Thanks to George A. Romero and his cult classic Night of The Living Dead, Zombie for most people conjures up a revenant with a taste for human steak tar-tar, but before that movie zombie was entirely a different monster, one that evoked images of rituals in the dead of night,  tropical winds, and a slavery that reached beyond the grave.

I walked With A Zombie, the second horror film, after the original Cat People, produced by Val Lewton for RKO studios, is set in theCaribbeanand has been called a voodoo retelling of Jane Eyre. As I have never read, nor seen any production of Jane Eyre I can’t speak to that description. The story is about a young Canadian Nurse, Betsy Connell, sent to a sugar plantation in theCaribbeanto care for Jessica, the catatonic wife of wealthy land owner, Paul Holland. Betsy, a romantic soul, is taken by the beauty of the islands and thoughHolland’s demeanor is one of harsh fatalism, she is enchanted by her employer as well. She quickly learns of a bitter rivalry between Paul and his half-brother Rand and that Paul’s wife came between the brothers. Betsy is quickly drawn into not only the familial conflict, but the native voodoo as she seeks a cure for Jessica. 

Val Lewton produced a number of horror/suspense films for RKO during the 40’s, some of which are classics. I obtained I Walked with a Zombie when I purchased the DVD for The Body Snatcher, one of my favorite all time movies. .The DVD, a double feature set, included I walked with a Zombie, a film I had never seen or heard about. I watched it once with my sweetie-wife and it left no lasting impression save one of boredom. I decided to give the film another viewing, this time late at night, in a darkened room without interruption.

I can’t say this has become a movie I would have purchased for its own sake, but it played a bit better this second time around. Like the other Val Lewton horror films, I Walked with a Zombie is ambiguous in its depiction of the supernatural. The ending of the film leaves it up to the viewer as to how much may have been due to tropical fevers and how much to voodoo rituals. Atmospheric with a photography that is reminiscent of German Expressionism, the movie’s tone plays well in the dark, but falls short of being horrifying.