White Zombie

Rating:
Summary: Voodoo spell
Review: The reviewers who refer to the surreal poetry of this movie are (forgive me) dead on. This movie is creepy. It's not scary, but it captures the essense of Caribbean creepiness well. You can almost smell the decay of the rotting vegetation and flesh.
Lugosi plays the villain well and gives a performance that makes necromancy seem believable (coffee works a similar magic for me in the mornings. Come to think of it, the zombies' undead shuffle is strangely familiar as well.) This movie is not for the average film viewer, but should be in every horror fans collection for its own merits and for its historic perspective as the first zombie movie.

Rating:
Summary: Great Gothic Chills
Review: There is something about these old, classic black & white horror classics that just can't seem to be recaptured today. White Zombie is an example of an art that has been lost in modern film making. The sets are lush and detailed. The exteriors are dark and gothic. And let us not forget that there is not substitute for the late, great Bela Lugosi.

Lugosi carries the cast. He is a small man with a slight frame, but he conveys a sense of evil and menace that chills you. The rest of the cast are generic 1930's actors. The female lead is loaded with so much pancake makeup she looks like, well, a white zombie (so I guess that works), and her husband-to-be is your basic, slicked back hair, lipstick wearing vanilla milk sop. The actors portraying Lugosi's zombie horde were probably cast for their odd, freaky features, but that works too. But make no mistake, this is Lugosi's film, and it is one of his greatest works along with the original Dracula.

The DVD I am reviewing has no features. NONE. Unless you count chapter selections. It is full screen, with no audio or video options. At least it has a good price. The film looks good with strong contrasts between black and whites. This makes the night sequences (most of the film) easier to make out. I owned the video tape before and the darks and lights blended horribly. This DVD looks good though with an occasional flicker and jump, but I would guess that is the fault of the original film.

Read the Amazon review to get a rundown on the plot. I just wanted to stress the strengths of the film, the DVD, the style and acting. They really do not make them like this any more.

Rating:
Summary: Great Gothic Chills
Review: There is something about these old, classic black & white horror classics that just can't seem to be recaptured today. White Zombie is an example of an art that has been lost in modern film making. The sets are lush and detailed. The exteriors are dark and gothic. And let us not forget that there is not substitute for the late, great Bela Lugosi.

Lugosi carries the cast. He is a small man with a slight frame, but he conveys a sense of evil and menace that chills you. The rest of the cast are generic 1930's actors. The female lead is loaded with so much pancake makeup she looks like, well, a white zombie (so I guess that works), and her husband-to-be is your basic, slicked back hair, lipstick wearing vanilla milk sop. The actors portraying Lugosi's zombie horde were probably cast for their odd, freaky features, but that works too. But make no mistake, this is Lugosi's film, and it is one of his greatest works along with the original Dracula.

The DVD I am reviewing has no features. NONE. Unless you count chapter selections. It is full screen, with no audio or video options. At least it has a good price. The film looks good with strong contrasts between black and whites. This makes the night sequences (most of the film) easier to make out. I owned the video tape before and the darks and lights blended horribly. This DVD looks good though with an occasional flicker and jump, but I would guess that is the fault of the original film.

Read the Amazon review to get a rundown on the plot. I just wanted to stress the strengths of the film, the DVD, the style and acting. They really do not make them like this any more.

Rating:
Summary: Great Gothic Chills
Review: There is something about these old, classic black & white horror classics that just can't seem to be recaptured today. White Zombie is an example of an art that has been lost in modern film making. The sets are lush and detailed. The exteriors are dark and gothic. And let us not forget that there is not substitute for the late, great Bela Lugosi.

Lugosi carries the cast. He is a small man with a slight frame, but he conveys a sense of evil and menace that chills you. The rest of the cast are generic 1930's actors. The female lead is loaded with so much pancake makeup she looks like, well, a white zombie (so I guess that works), and her husband-to-be is your basic, slicked back hair, lipstick wearing vanilla milk sop. The actors portraying Lugosi's zombie horde were probably cast for their odd, freaky features, but that works too. But make no mistake, this is Lugosi's film, and it is one of his greatest works along with the original Dracula.

The DVD I am reviewing has no features. NONE. Unless you count chapter selections. It is full screen, with no audio or video options. At least it has a good price. The film looks good with strong contrasts between black and whites. This makes the night sequences (most of the film) easier to make out. I owned the video tape before and the darks and lights blended horribly. This DVD looks good though with an occasional flicker and jump, but I would guess that is the fault of the original film.

Read the Amazon review to get a rundown on the plot. I just wanted to stress the strengths of the film, the DVD, the style and acting. They really do not make them like this any more.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie-Good Transfer
Review: While not pristine by any means the Roan transfer is by far the best ive seen. It does have a glitch or two but nothing bad enough to spoil the film. The main problem it has is the sound quality. So if you love this movie, as i do, this is the version to buy. For $14 you cant go wrong.