Long before the zombie became Hollywood’s favorite excuse for video game kill-streaks and endless television dramas, it represented a terrifying reality. One grounded in history and the struggle for spiritual survival. Now, you can take a deep dive into the history of the undead with the documentary Black Zombie.
Maya Annik Bedward’s acclaimed documentary, Black Zombie. Following its festival run at SXSW, Hot Docs, Blackstar, and Fantasia, the film skips typical jump scares to exhume the deeply unsettling, buried origins of pop culture’s most profitable monster.
From Haitian Vodou to Hollywood Cash Cow
Black Zombie tracks how a complex figure born from colonial enslavement, Haitian Vodou, and spiritual resistance was systematically whitewashed, stripped of its cultural roots, and packaged into a sanitized cinematic trope. Expect a blend of archival footage, observational vérité scenes, and sharp analysis. Bedward re-examines seminal horror classics including White Zombie, Night of the Living Dead, and The Serpent and the Rainbow. The result is a bold cultural reckoning that reclaims the zombie as a powerful, enduring symbol of human endurance.
Genre Legends and Cultural Historians Dissect the Legacy
To unpack this complex history, Bedward gathers a wildly diverse panel of cultural historians, artists, and horror royalty. The documentary features insightful commentary from special effects legend Tom Savini and music icon Slash, who also serves as executive producer. Filmmakers Zandashé Brown, Yves-Grégory François, and Mambo Labelle Déesse also join them.
This historical deep-dive, Black Zombie, offers an essential look at what truly haunts the dark corners of cinema history. Own your copy on Blu-ray and DVD on November 10, 2026.
Bonus Features:
-Audio Commentary by Writer/Director Maya Annik Bedward
-Theatrical Trailer
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