I Walked With a Zombie (1943)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Tim S

  
  Although he went on to make much better films, Jacques Tourner's I Walked With a Zombie is not anywhere near a waste of time. There are some genuinely creepy moments (although they're repeated in other Val Lewton productions) and some very lovely cinematography.… More
  Although he went on to make much better films, Jacques Tourner's I Walked With a Zombie is not anywhere near a waste of time. There are some genuinely creepy moments (although they're repeated in other Val Lewton productions) and some very lovely cinematography. There's not really much of a plot to speak of and our leading lady has very little to do in the second half of the movie, but there's some good stuff here. Worth a late night viewing.

• Michael G

  
  I Walked With a Zombie is full of beautiful photography, fantastic set design and stunning direction from Jacques Tourneur. The acting's pretty much what you'd expect from a low-budget 40s horror movie but there's so much more going on that makes up for it. The scene on… More
  I Walked With a Zombie is full of beautiful photography, fantastic set design and stunning direction from Jacques Tourneur. The acting's pretty much what you'd expect from a low-budget 40s horror movie but there's so much more going on that makes up for it. The scene on the way up to the homefourt was fantastic as was the scene that introduced Jessica. Legitimately scary shit. The story kind of scatters a bit by the time you get to the end and a few things were kind of unclear to me but at that point you don't really care. This movie is a moodfest orgy for the eyes.

• Randy T

  
  Ripe with that subtle eerieness that Lewton and Tourneur have become known for. I like this one a little more every time I see it. It's the kind of film that creeps up on you.

• Anthony L

  
  Another sensationalist title to draw in the crowds which it really didn't need to do as this is a fantastic thriller and by then Lewton & Tourneur were quite respected. I feel the title puts a lot of people off which is a shame because this is a classic!

• Arash X

  
  A well-made moody & creepy film but I think it feels a bit rushed, Could have been a bit longer & better

• Drew S

  
  There actually seemed to be a time when B-horror was visually and thematically interesting, if less so than its big-budget counterparts. That time, for the most part, has long since evaporated. I Walked with a Zombie is a lovable little oddity, hilariously xenophobic, poorly acted and… More
  There actually seemed to be a time when B-horror was visually and thematically interesting, if less so than its big-budget counterparts. That time, for the most part, has long since evaporated. I Walked with a Zombie is a lovable little oddity, hilariously xenophobic, poorly acted and not in the slightest bit scary, but still fun to watch nonetheless. Only 70 minutes long, it clips on at a cheerful pace until you arrive at the conclusion, melodramatic and neatly satisfying. And dude, dig those attitudinal changes between the 40s and now. I'm sure the director intended his racism to be completely unironic, but it adds a new layer of unintended subtext to the proceedings if you give the movie a "white colonialism" read. It's funny what culture and society can integrate into a movie, whether purposely or not.

• Cindy I

  
  In this Val Lewton film, based on "Jane Eyre", a nurse travels to Haiti to care for a sickly woman. But is her illness more voodoo than virus? Some nice spooky scenes of the silent zombies lurking in the dark. Warning: If you're looking for gore and gutmunching,… More
  In this Val Lewton film, based on "Jane Eyre", a nurse travels to Haiti to care for a sickly woman. But is her illness more voodoo than virus? Some nice spooky scenes of the silent zombies lurking in the dark. Warning: If you're looking for gore and gutmunching, you'd better look elsewhere. These are zombies made by medicine men, not the living dead. But like all Lewton films, the atmosphere makes it worth a look.

• Dr Blood  

  
  Very tame by today's standards but what a great atmosphere and acting.

