Jacques Tourner and Val Lewton’s I Walked with a Zombie (1943) is frequently listed by horror buffs as a top in its genre. The film is not a gruesome or violent as expected but rather a quiet disturbing movie of a young catatonic beauty suspended between living and dead. The ‘horror’ tag of this film seems a little disjointed from our modern recognizable troupes of the genre. Where blood shed and blood curdling screams are absent, island voodoo and family tension make the bulk of suspense. The mystery of Jessica Holland’s state and the method that created here waking-sleep are never quite answered. By the film’s end it is up to the viewer to decide whether Mrs. Rand’s appropriation of Haitian belief made a zombie of Jessica or it was the result of an illness.
Recent critics have applauded the quiet horror and Lewton’s mastery of atmosphere to produce the suspense of the film. Blending lighting, music, and an unfamiliar setting results in a fascinating picture. As a modern viewer, I can appreciate the visual effects for what they were of the time. While they of course do not measure up to the advanced effects of the current age, Lewton’s immersive experience is impressive. More so, it was the parallel to Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre which was most interesting of the film. Betsy’s past is not explained so explicitly as Jane’s, yet their attraction to Byronic men married to unwell women is obviously shared. Jessica may be catatonic, but we learn prior to the illness she was part of an unmatched marriage just as Bertha was. Fortunately, for Saint Sebastian, Jessica does not burn the home down and shows no danger to the people of the Rand/Holland home. As there has been a contemporary reimagining of Victorian era novels as speculative fiction by authors like Seth Graeme-Smith or Ben H. Winters, this 1943 adaptation was unexpected yet enjoyable.
The film had some faults, mostly concerning the unconvincing love story of Betsy & Paul or the too-quickly resolved ending, however the filming and reimagined story-line was worth watching!
The Walking Student 