Apr '19
Pop culture likes the classic Romero zombie. This is a day and age when shit like The Walking Dead is all the rage, and zombies are known to eat human flesh, and sometimes... brains.
But before the flesh eaters, we had the more classic voodoo/servant type, as seen in White Zombie, King of the Zombies, and others. I've heard the name Val Lewton mentioned a lot during this era, too. Some of those images look creepy.
So why did this breed of zombies go neglected in favor of another type that is less grounded in true-ish events?
I've always thought they were an interesting idea, but since they're not inherently evil, people must not consider your classic voodoo zombie a threat enough to be dangerous. Too docile? Maybe not dead enough? If you put a lethal attack on a voodoo zombie, will they actually die from it? Their bodies aren't technically dead, and their brains are barely turned on. Still kind of alive, right? Well, after a while, it didn't even matter anymore, with movies such as Zombi 2. They just merged voodoo with Romero, and BAM. Perfect sleaze.
So is voodoo zombie stuff more popular than I'm aware of? Here's a few titles I'm aware of:
White Zombie (1932)
Revolt of the Zombies (1936)
I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
Started getting sleazier and more Romero influenced here...
Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1973)
Sugar Hill (1974)
Zombi 2 (1979)
The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)
Wes Craven took a deep look into the matter with his film investigating the voodoo zombie phenomenon, and there isn't much more to say about them... but we'll ride the wave a little longer anyway.
Zombi 4 (1989) - Kind of voodoo, but not really?
Black Demons (1991)
Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (1993) - Matt Cordell comes back because of voodoo! As dumb as it sounds, these movies are awesome.
and most importantly...
Weekend at Bernies II (1993)
What a great fuckin' movie. Terry Kiser is the man. He's still dead, and he's dancing the night away.
Do you care about voodoo zombies? I might.
But before the flesh eaters, we had the more classic voodoo/servant type, as seen in White Zombie, King of the Zombies, and others. I've heard the name Val Lewton mentioned a lot during this era, too. Some of those images look creepy.
So why did this breed of zombies go neglected in favor of another type that is less grounded in true-ish events?
I've always thought they were an interesting idea, but since they're not inherently evil, people must not consider your classic voodoo zombie a threat enough to be dangerous. Too docile? Maybe not dead enough? If you put a lethal attack on a voodoo zombie, will they actually die from it? Their bodies aren't technically dead, and their brains are barely turned on. Still kind of alive, right? Well, after a while, it didn't even matter anymore, with movies such as Zombi 2. They just merged voodoo with Romero, and BAM. Perfect sleaze.
So is voodoo zombie stuff more popular than I'm aware of? Here's a few titles I'm aware of:
White Zombie (1932)
Revolt of the Zombies (1936)
I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
Started getting sleazier and more Romero influenced here...
Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1973)
Sugar Hill (1974)
Zombi 2 (1979)
The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)
Wes Craven took a deep look into the matter with his film investigating the voodoo zombie phenomenon, and there isn't much more to say about them... but we'll ride the wave a little longer anyway.
Zombi 4 (1989) - Kind of voodoo, but not really?
Black Demons (1991)
Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (1993) - Matt Cordell comes back because of voodoo! As dumb as it sounds, these movies are awesome.
and most importantly...
Weekend at Bernies II (1993)
What a great fuckin' movie. Terry Kiser is the man. He's still dead, and he's dancing the night away.
Do you care about voodoo zombies? I might.
