Zombies: When the Dead Walk

Review by John Doyle,Zombies: When the Dead Walk is a new documentary that looks at the history of the living dead. It’s all about the religious-spiritual traditions that came out of the fusion of the West African and Caribbean experiences. It opens with footage of the zombie walk in my ‘hood and then moves quickly to Haiti, the centre of the zombie culture, so to speak.

Many professors, anthropologists and experts on Haiti turn up to give their views and explain things. But this program, made by Donna Zuckerbrot, is not just a talking-heads doc about the zombie phenomenon. The program also looks closely at the most famous Haitian zombie, one Clairvius Narcisse. In 1962, Narcisse was ill and taken to a hospital in rural Haiti. He appeared to decline quickly, was pronounced dead, and was duly buried.

However, in 1980, a member of his family encountered Narcisse in another part of Haiti. He wasn’t exactly hale and hearty, but he certainly had a story to tell. His tale was, you might say, straight out of a lurid zombie movie. He said that when he was pronounced dead, he was alive, and could hear the doctors talking even as they told others he had passed away. He remained alive while being buried, but shortly after his coffin was in the ground, it was dug up and he was taken away by strangers. For years, he claimed, he had worked on a farm, a virtual slave, alongside others who seemed to be half-dead, as he was.

There is footage of Narcisse from the time he returned from the dead and, indeed, he doesn’t look too good. His case attracted the attention of doctors and anthropologists. The first thing they noted was that while Narcisse was initially welcomed back by his family, he was soon shunned and feared and left alone.

We hear a lot about voodoo and the unique social customs of rural Haiti. And we learn about a specific poison, used in Haiti to create a coma-like state in which the victim can function in a very limited way. This proves useful for creating a group of people who are malleable and can work, slave-like, doing farm labouring.

With its information about advances in psychopharmacology, and zombies in popular culture, this is an excellent, informative program, a weird but intriguing story that blends religion, science and wit.

Review by Calvin DanielsHow can you ever go wrong with a film about Zombies? Even the worst zombie flicks are worth a laugh for their corniness. On the other hand how often do you see a serious film on the subject of the walking dead? Rarely to be sure, although Zombies: When the Dead Walk is one excellent exception to that general statement.

Donna Zuckerbrot, producer and director of this film does a nice job of taking us beyond the Hollywood myth of the zombie to get to the roots of where the idea of zombies comes from, the island of Haiti.

In Haiti zombies are not something of film and pop culture, but are instead something rooted in the island’s history and religion. There is more to a zombie story in Haiti than make-up, and this film takes the viewer into that cultural experience. Information on the film points out “In Haiti, Zombies are an integral part of the island’s cultural and religious roots. Outlawed by the government, zombification is said to be performed secretly in the countryside. It’s meant as a punishment for crimes against the community. The culprit is magically killed, resurrected and enslaved.

Through footage from Haiti, interviews with experts in the field of cultural study, and a look at the history of the country, we begin to better understand where the idea of the walking dead comes from, and why it exists. The film then goes the next step to show how the zombie shambled its way to Hollywood, where it has been a staple of the horror film genre for decades.

While a serious documentary, there is a definite sense of fun here too. How could it be otherwise given the subject matter?

In Haiti there may be a cultural element where the idea of zombies is used to keep people in line in terms of community law, for the rest of the world the zombie is a Hollywood horror staple, with even the best of the genre being rather silly when viewed in any way other than a dark theatre when you’re in the mood for a scare.

If you are a fan of zombie flicks this is a must to understand what lies behind the Hollywood version of the undead. If you are simply interested in a unique look at a mysterious aspect of another culture, this is still a doc for you. Well done, and highly enjoyable. Check it out at www.reeltimeimages.ca

– This film was made available for review courtesy of the Yorkton Film Festival

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