I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
Directed by Jacques Tourneur

Film Review

After the success of Cat People, French director Jacques Tourneur and Russian-born producer Val Lewton came up with this similar, and equally effective, dark psychological drama of horror, romance and conflicting love set in the Caribbean with aspects of Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre" thrown in.  Instead of all-out horror, Tourneur focuses on tension and suggestion, leaving it to the audience to try and guess half of what is going on.  He thus gives this low-budget RKO production a dark and intense atmosphere that has lasted far longer and more effectively than that of the Universal monster movies of Karloff, Lugosi and Chaney Jr.

The nightmarish journey undertaken by the two women, to the sound of Voodoo drums, through billowing fields of cane, past animal sacrifices and to the crossroads guarded by the towering figure of the zombie Carre-Four, is regarded as one of the most enduring scenes in the history of cinema.

Tom Conway had starred in the previous Cat People as a womanising psychiatrist.  Here, he is more sympathetic as a guilt-ridden man who feels responsible for his wife's condition.  In fact there are no real outstanding villains in this film, simply sad people trying to come to terms with their situation: from the poorly-educated and superstitious descendants of African slaves to the elitist members of the white community whose tangled love lives are nothing to envy.

It is these conflicts which are at the core of the film. Is Voodoo magic really effective? Betsy gets past the zombie Carre-Four even after she has lost the Voodoo patch that she was told she needed in order to do so.  The Voodoo priest known as the Sabreur lures Jessica away from the estate using a doll in her image, but it might be argued that it is just her usual behaviour.  Jessica's condition is explained away in medical terms, but other factors emerge that imply a supernatural connection. The central question, is she an actual zombie or not, is really left to the audience to decide and this gives the film its power.

Edith Barrett plays Conway's missionary mother who has more than a few tricks and surprises up her sleeve. She is a doctor herself and poses as a Voodoo priest in order to persuade the locals to accept proper medical treatment. She is a practical, down-to-earth and likeable woman and it is hard to feel any enmity towards her even when she claims to be the one who is responsible for what has happened.   Again, Tourneur leaves it to the audience to decide how much credence should be put into her claims.

A year later Barrett would appear in a film version of "Jane Eyre", upon which much of I Walked With a Zombie is inspired. At the time, she was also married to horror star Vincent Price.

The original screenplay (see http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/ ) puts more emphasis on Jessica's past as a manipulative hussy and even had a happy ending with two of the protagonists married and enjoying the hustle and bustle of a modern city.  Thankfully, Tourneur saw fit to dispense with the latter scene and the fact that it ends with no real winners overall just adds to the many factors that make this a classic masterpiece.

Film Synopsis

Betsy Connell, a young Canadian nurse, is hired to go to the Caribbean island of Saint Sebastian and care for Jessica Holland, wife of the owner of a local sugar plantation.  During the journey by boat she meets the husband, Paul Holland, who is quick to dash her expectations that the area will be a charming place to stay.  Jessica turns out to be living in a state of catatonic shock. She sleepwalks around the joyless estate and shows little sign of life.  Betsy then hears rumours that she was driven mad by Paul when she attempted to leave with his half-brother Wesley Rand.  In spite of his moody personality, Paul is still a cultured gentleman and Betsy starts to fall in love with him. She has little interest in the heavy-drinking Wesley. In a roundabout way, she tries to prove her love to Paul by restoring Jessica to a degree of normality and bring some happiness back into his life. When regular medical techniques fail, Betsy learns that a local Voodoo priest has had success with similar cases and takes her patient on a nightmare journey that holds a few surprises and tragic consequences...