White Zombie

Bela Lugosi gave one of his most classic characterizations as the voodoo master in this minor classic of terror. Here, the horror and supernatural aspects of the plot were not the result of man’s imitation of dread superstition. Here, the zombies are true creatures of the dead, under the control of zombie-master Lugosi, a delicious evil sort who weaves his web of evil to ensnare an innocent woman and the plantation owner who covets her for himself, even though she loves another man. The film has been called a “terror fairy tale” with its heroine clothed in flowing white and Lugosi’s fiend cloaked in darkness. Enjoyable, at times chilling, White Zombie, despite some moments of over-melodramatic acting, is a fascinating exercise in the macabre, containing some truly classic moments in the genre of the horror film.