In this haunting low-budgeter, Bela Lugosi stars as Murder Legendre, a shadowy character who exercises supernatural powers over the natives in his Haitian domain. Coveting Madge Bellamy as his bride, wealthy Robert Frazier enters into an unholy agreement with Lugosi, whereby Madge will die, then be resurrected as a zombie. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
Shines through its own failings; but how much better it would be if it didn't have to, if this minor horror classic were instead an all-time genre masterpiece.
It's a shame that Bela Lugosi didn't get more leading parts that exercised his abilities as an actor, but then again, he was quite happy to indulge in his horror legacy and make a living off of it in the process. White Zombie was released a year after the success of Dracula, and its popularity was a big part of that
success. However, the film itself isn't quite as good as the one it capatlized on. The storyline is pretty good, but it's all stuff we've seen before and that already we're quite familiar with. A mysterious doctor madman on unknown islands doing devilish things away from society. That's certainly nothing new. The film has a lot of atmosphere and some genuinely creepy moments, but overall just doesn't hold up well or stand out among the others. Most will only watch it for Lugosi's performance, and I can't think of a better reason than that to see it.
December 27, 2011
Tim Salmons
Super Reviewer
The first zombie movie, with a nice moody atmosphere. Casting-wise Lugosi clearly dominates, in many ways this is his movie.
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