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I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE This 1943 production was directed by Jacques Tourneur, who directed several decent movies, including "Cat People", and "Easy Living." Although filmed in black and white, the video is crisp and audio very good. Frances Dee is a nurse who takes a well paid position as a nurse for a man on a tropical island. She is to take care of the man's wife. She soon finds out that the woman suffers from the result of a tropical fever that has resulted in her "zombie-like condition." With Frances' help, the island doctor tries shock treatment in a desperate attempt to bring her back, but it isn't successful. In a last ditch effort, Frances solicits the help of the voodoo priestess. The results are not what she anticipated. The movie is suspenseful, not really a "horror" movie by today's standards. Frances Dee plays her part as a nieve nurse totally unaware of voodoo practices or zombies particularly well. The plot is well thought out and even though you can anticipate the out come, it still holds your interest to see it to the end. And, the ending is surprising. Not a bad movie at all. THE BODY SNATCHER Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, both in the same movie!!! What could be better? Actually, Karloff is the lead and, more often than not is the case, he has a fine performance as the main character. The setting is Edinburgh in 1831. A doctor, played by Henry Daniell, who played in many movies in the 1940's, usually as a villon, needs cadavers for his medical studies. Karloff supplies the needed bodies for study by unlawful means. Lugosi, has a supporting role as a servant of the doctor. Later, he tries to blackmail Karloff, which turns out for him not to be a good idea. Karloff's performance is totally believable. He is so sinister and despicable, you dislike him almost immediately. When he is unable to provide a body by the normal course of events, he takes matters into his own hands to expedite the process. This has a good story line and very good acting; especially by Karloff. And it ends somewhat surprisingly, as well. Why this movie is not as well known as it should be is really somewhat of a mystery. It is highly recommended.Read full review
This is a cult classic, directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by the legendary Val Lewton. It's full of atmosphere and cinematography that's better than it needs to be for the horror/thriller genre, specializing in the horizontal venetian blind shadows more associated with film noir--which seem to serve no purpose here except to distract from the limited production values of these low-budget RKO second features. I can see why ZOMBIE has its reputation, but--not being a fan of the fantastic, nor of Voodoo, nor of zombies as gripping material for characterization--I found the movie to be disappointing. Maybe that's because of it's reputation and the high expectations it creates, or maybe it's because if you've seen Tourneur's OUT OF THE PAST, everything else he made seems second rate. There are odd and interesting moments that intrigue--but mainly because they're inconsistencies in plot and continuity. The opening shot of (presumably) the protagonist walking moodily along the beach shore with her zombie, complete with sombre voice-over, doesn't fit with a landlocked movie that contains only one stroll through thickets of sugar cane stalks to a stagey Voodoo ceremony. Its resistance to the temptation to make campy fun of itself, and it's use of implied horror rather than the explicitly graphic gore of today's horror fare are typically cited as virtues. But for me those negative values don't make up for the rambling plot, bad lines,and mostly stiff performances. (Well, what do you expect from a zombie movie?) That it's supposedly based on JANE EYRE gives it some cultural clout, but that resonance is only there if you know the novel well, and finally it's irrelevant to what's on the screen--something classier than Hammer stuff but only interesting for the fan of black and white horror films that are better than their titles lead you to expect. Someone has praised it as probably the best zombie movie of all time. Enough said.Read full review
Fabulous chiller movies. Zombie movie has EVERYTHING.. one of my all time favorite classics. Body Snatcher features Boris Karloff in one of his best roles.. GREAT film version of Robert Louis Stevenson's short story
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Classic Val Lewton horror film, directed by Jacques Tourneur. This black and white gothic romance, set in the West Indies of 1943 is a thriving classic both as a horror film and more specifically, as one of the greatest zombie films ever made, following directly on the heels of the Bela Lugosi masterpiece, White Zombie. While being more of a psychological thriller than a drive-in gore film, the most remarkable aspect of this movie is it's stunning Noir cinematography, featuring heavily shadowed sets and stark lighting that hides as much as it reveals, reminiscent of Val Lewton's other horror/noir classic, Cat People. I Walked With A Zombie is a story of love and loss, death and undeath, filled with stunning photography and a gripping narrative that makes it an integral part of any horror film collection.Read full review
The Body Snatcher was a superb movie once again combining two greats Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. An excellent addition to anyone's collection. I Walked With a Zombie was overall good and entertaining, but I felt it was a filler movie. Bottom line, a good pair of movies.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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