Horror movie poetry and a beautiful nightmare, this was from the team that made Cat People (#36), and it goes even further with the darkness and shadows. Tourneur sustains the dread, the exotic setting contributes a lot of atmosphere and while the film runs a brief 70 minutes, it moves slowly because of the long silent passages. The best of these is the “walk” scene where two women travel through a sugar cane field and encounter a very tall zombie with bulging eyes before they arrive at a voodoo village.
The voodoo rituals feel very real and respectful to the religion. The film presents as much validity in believing in the power of voodoo as there is believing God will answer prayers. Rather than mock the unusual customs, voodoo is empowering to those who practice it while the white people are confused and scared.
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