WHITE ZOMBIE (1932)
Article #303 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 1-12-2002
Posting date: 5-29-2002

A man wishes to win an engaged woman for his own, so he hooks up with an evil plantation owner, who sets up a scheme to fake her death and revive her once the fiance has departed. However, the plantation owner, who has a crew of zombies, has ideas of his own.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I really need a good copy of this one; I’ve heard that it can make all the difference in the world. As it is, I have to admit that this time that I watched it, I was able to understand its appeal a lot more, especially after seeing some of the other movies of the Halperin brothers. On top of some absolutely unforgettable scenes (particularly the zombie falling into the mill which, being manned by zombies, just keeps running), it also has quite a few that are stiff and static, and watching a so-so copy of the movie only enhances the dullness of these scenes. I do enjoy Lugosi’s performance quite a bit, and some of the zombies are quite memorable, and I like the use of sound throughout, though I consider the music somewhat variable. However, I plan to reserve judgment until I can see a good copy of the movie.