Now don't get me wrong I love a good classic 30's horror movie. However, despite the respect I have for its importance to the genre, it is in my opinion a wildly overrated film. Though Lugosi and the actors for the zombies are great, most of the other actors are insanely bad, though this is fairly forgivable as these actors were silent film actors who had lost fame. The characters are also never given the time to be developed, and the plot at times can feel rather rushed. I did find the idea of the movie to be interesting, but unfortunately the film makers never seem to fully explore this theme enough but rather rushed the story made it a bit hard for me to follow. Though the cinematography of the film was certainly original, it didn't work given the context of the scenes that they are used in. Overall, though I really wanted to enjoy White Zombie as I enjoy myself a good 30's horror movie, I couldn't help but feel disappointed and as a result give it 4/10 stars (2/5).

Released in 1932, "White Zombie" is a rather under-rated horror film.The film has atmosphere, a fairly good plot, a great performance from Bela Lugosi and good direction.The only thing I am a bit wary of, (and this is no fault of the film) is that a lot of DVD releases are of rather poor quality. It took me a while to locate a good DVD but luckily I have.

To begin with, I'm a Bela Lugosi fan. He had a pair of the most evil eyes this side of Lee Van Cleef. And I think he did a typically good job of portraying a mysterious and sinister character. By today's standards the plot is not very deep. But it is nonetheless enjoyable. Fans of this early era of horror movie know that it's often not only the film that is black and white. Good and evil are clearly defined. And for my taste I believe that's why I sometimes enjoy these old movies of all kinds. There are no veiled social messages to have to sort through. One thing I noticed about this film are the early attempts at screen effects. Surely not to be compared with modern effects...I think some of the ones used in this movie were...effective. They add dimension to the film. Especially when you consider that this film is over 80 yrs. old I think some great imagination was shown in this regard. I didn't think the acting was bad. I didn't think it was great, either. But for me it didn't interfere with my enjoying the film. You'll also notice that in some scenes you can actually see the breath of the actors who appear to be in something like a dungeon. I don't know the exact circumstances that caused this. But it adds another sense of atmosphere to the film. I also like the very last line spoken. I got a chuckle out of it. I'd recommend this movie to anyone who would like to see the beginning of the evolution in film horror.

This film was introduced to me as being low-budget, and while it made sense upon watching it, the White Zombie certainly exceeded my expectations. To begin with, the light/"color" effects were aesthetically pleasing. I say "color" because of how hard they drove it home that Madge Bellamy's Madeline would indeed be the "white zombie" the title referred to. This could be considered a cheesy or ham-fisted entity, but Bellamy was truly an entity with power on screen, though only in appearance.The acting itself (and often the writing) is actually quite bad pretty consistently. That can have its merits though, especially in this genre. For instance, much of that acting contributes well to the horror/zombie aspect of the film; what would be considered a "classic" element of it today. Bela Lugosi takes it over the top, with his signature presence. While I have trouble getting genuinely invested in films of this nature, Lugosi is truly some sort of force of amusement. The cast is thoroughly entertaining, if nothing else.On top of being a good "classic" horror/zombie movie, White Zombie had several independent merits, both creative and social. For instance, one scene when Neil (played by John Harron) is having something of an emotional breakdown after losing Madeline, and the use of shadows on the wall and noise itself are excellent. It's a visually engaging scene, and one that stuck with me, though White Zombie uses light and shadow extremely well throughout. Sound is a great tool in the film as well, such as the too-quiet scene in the sugar mill when Charles Beaumont, something of an antagonist, pays a visit to Lugosi's Murder Legendre. The grinding noise is striking, and builds to the tone of at least Lugosi's sinister character quite well.Socially, White Zombie implies a lot about the colonialism that affected at the time through its treatment of setting, lore, and the actual people by Beaumont at his manor/plantation. This, however, has far more relevance than being simply a setting today than it would have when it was released, as nothing is explicitly said about these things in the film. But with a modern view, there's certainly something to be seen there.All in all, White Zombie is simply enjoyable and at several points, artful. This is more than can be said for what we would generally think of as a "low-budget" horror movie.