I Walked With A Zombie - Lisa's Review

*** SPOILERS ***

I groaned this week when I saw the movie for reviewing.  It's no secret, I'm not a fan of these old horrors... so shoot me!  Don't get me wrong, there are some old black n white movies that I adore (It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol), but in general, I just don't dig obscure old movies that I just can't relate to at all.  Also finding out that it is something of a reworking of 'Jane Eyre' didn't help the mustering of any enthusiasm for me.

I won't say this is a bad movie - it isn't.  It just isn't a great one.  There are parts of the narration of the main character in the movie which is beautiful and nothing short of poetic.  Sadly this is usually interrupted by something ridiculous and over the top, which just detracts from one of the stronger points of the movie.

The basic premise of this movie is that a nurse (Betsy) is hired to care for and potentially find a cure for the wife (Jessica) of a wealthy sugar plantation owner (Paul) on a Caribbean Island.  Jessica is in a catatonic state.  Soon we find out, oddly by way of song, that Pauls brother Wesley had been having an affair with Jessica and they wanted to run away together.  Paul however found out and prevented them from leaving.  Jessica has been in a catatonic state ever since.
As the movie progresses Betsy starts to fall for her employer (why is anyones guess) and feels that finding a cure for his wife would be the best thing to do (go figure!).  Cue a housemaid (Alma) who feels that a Voodoo Priest may be able to help Jessica.

What ensues is more about Voodoo and ritual rather than anything in the horror genre.  I won't give anything more away with relation to the story, just in case any reader actually wants to see this movie. There are a couple of tense scenes, but nothing that could be described as frightening or horrific.

How this movie ended up in the horror genre at all is a mystery to me.  Obviously I do realise that we don't need guts and gore to produce a good horror.  In fact, for me, pyschological  horror is much more effective than the messier horrors.  In this movie however, I was at a loss as to any reason to classify it as they did.  Even the use of the word 'Zombie' in the title is more than a little misleading.

In conclusion, I didn't hate it, but I won't be watching it again.  I enjoyed some snippets of dialogue, but for me, that was where the entertainment ended.  So, not bad enough for an avoid, but certainly nowhere near getting a recommended.  Supposedly one of the best horrors of all time????  I worry about what's ahead of us.