The horror films of the 1930's and 1940's represent the foundation with which the genre was built on. Thanks to the successes of Todd Browning's DRACULA and James Whale's FRANKENSTEIN we received countless other horror films resulting in the first cinematic horror boom. Many great and classic films came from this horror boom as well as many droll and forgettable films. The bad ones may outnumber the good ones and sometimes only a particular group of good ones still get exposure today. I'm talking of the UNIVERSAL MONSTERS collection of course.
These films have a particular charm nowadays. A sort of naivete and innocence that audiences today laugh at and dismiss as dated filmmaking. Universal certainly had a specific formula and architecture to most of their films that certainly lend them this quality. But Universal's horror films are not the only good ones out there. From 1942 through 1946 RKO Studios produced 9 remarkable horror films that transcend the troupes of the genre and endure far better than many of the most well known horror film of the era. These films were all produced by a single man, VAL LEWTON. In his second horror film I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE he explored the mysticism of voodoo and zombies.
THE PLOT
Betsy Connell arrives on a Caribbean isle to attend to the needs of bedridden Jessica Holland. The Holland family are the wealthiest on the island. They established the industry on the island and brought the people to work in the cane fields. And the workers brought with them voodoo. Betsy is a nurse but what she sees in Jessica Holland she can't explain. Mrs. Holland appears to be in a state of living death. A trip to the houmfort (voodoo temple) and seeing a houngan (voodoo priest) offer her a frightening explanation to Mrs. Holland's condition.
They voodoo worshipers speak of the gods Damballah and Papa Legba and of being possessed by them. And they speak of powerful voodoo magics. The longer she stays the more strange and inexplicable events she witnesses. She learns more about the Holland brothers and who Jessica Holland was before she became a "zombie." What she learns may change everything she thought she knew about the Hollands and maybe change everything she thought she knew about fantasy and reality.
THE GOOD
The Authenticity. Director Jacques Tourneur could've treated the subject matter disrespectfully and with audacious sensationalism like many horror films being made at the same time. Instead he chose to display the concepts and beliefs seriously and with stark realism. There isn't a shred of humor in this film. The terms "Houmfort" and "Houngan" as well as the gods Papa Legba and Damballah are all actual terms and names. Much of the film's script was taken from actual studies done on voodoo by Inez Wallace. The voodoo ceremony in the film was based off actual observations of voodoo ceremonies. Even the use of the voodoo doll is done tastefully and respectfully.
The Zombies. There are only two zombies in this film (an argument could be made for a third). Jessica Holland and the keeper of the crossroads, the zombie CARREFOUR. Jessica Holland's appearance is very reminiscent of the title zombie from the classic film WHITE ZOMBIE (1932). She presented in a subtle and sometimes terrifying way leaving a little room for doubt. The truly remarkable zombie and perhaps the most standout feature in this film is Carrefour, played by Darby Jones. His appearance is striking to say the least. He's creepy. He's scary. And in all that he's sympathetic too. The scene where Betsy takes Jessica to the voodoo ceremony is the scene where we meet him and it is my favorite sequence in the movie. Carrefour has a few more creepy scenes in the film too and his subsequent appearances lose none of there potency. He is one of the finest examples of a true voodoo zombie.
The Presentation: The narrative is basically JANE ERYE. This approach gives the story a familiar appeal and solid foundation to work from. Then there's the remarkable camera work and use of shadows. The shadows provide an eerie ambiance as well as providing a sense of depth and reality. The camera often shoots the characters from behind objects creating the illusion of a world that stretches beyond the borders of the sets. All of this combined with an authentic representation of voodoo and striking zombies creates one of the best horror films of the time.
THE BAD
There are moments where scenes build to what we would assume to be the big scare moments. Instead these scares are either missing or subdued and muted by edits or cuts. At first glance one would view this as a weakness. Maybe it was intentional. Maybe it was done to subvert sensationalism and maintain a sense of reality. Whether this adds or detracts from an enjoyable viewing experience can be left up to the individual viewer. Some may say this renders the movie boring and certainly there is some validity to this. But you can also argue that these moments of restraint maintain the film's integrity.
THE VERDICT
Val Lewton took what could've been mundane standard horror films and created something more. These films showed restraint when they could've easily gone over the top. They could've easily approached the subject matter as B-movie garbage but instead they treated it seriously. The hammy approach that characterized the Universal pictures of the 1940's is absent. Instead Val Lewton delivered artful horror films, serious, and sometimes quite frightening. His nine horror films are regarded as some of the finest examples of the genre. I Walk With A Zombie in my opinion is his best, one of the greatest horror films of the first half of the 20th century, and one of the best voodoo/zombie films ever made.
Overall Ranking: 8 out of 10
Nude-O-Meter: 0 out of 10
In a final note director Jacques Tourneur is responsible for another of my favorite classic horror films, one worthy of tracking down, a film called NIGHT OF THE DEMON a.k.a. CURSE OF THE DEMON released in 1957. Check it out. I'd be remiss if I didn't also point out the other great horror film Tourneur directed for Val Lewton, CAT PEOPLE (1942) and THE LEOPARD MAN (1943). Again if you love classic horror like I do you should check these out.
No comments:
Post a Comment