White Zombie (1932)

Summary: Madeleine and Neil decide to get married on Mr. Bueaumont’s Haitian plantation after meeting him on a boat ride. But Beaumont's motives are purely selfish as he tries to convince the girl to run away with him. When he can’t convince her, he turns to Legendre, a man who runs his sugar mill with people he has turned into zombies. After Beaumont uses the potion on Madeleine, he is unhappy with her emotionless being and wants her to be changed back. But her husband Neil has ideas on his own and he wants revenge on everyone!           Overall: One of the very first zombie films of all-time. However it’s not like the zombies were used to ala George Romero. In this film the zombies are basically soulless beings who simply do what their master commands. It’s really a take on the idea of “love potions.” Bottom line for the film is it’s a good movie to get an idea on the history of film, of horror , and of zombies. It’s not scary and in many ways it’s just sorta “ok” with it being, if anything, a nice preview of Lugosi’s performance in “Dracula.” Otherwise the film frankly can be skipped if you’re simply looking for good zombie fare.           Comparison: Serpent and the Rainbow meets Love Potion #9

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