I Walked With a Zombie. Jacques Tourneur. 1943.
I hesitate to say I'm a fan of this one, and yet I've now seen it more times than some of my acknowledged favourites.
Nurse Betsy Connel travels to the Caribbean Island of San Sebastian where she has been hired to care for Jessica the catatonic wife of wealthy plantation owner Paul Holland. Despite assurances that every possible treatment has been attempted Betsy becomes convinced Jessica can be cured, eventually resorting to taking her to the voodoo practising locals on the island.
I Walked With a Zombie is a film with some great pieces, Betsys first encounter with Jessica Holland, the twilight walk through the sugar cane fields, Carrafours arrival at the Holland house. Not to mention the calypso singer Sir Lancelot who's presence seems to turn rather menacing once Betsy finds herself alone in the village with Mr Hollands drunken unconcious brother. And yet for those moments its a film i find quite slow and intermittently dull, particularly given its short sharp running time. But it is clearly a film i keep returning too and have to confess i grow to admire a little more each time. Performances are spot on from the whole cast, Darby Jones is a strange otherworldly sight as Carrifour. And at times the script is rather poetic, the whole thing has a sense of doom about it and well, truth be told i look forward to watching it again sometime.
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