolution of the zombie story; the need for blood, the zombie operating without a master, (spoiler) the zombie actually kills people, and the scary flashes and music which provoked an adrenaline rush. I'd say without a double this was one of the best, at least in my top two so far. Definitely see this if you're into zombie movies, and whats better is its less than an hour comitment.
Stats for Valley of The Zombies...
Style of zombie: Classic
Threat to humans: yes
Dead or alive: alive
How they become zombies: voodoo
Other: first zombie movie with a zombie without a master
How to kill them: any way a human can be killed
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