GrowMagicBeans

Right from the very start with our protagonist Samatha (Jocelin Donahue) wearing a beanie hat and walkman earphones; walking to a peculiar up-beat, but non-commercial score; and freeze framing to the credits, we are given the appearance that this movie might very well have come straight out of the 80s. Indeed, the entire movie is an ode to the slasher genre with perfectly cast characters, ranging from the celestial if introverted Samantha to the slightly more daring, rich friend; right down to the creepy pizza boy on the other side of the telephone line, or the the towering tall man who wants a baby sitter for a most peculiar job. I have to say, the Academic in me enjoyed this well crafted movie; the slow but steady, sometimes goofy, sometimes pensive build-up, to the climatic horrors that later unfold. I was relieved that it didn't rely on any crazy swinging twists that some contemporary movies attempt in an effort re-induce the 'slasher' as a genre. No, The House of the Devil stays steadfastly loyal to the genre --the writers must have really studied the classics-- and one could argue that they made the perfect tribute. But perhaps it's nearly too perfect. While the Academic in me was satisfied, the Voyeur wanted something more; something new and unusual. And that's the one flaw with the movie. There isn't anything really original in it. It's like all the best facets have been plundered from previous films and cleverly stitched back together again, so we are never altogether ever surprised. Nevertheless, if you are a fan of the genre, it's definitely worth a look.

I feel this movie could fade away into the myriad of zombie images if I were not to write a passage down about it. It plays out something like an episode of The Walking Dead season IV where they're on the road again. It's altogether quite serious, and yet it has some slapstick dark comedy thrown in at unexpected moments. In its quiet, subtle way, it leaves some of the most haunting, ghostly imagery imprinted on the mind, something like of a recurring dream. As in The Cured (2017), it hints at maybe a sort of pack mentality or unconscious motive shared by the zombie horde. Is there a celestial theme also suggested by the strange furniture shrines erected? Maybe the best aspect of this movie are the unanswered questions, allowing us to vicariously live the anxiety of the protagonists.

Perhaps it is a movie that might have been lost to the shadows of time if it were not for the fact that it has the first representation of the zombie onscreen. I believe it only received fair reviews in its own time; the acting being over the top and very mellow dramatic. Yet today, I think it's fair to say, we look back on it with reappraisal for artistic merit. I have to say, although it is a hard watch, it does manage to create a setting, ambience and tone that is quite haunting in its own right.

White Zombie wanted to exploit the new interest the public had in the notion of the zombie after W.B. Seabrook introduced the wider world to it in his biographical travel book about Haitian voodoo religion, called "The Magic Island"; while at the same time latch onto, and emanate the success of gothic horrors like Nosferatu (1922), Frankenstein (1931) or Dracula (1931). It's interesting to note how it borrows heavily from the European myth of the Vampire and transposes those images into the Haitian voodoo environment. The character 'Murder' Legendre (Bela Lugosi) for example, looks rather like a Count Dracula and his abode looks more like a Romanian castle than something found in the Caribbean. This is partially, I suppose, because those triggers were already in people's minds, but also, as I understand, because the independently funded movie, ended up sharing sets with other gothic horrors already in production.

It certainly won't be to vast majority of people's taste, but if you enjoy the history of cinema or are doubly intrigued by evolutional representation of zombies in Hollywood cinema, then this is a must see.