By: Mariah Thomas
Photo By Manuela Hidalgo
Black Zombie is an eye opener to the origin and true horrors of a beloved undead trope today. While most people may not realize it, there is much trauma tied to the creature that is a “zombie.” This horror-thriller breaks down the appeal to zombies in media, the evolution of it in film and the history. The documentary Black Zombie is a reflective glimpse of both the past and present.
The forgotten truth of a Hollywood favorite monster trope is unearthed in Maya Annik Bedward’s documentary Black Zombie. Putting the creature under a microscope, she brings to life the dead. Literally. By looking back at the first depictions of zombies, Bedward takes the viewer to haunted cane fields of colonial Haiti, and the truth of the zombie is unearthed and reclaimed. There are ancestral ties and spiritual resistance reflected in the very first written zombies in the media. While at the same time, the creation of the zombie was to garner more fear toward the black community, it has grown into something more powerful.
A standout interview in this for me was of a woman discussing the power of the horror genre in her mother’s life. While her mother dealt with true, genuine fear in life during the Civil Rights era, the terror in horror almost became like an escape. Presently, that woman feels the same level of relief as her mother. It is a wonderful example of the power of film across different life spans. There was another segment with Joe Ollmann breaking down why zombies are so enticing. I, personally, have never thought deeper about the origin or appeal. I just saw the zombie as a face value monster. However, there is a haunting reality. In film, it is seeing your loved one walking around but no longer there anymore. In life, it is startling to realize the direct ties to slavery and the black community to the original concept of a zombie.
This was my introduction to director Maya Annik Bedward’s work. The way this story was tackled makes me excited to visit her past work and keep an eye out for future projects. Though a big topic to take, Bedward does so in a way that is both informative and entertaining. The choice to have modern interviews mixed in with clips from past films heightens the message of the documentary. Every historical point directly circles back to film and promptly explains the importance of the conversation.
Coming into Black Zombie, I expected the focus to center more around film history. It was quite surprising how much cultural and general life history was the focus. It was an eye opening documentary that sparked a personal interest to research this topic further. Black Zombie does a brilliant job at explaining in depth the typical “who, what, where, when, why” concept. The moment the viewer may find themselves having questions, there is a fleshed out response. This is a wonderful watch for anyone who is a fan of horror and open to learning the deeper truths and history that make up the zombie we know today.