I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943)

 

(Director: Jacques Tourneur. Screenwriters: Curt Siodmak, whose screenplay was reworked by Ardel Wray, based on Inez Wallace’s article of the same name in American Weekly Magazine, and structured by Charlotte Brontë’s uncredited novel Jane Eyre.)

 

Review

In the Caribbean, on the island of St. Sebastian, a nurse (Betsy Connell, played by Frances Dee) attends to a catatonic, somnambulist wife of a sugar plantation owner─even as Betsy falls in love with her charge’s husband (Paul Holland). According to Mrs. Holland’s physician (Dr. Maxwell), the cause of her hypnotic sickness is a “tropical fever.” But it’s clearly more than that, rooted in racism and slavery─the previous generation of Hollands brought their dark-skinned workforce to St. Sebastian. As a result, Haitian voodoo, evidenced by nighttime ceremonial drums, an arrow-riddled statue of Ti-Misery (St. Sebastian) and other things, casts a huge shadow over this sad island.

The roiling, collective emotions of the Hollands (including Wesley, Paul’s younger, alcoholic brother) and Betsy come to a head when their maid (Alma) convinces to Betsy to take Paul’s wife to a houmfort where a houngan (voodoo priest) might be able to cure the zombie-like Mrs. Holland. Things don’t turn out the way Betsy and Alma hope, leading to further plot Reveals and point-of-no-return situations.

A palpable, shadow-drenched melancholia and spookiness suffuses this romance-, imperialism- and superstition-fueled sixty-nine-minute film, briefly narrated by Betsy and, later, one of the servants. WALKED, for its time, is almost shocking in its blunt, constant acknowledgment of slavery and racism, a movie that proved to be a major influence on cinema, although critics at the time of its release were wildly divided in their opinions. Time has enhanced the reputation of this reworking of Charlotte Brontë’s uncredited novel Jane Eyre (per RKO Pictures producer Val Lewton’s wishes, who was not impressed with Inez Wallace’s film-source article), and deservedly so─it’s a masterful mood-piece work, full of iconic shots (e.g., Betsy’s first encounter with the unsettling Carrefour, played with silent, terrifying intensity by Darby Jones) and an impressive, effective layer-mix of moods and themes.

Like RKO’s THE SEVENTH VICTIM (1943), the censors at the Breen office took umbrage at WALKED’s original ending (suicide was not to be shown onscreen), so a different, but no less haunting ending replaced it. Another element that was toned down per the Breen office’s edict was Wesley’s alcoholism, which took up more screentime in its original version.*

WALKED's notable cast includes: Tom Conway (CAT PEOPLE, 1942, and its loosely linked prequel, THE SEVENTH VICTIM, 1943) as Paul Holland, Betsy’s initially cold object of desire; James Ellison (THE UNDYING MONSTER, 1942) as Wesley Rand; Theresa Harris, billed as Teresa Harris, as Alma, the Hollands’ maid─Harris, uncredited, also appeared in CAT PEOPLE, 1942; and James Bell (THE MONKEY’S PAW, 1933) as Dr. Maxwell.

WALKED’s behind-the-scenes talent includes: art directors Albert S. D’Agostino and Walter E. Keller (THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE, 1944); cinematographer J. Roy Hunt; film editor Mark Robson (who directed THE SEVENTH VICTIM, 1943); and composer Roy Webb (who, uncredited, also created the soundtrack for RETURN OF THE FLY, 1959).

TALES FROM THE CRYPT: RITUAL (a.k.a. RITUAL), a remake of WALKED, was released in 2002. Directed by Avi Nesher, it featured Jennifer Grey, Craig Sheffer, Tim Curry and Erick Avari.

 

Citation

*Clive Dawson, “Lewton vs. Breen” (article, The Dark Side magazine, issue 210, pp. 40-9)

SHOCK WAVES (1977)

 

(Director/co-screenwriter: Ken Wiederhorn. Co-screenwriter: John Kent Harrison, billed as John Harrison, and uncredited Ken Pare.)

Storyline

A shipwrecked yacht party are attacked by seemingly invincible, undead Nazi soldiers who live in the waters surrounding a remote island.

 

Review

A boatful of tourists and sailors are shipwrecked after the boat’s engine dies, a strange orange haze suffuses the sky, and a huge ghost ship hits their vessel. The next morning, after the captain has vanished, the survivors see the hulking, skeletal wreck of the ghost ship that sank the tour boat as they take refuge on a nearby island.

They wander around the island, find a dilapidated resort, and in it, a former SS commander (Peter Cushing , SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN, 1970) who tells them that they must leave the island, or they will die─not because he’s physically threatening them, but because the ghost ship has a still-active crew who will hunt them and kill them. This crew, the Death Corps, is made up of aquatic undead zombie soldiers who were part of a Nazi science experiment to create invincible soldiers who can fight on land and under the sea.

The seven survivors don’t believe the SS commander and soon find themselves stuck with their irritated-but-civil host (Cushing, whose character is listed as “SS Commander”). The vicious and efficient zombie soldiers pick off the survivors as they wander around the island. One of them, Rose (Brooke Adams, often seen in a skimpy bathing suit), accidentally discovers the shock troops’ Achilles heel, but it's too late.

Shot in thirty-five days by first-helmer Ken Wiederhorn in 1975 (but not released until 1977 due to financial issues), the low budget, PG-rated SHOCK is not quite good, not quite terrible. It has a lot going for it despite its dumb characters and overlong middle section.

One of SHOCK’s best elements is its atmosphere, shot in hazy 1970s dream-tones, as well as its sometimes-unnerving and effectively spare soundtrack by Richard Einhorn (THE PROWLER, 1981), which make this time-bloated movie better than it should be. The tone and music are especially effective when showing the Death Corp troops hiding in and coming out of the water as well as the exterior/interior ambience of the dilapidated, naturally spooky resort.

The solid kill scenes are tame by today’s standards, much of the actual violence happening offscreen (although often-unmarked corpses are found later), with little or no gore shown. The Death Corp boys─whose zombie makeup is excellent─ like to drown and strangle people.

The cast ranges from good to fun, appropriate for this unique and quirky film. Of course, Peter Cushing (ASYLUM, 1972) plays his SS Commander with nuance and grace, a man who’s done horrible things and knows it, and perhaps regrets some of them. John Carradine (THE HOWLING, 1981) does what he can with his brief role of Captain Ben Morris, imbuing the character with his usual color and charm. Don Stout is good as Dobbs, who maybe shouldn’t be in a rush to get those supplies.

Brooke Adams (INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, 1978), in her first credited movie role, is solid as the hysterical, brutalized Rose. Luke Halpin (MAKO:THE JAWS OF DEATH, 1976) and Fred Buch (THE NEW KIDS, 1985) are decent in their roles, but if this had been their last film I would not have been surprised.

SHOCK is worth your time if you’re looking for a miasmic, atmospheric if overlong film with unique-at-the-time zombies, a memorable soundtrack, a few notable actors and striking cinematography (courtesy of SHOCK producer Reuben Trane).

Fun additional fact: According to IMDb, Roger Waters sampled dialogue from this flick in his title track to Amused to Death (1992)─specifically, he lifted dialogue from the part where two characters fight over a flashlight.