161. I Walked With A Zombie (1943)
Directed By Jacques Tourneur
Synopsis
A Canadian nurse goes to the West Indian island of St. Sebastian to assist the catatonic wife of a sugar planter. Is the wife catatonic or is she a zombie? Well you'll have to watch the film to not quite know for sure.
Review
Jacques Tourneur brings us another pretty amazing horror film with quite a sub-par plot. This is much like what happened with Cat People an excellent film technically but with quite a simple plot.
Thankfully the film is so interesting in the way it is directed, its use of shadows and the creation of an ambiance that it rescues the film from any other criticisms. Tourneur is great, there is a pervading sense of dread in the whole thing the depiction of the Voodoo followers is actually quite positive but appropriately scary.
The silent character of Carrefour (or a man possessed by the spirit of the loa of crossroads) is actually something that will stick in my mind, you can see him in the picture above. Still this film is much more positive in its depiction of "natives" than any A film in Hollywood. It seems that you had to make B-movies to be able to be politically correct and depict black people as actual people and not cardboard cut-outs to be shot at for the savages they are. This isn't quite as good as Cat People but it is indeed very close, so if you liked that you'll like this.
Final Grade
8/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
As was typical of many of Lewton's horror films, he was given the film's title and, with the aid of credited writers, he created the story around the title, in this case borrowing elements of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. Also typical of many Lewton films, the supernatural is treated ambiguously, and it's never entirely clear how some events should be interpreted.
I Walked was a critical and financial success. It has since been acclaimed for its haunting atmosphere and nuanced performances. It is not a "zombie movie" in the common sense of the term, but it is arguably more accurate and sensitive in depicting Caribbean culture and voodoo rites and beliefs than many horror films.
A trailer which is so unrepresentative of the film that it's insane:
posted by Francisco Silva @ 1:10 AM
5 Comments:
At 4:41 AM,
Anonymous said…
I think I gave this one an average rating. It definitely wasn't what I expected and I didn't find it particularly scary, but it was a pretty decent drama. Tourneur really exercised artistic license within the scope of the title.
Okay, Carrefour is pretty scary -- what is the deal with that guy's eyes? Does he have a hyperthyroidal disorder?
I am hoping that Cat People will be better; I haven't seen it yet, but it is in my ridiculously long Netflix queue.
Guess I should sign this with my name, unless I want you calling me media all of the time :).
-- Lance.
At 5:35 AM,
Francisco Silva said…
Lance:
I think Tourneur is one of the best people at using shadows in the history of cinema, it actually harks back to the Germans in the 20's.
As I said the plot of the film is pretty much secondary here, it's all about mood. Then you have the subjective choice if that technical skill is enough for you to like the film or not, I liked it a lot, but I can understand that for some it just won't do.
Car People is actually better and is earlier.
I actually knew quite a bit about these films from a Martin Scorsese documentary about American cinema, he seems to be quite gaga about Tourneur.
At 5:36 AM,
Francisco Silva said…
Car People might be better, but Cat People definitely is.
At 4:32 PM,
Anonymous said…
Right, that's the whole German Expressionism feel. Led to the classic look of the first horror films and film noir when the German Jew film makers came over to America to escape the Third Reich.
Like in "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari". That movie had incredible set designs, art and lighting. And, of course, Nosferatu, among others.
Another good movie to use those techniques is #300: "Night of the Hunter". It's one of my favorites.
You bring up a good point. I should watch the commentaries from other directors if I can. I couldn't understand Fellini as well until I watched Terry Gilliam explaining it better, then I starting enjoying his films more.
FYI, the Car People never had success as a monster race because they lacked the stealth and agility of the Cat People. In fact, the Cat People walked all over them...literally...leaving those annoying muddy paw prints all over the hoods.
-- Lance.
At 6:36 PM,
Anonymous said…
9/10
murnau
Post a Comment
<< Home