WHITE ZOMBIE

Universal wasn't the only Hollywood studio producing horror films in the 1930s. Paramount gave us ISLAND OF LOST SOULS in 1932, while Warner Brothers, known primarily for their hard boiled gangster dramas, released THE MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM in 1933 (and in early two-strip Technicolor). 

Although released by United Artists, WHITE ZOMBIE (1932) was actually an independent film produced and directed by Victor and Edward Halperin (respectively). Without a major studio pedigree, WHITE ZOMBIE sort of got lost in the pre-code horror film shuffle, despite a terrific starring turn by genre icon Bela Lugosi. Following his star making appearance in Tod Browning's DRACULA (1931), Lugosi was featured in another Universal horror film, MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932) before being cast by the Halperins as the zombie master "Murder" Legendre in WHITE ZOMBIE. 

Lugosi, with his weird "zombie grip" (actually, an early form of isometrics exercise) and his penetrating gaze (there are numerous closeups of his hypnotic eyes), commands the film. A severe widow's peak, mustache and goatee lend him a decidedly Satanic countenance as the commander of an army of zombies sent out to do his unholy bidding. 

Madeleine Short (Madge Bellamy) and her fiance Neil Parker (John Harron), journey to Haiti to be wed. Once there, they quickly encounter a native burial ceremony and the mysterious Legendre.  Plantation owner Charles Beaumont (Robert W. Frazier), falls madly in love with Madeline and begs her to marry him instead of the steadfast Neil. Madeleine refuses and Beaumont, who already uses the living dead as slave labor in his sugar cane mill, turns to Legendre for help. But Legendre has plans of his own for the beautiful Madeleine and turns her into the "white zombie" of the title to satisfy his own unspeakable desires. 

Neil and Dr. Bruner (Joseph Cawthorn), join forces to rescue Madeleine from the clutches of Legendre and return her to the land of the living. 

Shot in only eleven days and with a running time of just over an hour, WHITE ZOMBIE packs an undiluted punch of pre-code horror. While not as well known as its' big studio brethren, ZOMBIE is nonetheless an extremely effective horror film unitizing stellar camera work by Arthur Martinelli, impressive sets (left over from larger productions), matte paintings, angular scene "wipes", a leavening of sly humor, a decidedly twisted sexual undertone and an overall sense of dread and foul deeds. Lugosi delivers a first rate performance while the rest of the cast varies in acting ability. 

But the film moves fast enough that you're never bored or too strongly put off by some of the lesser thespian talents on display here. The goal of WHITE ZOMBIE is to tell a compelling story about ancient rites and superstitions, which may or may not be supernatural in origin and it succeeds admirably. 

I hadn't seen this film in close to twenty years so watching it this afternoon with my buddy J. Aaron, was a real treat. It may not rank among the Universal horrors of the thirties as a favorite but it is certainly a solid, genuinely creepy minor masterpiece. 

Highly recommended.