Nearly everything you want to know but were afraid to ask about the authentic history of how the walking dead came to be gets nicely tracked in Black Zombie. From their African roots to Haiti to Hollywood and back, it’s neatly explored. This Canadian documentary, directed by Maya Annik Bedward, covers all the gamut needed to understand why it is universally regarded as a metaphor for how those early slavers regarded their cargo. It’s also about how the Yoruba religion became syncretized with Caribbean culture, forming Vodou.
Ultimately, what this work claims is how it all evolved from when Africans brought to America were tossed to the mines rather than dressed to the nines, because of who they are. The root cause considers the fear Europeans had for the spirituality of a world colonizers never bothered to truly understand.
The loa are spiritual guardians. Like the orishas of the Yoruba religion they developed from, they were entities meant to keep the relationship between humans and gods balanced. It’s a precarious one where life, well-being and death must exist in the cycle of life. For those said to practice dark deeds, they can create “medicines” to feign death. After burial, the victims are revived and are no longer able to think for themselves. They then obey whoever brought them back. In all my years of watching zombie films, that’s the conclusion I’ve reached.
What this documentary reveals are the varied types which existed even before George A. Romero made Night of the Living Dead. And I’m glad it’s about time we got an exploration of works that came before Wade Davis wrote The Serpent and the Rainbow. Plus, his admission about how he wasn’t out to make zombies world famous says it all. Instead, we can point a finger at William B. Seabrook. who helped popularize the word. In 1929, he wrote a travel guide, The Magic Island, and ever since then the idea was passed down to Kenneth Webb’s 1932 stage play Zombie and later on, White Zombie, which is considered the first feature-length work about the walking dead.
The use of the word zombi can be traced back to 1697, and thankfully what’s presented is less of a lesson on the evolution of the entity and more about what it symbolizes. With other notable names like Slash and Tom Savini discussing how they were influenced by this creature’s introduction, there is a lot of pop culture written in. But the pieces I enjoyed hearing from more are from Erol Josué and Tananarive Due. The former is a priest and the latter is an author. Both are highly regarded in their knowledge of the old ways, and it shows in the the work they produce.
And with Haiti as the “birthplace of the Zombie” the focus is well earned, and what’s great about this work is the geopolitical influence since the nation went through a lot. As for why they matter now, perhaps the message can’t be any more timely: when there’s far more slave labour going on than anyone realizes through automation, that alone is a topic worth examining in itself!
4 Stars out of 5
Black Zombie Trailer
Postscript: Paired with this movie is a haunting short film, Lost Wax, written and directed by Nigerian filmmaker Omorose Osagie, a Fantasia alumna. This tranquil piece examines loss and grief by paying tribute to a girl who may have been abducted, though there’s nothing to suggest a sudden death, so that’s just my guess. The sculptor who sees her every day is mourning too, and she crafts a bust of the girl’s smile to give to the mother of the lost child. It says more than words ever can.
This work has very little dialogue to convey the complex emotions going on, and while there’s no supernatural intent, what’s presented suggests what the power of the human spirit truly represents. It’s a fitting juxtaposition when considering the theme of the documentary it’s paired with. Her spirit lives on, and when half the film moves like a eulogy, that’s quite the note to leave viewers with!
