White Zombie is a 1932 Cinema of the United States independent film Pre-Code Hollywood horror film directed and produced by brothers Victor Halperin and Edward Halperin. The screenplay by Garnett Weston, based on a book by William Seabrook, tells the story of a young woman's transformation into a zombie at the hands of an evil voodoo master. Béla Lugosi stars as the antagonist, Murder Legendre, with Madge Bellamy appearing as his victim. Other cast members included Robert W. Frazer, John Harron and Joseph Cawthorn.</>
TV Guide gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, comparing the film's atmosphere to Carl Theodor Dreyer's film
Vampyr. However, the magazine described the acting as "woefully inadequate", with the exception of Lugosi.<></> Edward G. Bansk, a Val Lewton biographer, identified several flaws in
White Zombie, including poor acting, bad timing and other "haphazard and sloppy" film aspects. Bansk wrote, "Although
White Zombie is a film with courage, a film difficult not to admire, its ambitions overstep competence of its principal players." In Cleveland, Ohio,
White Zombie sold a record 16,728 tickets its first weekend on its initial release in August.< name="Rhodes 2001, p. 162"/> In Montreal, Canada, the film opened August 3 at the Princess Theatre. The facade had been transformed into a "House of the Living Dead" and "zombies" walked atop the marquee. The film failed to gross its estimated $8,000 and earned only $6,500 following a one-week run at the Princess Theatre. In comparison,
Dracula (1931 English-language film) had grossed $14,000 at Montreal's Robillard Block during its first week in March 1931.< name="R269" />
=Home video=
White Zombie was transferred from poor quality prints to VHS and Betamax in the 1980s.< name="Rhodes194" /> The film has been released on DVD from several companies – including K-Tel and Alpha Video — with varying image quality.< name="dvdRelease"></>< name="dvdRelease" />< name="RoanGroup"></> The book
Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide described the Roan's later DVD release of the title as the best available.</>
Legacy
File:Robzombiegfdl.PNG appropriated the name of the film for his group White Zombie (band)}}}
White Zombie is considered to be the first feature film zombie film and has been described as the archetype and model of all zombie movies.</> Modern critical response to
Revolt of the Zombies is generally unfavorable. In a review from
Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide, the review declares that "[T]here's no experimentation here, only dull composition shots and flatly lit shots of yakking characters in a by-the-numbers plot."</><></>
Scenes from
White Zombie have appeared in other films including Curtis Hanson's
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (film), Michael Almereyda's
Nadja (film), and Tim Burton's
Ed Wood (film).</> Screenwriter Jared Rivet worked on a script in 2007 with Hooper. The project was halted due to rights issues, with Rivet explaining that
White Zombie "is clearly public domain, but there were question marks about uncredited source material".< name="NoTobe"></>
In 2013, Walkabout Publishing released Stephen D. Sullivan's adaptation of
White Zombie.
See also
- Bela Lugosi filmography
- List of American films of 1932
- List of horror films of the 1930s
; Notes
; Bibliography
Category:1930s horror films
Category:1932 films
Category:American horror films
Category:Black-and-white films
Category:English-language films
Category:Films directed by Victor Hugo Halperin
Category:Films set in Haiti
Category:Independent films
Category:United Artists films
Category:Zombie films