Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Onlinewsma Absolutely Brilliant!

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Martin Bradley "Jane Eyre" transferred to the West Indies with Voodoo, Witchcraft and the occasional Zombie thrown in. Jacques Tourneur's "I Walked with a Zombie" is considered one of the most poetic of all horror films and it's certainly that; it's a film full or beauty, (gorgeously shot in black and white by J. Roy Hunt), with its frights mostly understated. Like "Jane Eyre" it's more of a dark love story and it's beautifully done. Frances Dee is outstanding as the young nurse who comes to a West Indian island to care for the wife of Tom Conway in the Rochester role. The best sequences finds Dee taking her charge through a plantation at night to a voodoo ceremony followed by an even more frightening scene when the giant native Carrefour, (Darby Jones), comes to steal the wife. If this a B-Movie it is one of the best ever made.

Charles Herold (cherold) There are a lot of terrific elements in this movie. It is moody and atmospheric, subtly ominous, and like many Lewton movies leaves its supernatural elements ambiguous.But the most unusual thing aspect from a 1940s movie is how it treats black. First off, note that the West Indies natives don't speak in either the "yass ma'am" or "ooga booga" styles that represented the entire spectrum of black portrayals in the U.S. at the time. They talk in slightly accented, but perfectly normal English. Also, the movie specifically mentions the slave industry at least twice. There is a wonderful scene near the beginning in which the main character discusses the island's history with her driver. He mentioned they were brought here in chains, she says, well at least they brought you to a beautiful place, and he says, very politely "if you say so."That is such an awesome exchange. He is a servant and he's not going to argue with her, but he also won't kowtow. It is a conversation you can actually believe will happen.The movie also shows surprising respect for the Voodoo aspects. The natives believe in it, but they aren't mocked for it, and in the ceremony they do actual African dance, instead of some weird Hollywood fakery. The movie, again typical of Lewton, has a lovely complexity to it. Characters are more than they appear to be, and their motives are not simple. It's not a perfect movie. Some of the acting is less than stellar and I suspect some explanatory scenes were cut, as it sometimes feels rushed and slightly disconnected. But it is not to be missed.

dstanwyck That's what I said. What in the world, or rather, other world was that all about? Beautifully atmospheric and photographed and as James Agee said about Frances Dee "one of the most beautiful faces in Hollywood", and well enough acted. But - what was going on? One absurdity after another. No real need to make any sense out of it. After all, what sense could be made? None. Too many loose ends and unfinished thoughts and jumpings ahead and poorly scripted without anything holding it up. And, finally, who cares and if you do, why? However - it was exquisite to look at which is all that you need to do for this film. Just look at it and breathe it in. And, in the end, in this film - that is all that really mattered. 6 stars for "stuff" and 11 stars for beauty.

utgard14 Betsy Conwell (Frances Dee) takes a job on a West Indies island as the private nurse to the wife of plantation owner Paul Holland (Tom Conway). Paul's wife Jessica lives in a waking comatose state, believed to be caused by some tropical disease. Betsy begins to fall for Paul and tries to help him by finding a cure for Jessica with the native witch doctors.I Walked with a Zombie is the second of producer Val Lewton's classic psychological horror films. Although this is a mix of horror with the romance and mystery genres. The story is based off of the Charlotte Bronte novel "Jane Eyre," where the governess falls in love with the master of a large house who harbors a secret about his ill wife.I love this film. I love the ambiance, the sets, the unsettling mystery. There's an eerie atmosphere that permeates it. Jacques Tourneur, who also directed the amazing Cat People for Lewton, does a fantastic job here at creating this dream-like mood throughout the picture. Curt Siodmak and Ardel Wray provide an excellent script. As with other Lewton films, a sense of ambiguity lingers over the plot. Is Jessica really physically ill or has she been affected somehow by voodoo?It's a great cast. In addition to Tom Conway and Frances Dee, there's Edith Barrett as Paul's mother who believes she knows what caused Jessica's condition. James Ellison plays his brother who is in love with Jessica. Lovely Christine Gordon plays Jessica, and though she has no lines, gives a memorable performance I believe. This film also has a fine black supporting cast, with some great work from Theresa Harris, Sir Lancelot as an ominous calypso singer, and Darby Jones as the alarmingly bug-eyed Carre-Four. As with most of the Lewton RKO films, it's a truly great movie that everybody should see.