Producer Val Lewton made some of the most intelligent horror films of the classic period. Along with "CAT PEOPLE" and "THE LEOPARD MAN," "I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE" is an atmospheric tale, a masterpiece of psychological horror. Lewton's films always left the viewer to analyse the information presented and to decide for themselves exactly what it was they saw...or thought they saw.
Frances Dee (not to be confused with Sandra Dee), plays Betsy Connell, a Canadian nurse who accepts a job looking after the wife of a sugar cane farmer (Tom Conway) in the West Indies. The farmer's half-brother (James Ellison) also lives son the plantation and is the classic tortured soul, drowning his mysterious sorrows in alcohol. The stricken wife is a beautiful woman who seems to be in a trance. She cannot speak or think...but can follow simple commands. As Betsy settles into life at the plantation and gets to know the family and the native servants, she slowly starts to realize that not all is as it seems. There is some horrible past event that has somehow caused the wife's condition, the half-brothers despair, and the hardening of the farmer's heart. Discovering the source of all that is wrong at the plantation leads her into the mysterious world of Voodoo and zombies.
The screenplay, co-written by Curt Siodmak (the same man who wrote the classics "THE WOLF MAN," "FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN," "SON OF DRACULA," and "THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS"), is loosely based on the classic novel "Jane Eyre." "I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE" is a great film, full of eerie atmosphere (the scene where Frances Dee walks up the stone staircase in the tower is a classic of creepiness) and psychological terror, and that guy with the weird eyes is just too freaky! If you can get your hands on a copy of this wonderful classic, you'll be glad you did.
Frances Dee (not to be confused with Sandra Dee), plays Betsy Connell, a Canadian nurse who accepts a job looking after the wife of a sugar cane farmer (Tom Conway) in the West Indies. The farmer's half-brother (James Ellison) also lives son the plantation and is the classic tortured soul, drowning his mysterious sorrows in alcohol. The stricken wife is a beautiful woman who seems to be in a trance. She cannot speak or think...but can follow simple commands. As Betsy settles into life at the plantation and gets to know the family and the native servants, she slowly starts to realize that not all is as it seems. There is some horrible past event that has somehow caused the wife's condition, the half-brothers despair, and the hardening of the farmer's heart. Discovering the source of all that is wrong at the plantation leads her into the mysterious world of Voodoo and zombies.
The screenplay, co-written by Curt Siodmak (the same man who wrote the classics "THE WOLF MAN," "FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN," "SON OF DRACULA," and "THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS"), is loosely based on the classic novel "Jane Eyre." "I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE" is a great film, full of eerie atmosphere (the scene where Frances Dee walks up the stone staircase in the tower is a classic of creepiness) and psychological terror, and that guy with the weird eyes is just too freaky! If you can get your hands on a copy of this wonderful classic, you'll be glad you did.