One of the very first zombie films (some historians might say the first), this 1932 cult classic deserves its place among the greats in the genre, predating masterpieces like Night of the Living Dead (1968), Carnival of Souls (1962), and even I Walked with a Zombie (1943). Bela Lugosi stars as a Haitian voodoo priest, who “zombifies” the dead and makes them work as slaves in his sugar cane mill. When an American couple gets married on the plantation, Lugosi sets his sights on the new bride (Madge Bellamy). This independent production by Victor (director) and Edward Halperin (producer) contains some of the most beautifully nightmarish images you’ll find in any horror film from the period. Although shot on the Universal Studios lot using sets from the studio’s popular monster movies, the film’s vision is all its own, like a delirious fever dream that lingers through the saddest, darkest of nights. The Halperin brothers followed-up White Zombie with Revolt of the Zombies in 1936.
