I Walked with a Zombie
Published 2026-10-10 10:41:09
She's alive... yet dead! She's dead... yet alive!
Film info
- Director
- Year / Run time 1943 · 1hr 6m
- Genre Horror
A nurse in the Caribbean turns to voodoo in hopes of curing her patient, a mindless woman whose husband she’s fallen in love with.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 1:40 | I like a movie that's first line is its title. That's fun. |
| 4:58 | "They brought you to a beautiful place, didn't they?" As if that's any consolation for slavery! |
| 12:37 | The lighting is gorgeous but it doesn't quite make sense physically. |
| 21:40 | "That's Paul's great weapon, words. He uses them like other men use fists." |
| 29:31 | What is insulin shock treatment? It sounds awful. |
| 34:47 | I like that her question was not about voodoo as a religion but as a power that might help. |
| 41:04 | It's amazing how simple drumming can be so powerful. |
| 43:13 | "I should have known there's no easy way to do good, Betsy." |
| 53:42 | Gosh, how many zombies are on this island? |
| 58:06 | "I'm afraid you are an imaginative woman, Mrs Rand." Well that's one up from hysterical, I suppose. |
| 1:05:37 | That is an abrupt end! |
Thoughts
We're into October now, building up to Halloween, and I'm trying to watch more older movies, so a classic horror film ticks both boxes. This one was available on the iPlayer - I'd never heard of it but I was curious how zombies were being portrayed in the 1940s.
This is no monster movie, though, no The Walking Dead zombies in sight. We're going back to the traditional origins of the term - rooted in Caribbean voodoo and focused on beliefs about the dead.
Betsy begins to believe voodoo has a power that can help cure her patient, from the supernatural angle, rather than religious. She's surprised to discover Mrs Rand using the religious beliefs of her community in a more rational fashion. Rand convinces them voodoo spirits are speaking through her and recommends they adhere to her sanitation and medical suggestions. On the one hand, it's a misuse of people's faith, but on the other hand: "I should have known there's no easy way to do good, Betsy," she says.
When Betsy first encounters the zombified wife, the terror is real, and it's emphasised by the black and white lighting used to great effect. A stone staircase in shadow, spotlights on frightened faces, a glimpse of feet marching towards you. If you look at it too closely, you'll question the physics of the lighting so just enjoying the craft of it makes for a better experience.
It's a relatively short film with an abrupt ending, and the story doesn't hold together. There's not a coherent beginning, middle and end to follow, it feels more like dotted thoughts held together by a mild love triangle and a woman in clear need of better medical treatment.
I'm glad I saw this, the ideas around religion made me think at the time and have stuck with me since. But I don't think it makes for a good film in its own right, and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, so it's a 3/5.
Rating: 3 / 5