• Mike N

  
  [img]http://www.tendreams.org/olbinski/Manon%20Lescaut%20a.jpg[/img] There are many things said in the world that really ought to have been said by somebody else. Meaning is twisted when I discover from whose mouth a particular phrase was hatched, for better or worse. Some words… More
  [img]http://www.tendreams.org/olbinski/Manon%20Lescaut%20a.jpg[/img] There are many things said in the world that really ought to have been said by somebody else. Meaning is twisted when I discover from whose mouth a particular phrase was hatched, for better or worse. Some words are so alive and wise, almost a separate entity now that they have been spoken or written. The person automatically becomes different, either qualifying for an upgrade or downgrade in intelligent perception. And either these words and its sayer are frolicking in harmony with each other, or they diametrically oppose and form a paradox of meaning. Basically, a 'what the hell' person. "You just don't know enough about these people to assume their actions and words do not align with their selves." Horsefeathers. What kind of logic is that anyway? What part of "I just know, okay?" do you not understand? ...I'm talking to a quoted phrase. Yeah, it's late. But one thing remains the same: some people do not deserve the words they say. Like Shakespeare. When I found out that "You offend your lungs for speaking so loud" was originally said by that dude over 400 years ago, I was devastated. My 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Seanor, owned that verse up until "Mr. History Book" freakin' waltzed right onto the scene, dispensing 'facts' like a drug dealer on a schoolyard and blowing kiddies' minds with The Truth. Felt like my lungs were offended via punching. Well, not really. I just wanted to include a lung-punching in this bloodless entry for some reason. *gash* But I have a solution to these apparent contradictions. The who's and the what's need to take opposing sides, like a game of Red Rover, and I should decide who gets to do and say what with neat little lines drawn connecting it all. Completely, utterly reasonable. It will make perfect sense when connected. A sublime, heavenly, 100 per cent non-perishable kind of perfect sense. "Well 'perfect sense' is highly subjective, and is something hardly perceivable by individuals greatly lacking in it." What is this, a consensus? Stupid double-quoted counterpoints. But since I'm only part-jerk, I shall suffer minor internal conflict and illustrate for you examples of what anybody considers 'perfect sense' (an original phrase by me), and ye all shall understand more clearly when I can organize these concepts, shuffle history and collective personality up a bit, and re-deal a new more sensible existence. Right, so..."perfect sense": giraffes entropy pop rocks tesseracts "Twin Peaks" fractals Michael Jackson avante garde women poop life writing while half asleep (now) writing while full asleep (soon) this entry (by association) ... And [url="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/showthread.php?t=476008"][size=4]this[/size][/url]. Perfection. Right there, baby. Okay, so...click it. Come on, click! I know you smell what I smell, too. A good kinda smell, one that twirls your nose hairs in loops and your mind in a bowtie when you sniff it. And it's not that dog fart. It's a smell of ancient time...and of fresh margarita! Come on in, it's my 20,000th post party! And it smells!

• Sylvester K

  
  Exactly what the consensus described, this is the mother of the zombie films. A must watch for the Zombie fans

• Lord N

  
  I'm not going to go into as much detail with this one as I normally do. I'm not going to do the categories. I watched this one because it was on the Rotten Tomatoes list of top horror films. It was mercifully short thank goodness clocking it at just over an hour. it was… More
  I'm not going to go into as much detail with this one as I normally do. I'm not going to do the categories. I watched this one because it was on the Rotten Tomatoes list of top horror films. It was mercifully short thank goodness clocking it at just over an hour. it was weak. Nothing too great or too bad about it though. I was only mildly entertained. it was good enough and I was sort of interested where it would go next. I did like the fact that the supernatural stuff was ambiguous. You were never sure if what was happening in the film was supernatural or just coincidental. But yea. It was kinda weak. 5/10 (m). TRIVIA TIME: 1. The legal disclaimer at the end of the credits, which roll at the start of the film, makes light of the film's subject. The disclaimer states: "The characters and events depicted in this photoplay are fictional. Any similarity to actual persons, living, dead, or possessed, is purely coincidental."

• Sarah P

  
  I really enjoyed this. It was creepy, but not in an over-the-top way. It also had some catchy music and songs which I thought was a little weird, but again, enjoyable!

• Emily B

  
  A brilliant Val Lewton film. "I Walked With A Zombie" has a genuine creepy atmosphere thanks to the combination of great lighting and the voodoo drum soundtrack. Just more proof that bloody images are not necessarily the answer to a good scare, subtlety is the key.… More
  A brilliant Val Lewton film. "I Walked With A Zombie" has a genuine creepy atmosphere thanks to the combination of great lighting and the voodoo drum soundtrack. Just more proof that bloody images are not necessarily the answer to a good scare, subtlety is the key. Strangely I Walked With A Zombie reminded me of Mulholland Drive in parts, and I wonder whether David Lynch was influenced by it. In I Walked With A Zombie we have Betsy travelling from Canada to Fort HOLLAND whilst in Mulholland Drive we have Betty travelling from Canada to MulHOLLAND Drive. Betsy's job is to take care of the mentally paralysed Jessica whilst Betty ends up taking care of amnesiac Rita. There's a brilliantly eerie scene (my favourite scene in fact) where Betsy and Jessica are walking hand in hand through the sugar cane plantation and end up coming face to face with the terrifying Zombie guy, which again made think of Betty and Rita walking through Sierra Bonita coming face to face with the corpse. Coincidence maybe? Oh, and I've read that the people who bought you Saw will be remaking this along with 3 other RKO horror films. I think we all know how that will turn out.

• Anthony V

  
  Much better than it sounds. A great look at Caribbean culture through the eyes of white America.

Read all 14 featured audience ratings