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That's how plantation owner Paul Holland (Tom Conway) describes the island of Saint Sebastian to nurse Betsy Connell (Frances Dee). He knows because he has seen "death and decay" among the slaves his family has brought there, and now sees it in the state of his wife Jessica, who's been in a catatonic state due to a serious illness, and who Betsy has been hired to take care of.
I Walked with a Zombie follows Betsy's attempts to heal Jessica through various methods, including through voodoo rituals that are common in the island. As she discovers the truth behind these rituals, she also finds herself entangled in the family problems between Paul and his half-brother Wesley (James Ellison), as well as their mother (Edith Barrett).
Although I've seen this film attributed more to producer Val Lewton, with whom I'm not that familiar, my main drive to see it was director Jacques Tourneur, who four years later would direct my favorite film noir, Out of the Past. In that department, the film totally delivered. Tourneur uses some great direction and camera movement to build up dread, whether it is through a tense walk through the woods or in a dark humid basement.
The story, on the other hand, I found more lacking. The relationship between Betty and Paul is poorly constructed and feels half-baked (even unnecessary?), and the two actors have no chemistry. Plus, what seems to be the main issue with Jessica's condition feels more like a plot device than something we should really care for. Finally, I wish more had been done with the interference of white colonizing characters like the Holland/Rand's or Dr. Maxwell in black Caribbean cultures, slavery, and racism, but for the most part, it is only brushed over.
Still, the film owes a lot to its atmosphere and the aforementioned direction by Tourneur. There's a lot of imagery that's effective and kinda creeps under you. Paul Holland is right; there is only death and decay, but in Tourneur's hands, there is beauty in that.
Grade:
I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE
(1943, Tourneur)
A film from the TSPDT 1,000 Greatest Films list whose ranking includes the #6 (#634)
(1943, Tourneur)
A film from the TSPDT 1,000 Greatest Films list whose ranking includes the #6 (#634)
"There's no beauty here, only death and decay."
That's how plantation owner Paul Holland (Tom Conway) describes the island of Saint Sebastian to nurse Betsy Connell (Frances Dee). He knows because he has seen "death and decay" among the slaves his family has brought there, and now sees it in the state of his wife Jessica, who's been in a catatonic state due to a serious illness, and who Betsy has been hired to take care of.
I Walked with a Zombie follows Betsy's attempts to heal Jessica through various methods, including through voodoo rituals that are common in the island. As she discovers the truth behind these rituals, she also finds herself entangled in the family problems between Paul and his half-brother Wesley (James Ellison), as well as their mother (Edith Barrett).
Although I've seen this film attributed more to producer Val Lewton, with whom I'm not that familiar, my main drive to see it was director Jacques Tourneur, who four years later would direct my favorite film noir, Out of the Past. In that department, the film totally delivered. Tourneur uses some great direction and camera movement to build up dread, whether it is through a tense walk through the woods or in a dark humid basement.
The story, on the other hand, I found more lacking. The relationship between Betty and Paul is poorly constructed and feels half-baked (even unnecessary?), and the two actors have no chemistry. Plus, what seems to be the main issue with Jessica's condition feels more like a plot device than something we should really care for. Finally, I wish more had been done with the interference of white colonizing characters like the Holland/Rand's or Dr. Maxwell in black Caribbean cultures, slavery, and racism, but for the most part, it is only brushed over.
Still, the film owes a lot to its atmosphere and the aforementioned direction by Tourneur. There's a lot of imagery that's effective and kinda creeps under you. Paul Holland is right; there is only death and decay, but in Tourneur's hands, there is beauty in that.
Grade: