A little later the famous Dracula saw the light of the film “White zombie”. As usual studio universal and, of course, with White Lugosi. And yes, this is the first zombie movie ever.
He is generally weaker than Dracula or Frankenstein. But, damn it, how original in this picture use the work of zombies. No modern zombie lord would ever have thought of sending them to work in a factory to his advantage. To be fair, these are victims of voodoo witchcraft rather than the zombies we are all used to.
Although critics urinated the picture, it was very successful with moviegoers and collected many times more than its modest budget of $ 50,000. I would put it in the category of “can be tolerated”, that is, 6 or 7 out of 10.
But one thing I really liked. It's the first three minutes of the movie: the funeral on the road and the songs are Haitian. The music for the initial song without words, called "Chant," was written by an ethnic music specialist.
Here is the legendary "White Zombie" by Victor Galperin. The first zombie masterpiece! The Living Dead is the part of cinema that I love with all my heart. The movie came out in 1932 (guys, Romero wasn’t born yet, ahaha). The plot revolves around two young lovers.
Haiti! The couple comes to the villa to a gentleman (I wanted to call him a friend, but they met just the other day). Later, our heroes learn that there are sugar mills (or sugar mill, depending on translation) next to them. There are no people working there.
“White Zombie” has no negative reviews (for now). Classic, and you can't scold classics. Can I? Not the first zombie movie in the world! Whatever you think, I can see. Some scripted moves are controversial and edgy. The installation is bad.
The actors are not the coolest, except for one friend. The main villain was magnificently played by Bela Lugosi. Bela is the force that breaks through any wall. Outshine everyone, again (no, again). The whole game is in my eyes (I had to say that phrase, ahaha). Dead? I smiled the first time I saw it, and then I really felt bad. You understand with your brain that ordinary men, but somehow strain.
Great atmosphere. Especially the cemetery and the castle. About the pale ending. No, guys. You're wrong. Here's a decent ending. A fairy tale? I have a little, but I buy it and take it. It is a pity that the rating of the picture is not particularly high (for classic horror). We could make it to seven.
Frankenstein will be better with Boris. It's just Whale, guys. James is a very strong director (top 100 in history). Halperin loses to him, of course. Yes, and Romero we like more, but for the “White zombie” have one solid cosmic respect.
P.S.
In the film “Ed Wood” by Tim Burton, the characters watched this film on TV.
7.5 out of 10
After the huge successes Universal Studios achieved with the films Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931), other studios and various independent filmmakers, recognizing that the public's taste for "horror" was not just an outburst, are eager to "jump on this carousel of fear."
Brothers Victor and Edward Halperin, both had moderately successful careers in silent film, Victor as director and Edward as producer. In 1932, they join forces, along with a $50,000 budget and an 11-day schedule, not only to bring the very first zombie movie to the world, but also to create one of the most remarkable horror films of their time.
By 1932, American horror films were like those of other genres at the dawn of the sound age: static, dialogically heavy, and often over-imposed on the origins of their material. The Halperins strongly disapproved of this state of filmmaking as a whole at the time and decided to make a film that returned to the silent era; a film with a plot that is more visual in nature, with minimal dialogue and stylized acting, as well as shooting representing the expressionism of the previous decade; the film is completely anachronistic, but its anachronism is a purely deliberate artistic choice of the director.
Watching a movie is a bit like visiting a classic garage sale for Universal fans: artist Ralph Berger restored pillars and a balcony from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a large hall from Dracula, some scenery from Frankenstein. And Jack Pierce, who created the entire iconic Universal Monsters makeup, also did makeup for Bela Lugosi in White Zombie.
5.5 out of 10
Zombie theme is very popular nowadays. Representatives are not counted: be it 6 films of Resident Evil or Dawn of the Dead. This “culture” has already taken root so much that it has long gone beyond cinema, and in the gaming industry, too, many projects with the revived dead have settled. But everything once had a beginning - and the beginning of zombies was the 1932 film White Zombie. Here the dead are presented in a different form: firstly, there is no zombie apocalypse or its approach, everything happens in the ordinary world, secondly, they are a threat to a person only on the orders of their “master”, which happens extremely rarely (once or twice), and in other cases they use as a servant. Quite a controversial decision, because zombie movies were never scary, but it was in this picture that they did not even try to scare anyone at all.
It is also immediately clear that the film is played in black and white, which, in my opinion, adds to the atmosphere, but it does not help the overall narrative. Sorry. In this tape, rather, they talk about love, and zombies serve as a sketch, a general background, so to speak. That is the problem with the film. The picture of Victor Halperin went on a completely new path, but stuck, reaching the middle, showing a banal melodrama. But it could turn out a great horror, but the authors for some reason were afraid to use all the potential.
As a result, the White Zombie is the founder of the zombie genre, and it is unknown whether there would be stories about the dead now, if not for this film. I have a lot of respect for this picture for opening a seemingly endless theme, but still, unfortunately, I can not say that I liked it.
Quite unobtrusively and effortlessly, Victor Halperin shows a real class, which, I am sure, will be in 100 years (and there is not much to wait) after the release of this film to shine with an outstanding artifact. Analyzing the nuances of nothing outstanding to see and it is impossible - quite meaningful, but simple plot; minimal scenery that saves twilight; good and level play of actors, which can not be attributed to the masterpieces of performing skills. But folding together, all the elements and particles of this picture produce a very powerful effect.
I was touched by the fact that Halperin, behind quite sweet images of zombies, offers to think about urgent, real issues. And he does it not in a moralistic form, but in a graceful and brotherly way. This is the first zombie movie to show the real economic purpose of their creation. Expensive entrepreneur proudly speaking - these are my zombies who work hard on my plantation. So I want to turn the dialogue towards office slavery and invite Simon Pegg. But some other time. For in zombie capitalism, there will be a funny love triangle and soon a square. Three men will be obsessed with a young bride. Of course, taking zombie powder will enslave the will of a fragile girl with big eyes Christina Ricci (I write about actress Madge Bellamy) and she will be at the mercy of one man in love with her, and soon the second. Galperin leaves behind the question of what did with the beautiful heroine not too correct men, but it is obvious that almost immediately there was a problem of coldness. Beautifully and accurately, Halperin reveals one of the main human difficulties – achieving a woman is not the endpoint of success in a relationship. It's very subtle and slick.
The best words to say about the atmosphere. Just imagine - Haiti, the newlyweds, a plantation, zombie slaves, a mysterious powder, a cunning hypnotist - manipulator, the big eyes of Madge Bellamy and the clenching fists of Belu Lugosi ... and his hypnotic look.
9 out of 10
Before us is the very first film of the genre "zombie horror" in the history of cinema. I found out about him when I suggested in comments on one site that the very first zombie movie was a movie. 1968 George Romero's Night of the Living Dead, and someone wrote that the very first film on this topic is "White Zombie", only the zombies in this film are not the living dead, but rather hypnotized people. I decided to watch this movie. My impressions were what I expected from this antiquity - a great film for its time.
The film is a story for adults. The main character, who captured several people and made them his obedient slaves, his behavior resembles Dracula. He hypnotized these people, thereby making them his faithful servants, and if he frees them from his spells, they will kill him, which is what he fears. The plot is based on a love story - note, as well as in Dracula.
Of course, we will not see any special effects here, but the film is shot quite beautifully - the scenery for those times is upper class. The actors convincingly portray zombies obeying their master. The whole film is reminiscent of the theatrical production - after all, 1932. The film is simply very interesting, and is able to capture the attention of any connoisseur of horror, especially those who are interested in the cinema of the 30s. In my opinion, the originality of this film is not inferior to “Night of the Living Dead”.
9 out of 10
Having felt in the early 30s that the horror genre is a fresh vein of finance, many American studios quickly rushed to catch up to the missed moment and equal in the production of films of a new genre on the flagship of those years of Universal. These were truly the golden years of early horror. The films were very diverse, both in scale and content. It was in the period from 30-35 years that most viewers discovered a whole pantheon of various monsters, led by Dracula and the Frankenstein monster. Yes, these mastodons cast their big and frightening shadow on the whole cinema world, but behind their shoulders were smaller, but no less significant images.
