Review – White Zombie

It’s hard to say how much of this movie has been undone by the passage of time. For openers, the title suggests a level of racism that’s less prevalent in the picture than one might expect. Indeed, just about all the zombies in the whole picture are white, which is odd considering that most of them are being forced to work on a Haitian plantation. The main story is about a pair of young newlyweds whose happiness is disrupted by a jealous rival who hires the local witch doctor (Bela Lugosi) to zombify the new bride and turn her over to him. Dissatisfied with the affectionless automaton, he swiftly desires to have her turned back to a real woman. However, the bokor blanc refuses, knowing full well that if she comes back to her senses that she’ll blow the whistle on the whole racket. Though the production suffers from many of the “growing pains” of early 30s moviemaking, it’s still a fun way to kill 70 minutes or so. Mildly amusing