Black Zombie explores the monster's Haitian roots and evolution

Photo credit: Manuel Hidalgo

Zombies have been a persistent monster within the horror genre for decades. Yet their role in Haitian culture and the way they've been used to perpetuate racial stereotypes in earlier horror movies and literature hasn't been covered nearly enough. Writer/director Maya Annik Bedward aims to correct that with her documentary Black Zombie. Her film is a compelling look at the evolution of zombies from Haiti to Hollywood, with a diverse mix of interviews that includes film scholars, voodoo practitioners, and well-known horror names, including special effects legend Tom Savini.

A majority of the documentary, which is a lean 90 minutes, focuses on the role of voodoo and zombies in Haitian culture, especially as an act of resistance against colonialism and the former French empire. Bedward's documentary dispels the myth of voodoo as an evil force, which is often the way it's portrayed in Hollywood films, from White Zombie to The Serpent and the Rainbow. The film underscores just how important voodoo is in Haitian culture, how it's a deeply spiritual practice with roots in resistance against occupation and colonialism. It also helps that Bedward includes several interviews with those who still practice, including voodoo priests and priestesses. This helps to put an actual human face to the practice, which counters Western portrayal of the religion as demonic. There's even a point late in the documentary when a Haitian voodoo priest expresses reservations about the documentary because he's afraid it'll be used to again twist and warp the religion. He admits this has happened several times in the past when he's given interviews.

The film also addresses how zombies have been used in Western media, as far back as films like White Zombie and I Walked with a Zombie, to portray negative racial stereotypes. There's also justified attention given to the 1929 book The Magic Island by William Seabrook, which includes first-hand accounts of Haitian voodoo and witchcraft, while often perpetuating stereotypes about the practice. The book inspired White Zombie, and the commentary and analysis of the book's influences is quite eye-opening.

The documentary also analyzes how the portrayal of zombies shifted once George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead released in 1968. Suddenly, the zombie became the flesh-eating ghoul that's still so apparent in popular culture. This section includes vintage interviews with Romero, as well as new interviews with his longtime collaborator Tom Savini, John A. Russo, who co-wrote the script, and horror author/scholar Tananarive Due. She specifically comments on the parallels between Night of the Living Dead, especially Ben's (Duane Jones) fate at the movie's conclusion, and the turbulent 1960s, including the assassination of Malcolm X and MLK and the violence that was unleashed on Civil Rights protestors in the South. These parallels have been made plenty of times before, including by Due in other documentaries, such as Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror, but they fit within the documentary's broader commentary on the zombie as a metaphor for deeper social and political issues and representation. This section also illustrates how much the zombie has changed and evolved on film over the last several decades. The documentary even includes an interview with a super zombie fan who sometimes adorns herself in make-up, staggers into stores, and scares customers. It shows just how embedded the zombie is into everyday culture, to the point there are zombie walks all across the world.

Black Zombie doesn't necessarily cover a whole lot of new ground, but it's still a fascinating look at the role and evolution of zombies and voodoo, from Haiti to Hollywood. The historical context and deep dive into Haitian culture is riveting and the documentary's strong point. Through an array of voices and expertise, the documentary underscores voodoo's anti-colonial context and the zombie's incredibly complicated history.

The documentary just premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival.

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