White Zombie features Bela Lugosi as ‘Murder Legendre’, a character similar to Dracula; except that he uses voodoo to control people. He is nearly as menacing.
Legendre is having a wedding at his plantation. The couple is Neil Parker (John Harron) and Madeline Short Parker (Madge Bellamy. They arrive at Legendre’s house by carriage. The driver notices lumbering figures on the hill as zombies, and leaves quickly. The couple, like most characters, in films like this, pay no heed to the driver’s warning. They enter the castle, and are met by the priest, and the best man, Charles Beaumont, (Robert Frazier.) Beaumont is in love with the bride, and wants to stop the wedding.
Beaumont speaks to Legendre, who gives him a special flower to put in Madeline’s bouquet. He does, and when she inhales it, it puts her in a trance. This delights Beaumont, but drives Parker to the brink of madness.
The one thing that Beaumont doesn’t understand is the saying, “when you dance with the devil, you get burned.” Legendre has other plans for Madeline. He wants her for himself. He puts the extract of the flower, into Beaumont’s drink, which will make him a zombie. Lugosi’s character delights in telling him the process. He also shows him the prominent people, he’s changed; including the local witch doctor: he stole the zombie spell from him. It was an acting skill of Lugosi’s to be able to play evil characters well.
While Parker is wandering around the estate, a hand reaches out and grabs him. It is Dr. Bruner, (Joseph Cawthorn), who has a knowledge of zombies, and the cure. Together they work to rescue Madeline, and they cure her. Beaumont resists Legendre and throws him over the cliff. He also throws himself over. Also joining him are the zombie slaves. Madeline and Beaumont are reunited and get married.
Victor Halperin, the director has borrowed techniques from German horror cinema, such as creeping shadows. He also has extreme closeups of Lugosi’s face, giving his character a menacing feel. These work well in the film. White Zombie succeeds as a horror movie, because it uses zombies and voodoo in a film, things rarely mentioned before. Also the other actors, particularly Robert Frazier, as the self serving, Charles Beaumont, help. There isn’t the over the top acting, that is present in some classic horror films. This is a movie that isn’t in the category of classic horror, but is still a good viewing.