So, in 1932, with the posters of cinemas, viewers were attracted by the word zombie, unusual for the English-speaking ear, and a large-scale and innovative advertising campaign to promote "White zombie" is known to our days. This film offered the viewer a new terrible story, which bought its exoticism. Indeed, the decision of screenwriter Garnett Weston to move the scene to the mysterious Haiti was very successful. We should not forget that in the early 30s tourism was not as widespread as in the XXI century, and most people could accept the truth of the story of raised by a voodoo sorcerer living corpses, especially in the environment of places where they were not and most likely will never be. Zombies here are not those semi-decomposed bodies from Romero’s films that have already become an independent brand and image. No, here zombies go much deeper into the story that lurks between reality, myth and superstition. Zombies in this context is a person deprived of will, unable to think and feel, without memory and desires, not aware of their actions.
For a long time considered lost, "White zombie" from the very first minutes leaves some understatement in its structure. Like a mosaic from which a few pieces fell out and spoiled the big picture. On closer inspection to the second third of the film, everything falls into place and finds its explanation. The two missing puzzles are a general weakness of the script and excessive lyricism. And if the latter is a mandatory attribute inherent in all the films of those years to a greater or lesser extent, slightly over the edge in "Zombie", then the weakness of the script is the fault of only one person. And only for this reason, in some of its minutes, the film does not create a holistic sensation and cannot pull the eye to the screen. This is partly compensated for by successful directorial finds or camera angles, but this film was lucky to boast another very weighty trump card.
Bela Lugosi. This is the person that most viewers are watching this, to be honest, mid-range movie. The creators of White Zombie did not reinvent the wheel and simply gave Lugosi the opportunity to appear on the screen again in his usual image. The plot of the film only stokes interest, and you are waiting for Bela to appear on the screen. And when a great Hungarian appears in the frame, he transforms everything around him. His ability to create images of concentrated evil is at the highest level. All attention is focused on the details - an ominous look, an unkind grin, an unusual beard and simply phenomenal hands. It is easy to see that Lugosi borrowed many traits and habits from the recently published Dracula. Add to all this the vultures circling around, harbingers of impending disaster and you will understand how characteristic and memorable villain turned out in Bela Lugosi, drawing for the most part this film.
"White zombie" ultimately resembles not yet filled scales with two bowls, next to which lies a lot of different weight weight weight features. The viewer himself will have to lay them out on the bowls, and understand in which direction the scales are inclined. But it's likely to be a plus. Even despite the fact that according to its traditions, the 30s did not do without a love line and the expected happy ending.
White Zombie is the first movie to feature zombies on screen. But these are not familiar to us in modern paintings shuffling and decaying corpses. In this film, they are not much different from ordinary people, except that complete and unconditional obedience to their master. Who was very well played by Bela Lugosi.
The cast was selected very well for the film of this genre. Since in 1932 there were no special effects and computer graphics, only an excellent acting could create a proper atmosphere in the film. Also a great role played scenery and good work with sound.
As for the plot, it was not only innovative for its time, but even now it does not cause fake interest. From any laboratory, a virus breaks out and affects the civilian population of a nearby city, turning them into the walking dead, who strive to kill and tear apart anyone who was in their way. And a group of heroes armed to the teeth trying to solve this problem in this film is different.
As a result, in 1932, the world saw the film, which made a huge contribution to world cinema. He opened a new direction in horror films. In the future, a huge number of paintings of similar subjects will be shot, both masterpieces of the genre and weak copies for once. But none of them will look like a movie that served as the beginning of the whole zombie epic! This movie is worthy of attention!
No fear, of course, in our time, the film does not cause, but for the sake of cultural interest, it is worth spending an hour of life on it. The smile of tenderness and enthusiasm for the stunning and theatrical pathos of the actors will not leave your faces during the entire time of viewing. ' White zombie' - a bright representative of the cinema of the pre-war era, when the world did not know what color cinema is, and the unexpected nasty cry of some vulture was enough to make the whole hall scream with fright. Enjoy it!