White Zombie

1932 horror film

Rating: 13/20

Plot: Honeymooners in Haiti have their trip ruined by a jealous third wheel, some corpses, and Bela Lugosi's ridiculous facial hair. Zombies roam about. To help out that jealous third wheel, Bela Lugosi does some trick involving staring intently and interlocking his hands to turn the bride into a (pause for effect) white zombie.

Madge Bellamy doesn't roam with arms extended and breasts exposed as the poster might suggest. And since this is 1932, the performance of "his every desire" is not shown on screen. Blame 1932 for the abysmal acting, especially from the honeymooners. It's hard to tell when Madge Bellamy is playing a zombie and when she's not. Her bad performance, however, is topped by the soap opera melodramatic sing-song delivery of the male lead, a guy who obviously still felt the need to emote just like they did in the silent era in which he no doubt worked quite a bit. Bela Lugosi is a fantastic exception, and his facial hair actually does steal the show. There are also some clever camera shots, and there are a couple scenes (zombies working in a mill, a graveyard scene) that stir up enough mystery to give White Zombie some atmosphere.