Dehydrator
06-25-2002, 04:43 AM
WHITE ZOMBIE (1932)
Directed by Victor Halperin
Starring:
Bela Lugosi
Madge Bellamy
Robert Frazer
my rating 6/10
+++ might contain minor spoilers +++
The movie that gave the band the name (as confirmed in an interview with Rob I read) and perhaps the first zombie movie ever (correct me if I'm wrong on that) is an overall nice little flick, if you appreciate the old stuff like I do. It's fairly short (a bit over an hour I think) and fun to watch mostly for Bela Lugosi in the lead.
The plot: Two american honeymooners ( it's always american honeymooners going to creepy places just like in THE BLACK CAT) deceide to spent a few days in Haiti by some guy the woman got to know on a cruise ship somewhere. See, this guy is in love with the woman and would do anything to make her his own so he consults the local voodoo priest (Bela Lugosi, since I still can't get to the imdb, I don't know who everyone else is) who is kind enough to turn her into a zombie. The rest writes itself...
These zombies aren't the ones you see in a Fulci or Romero flick, pretty much all they do is walk after Lugosi and work in his suger mill (nice scene where one zombie falls into the mill, followed by ghastly sound effects while the other zombies just keep on running around the wheel). "In their lifetimes they were my enemies! Now they are my servants!" Behold Lugosi trashing out lines like that and you'll understand what makes movies like this cool. The plot itself doesn't hold that many suprises and the movie sometimes just drags alone, although every scene serves something for the story. The highlight is of course Bela's over-the-top performance, his wide-eyed hypnotic staring is a hoot and although this is hopelessly dated, it still manages to have some rather creepy moments. I couldn't warm up to the wedding couple at all, if this guy is supposed to be the hero of the flick he makes one hell of a lame-ass hero. The goofy missionary is the flicks only source of intended humor (I found Lugosi pretty funny but I'm sure it's not intended), I guess the 30's audience were supposed to laugh at him. I don't know if it worked.
Overall, still not bad for it's time and recommended for fans of the band and fans of 30's style movies. You just can't go wrong with Lugosi playing a hypnotizing voodoo-priest.
6/10
Directed by Victor Halperin
Starring:
Bela Lugosi
Madge Bellamy
Robert Frazer
my rating 6/10
+++ might contain minor spoilers +++
The movie that gave the band the name (as confirmed in an interview with Rob I read) and perhaps the first zombie movie ever (correct me if I'm wrong on that) is an overall nice little flick, if you appreciate the old stuff like I do. It's fairly short (a bit over an hour I think) and fun to watch mostly for Bela Lugosi in the lead.
The plot: Two american honeymooners ( it's always american honeymooners going to creepy places just like in THE BLACK CAT) deceide to spent a few days in Haiti by some guy the woman got to know on a cruise ship somewhere. See, this guy is in love with the woman and would do anything to make her his own so he consults the local voodoo priest (Bela Lugosi, since I still can't get to the imdb, I don't know who everyone else is) who is kind enough to turn her into a zombie. The rest writes itself...
These zombies aren't the ones you see in a Fulci or Romero flick, pretty much all they do is walk after Lugosi and work in his suger mill (nice scene where one zombie falls into the mill, followed by ghastly sound effects while the other zombies just keep on running around the wheel). "In their lifetimes they were my enemies! Now they are my servants!" Behold Lugosi trashing out lines like that and you'll understand what makes movies like this cool. The plot itself doesn't hold that many suprises and the movie sometimes just drags alone, although every scene serves something for the story. The highlight is of course Bela's over-the-top performance, his wide-eyed hypnotic staring is a hoot and although this is hopelessly dated, it still manages to have some rather creepy moments. I couldn't warm up to the wedding couple at all, if this guy is supposed to be the hero of the flick he makes one hell of a lame-ass hero. The goofy missionary is the flicks only source of intended humor (I found Lugosi pretty funny but I'm sure it's not intended), I guess the 30's audience were supposed to laugh at him. I don't know if it worked.
Overall, still not bad for it's time and recommended for fans of the band and fans of 30's style movies. You just can't go wrong with Lugosi playing a hypnotizing voodoo-priest.
6/10