Maya Annik Bedward’s documentary Black Zombie reframes the popular monster by returning the zombi to its Haitian cultural and historical roots. The film follows a five-part structure that moves from local practice and memory to the ways Western media remade the figure into a pop-culture monster.
What the film covers
- ‘The Crossing’ centers on Yves-Grégory Francois, a Vodou priest in Jacmel, Haiti, who situates the zombi inside Haitian spiritual life rather than as an inherently occult creation.
- Segments titled ‘Dead Men Working in the Cane Fields’ and ‘Dawn of the Flesheaters’ track how William Seabrook’s accounts and early Hollywood films stripped context from Haitian practices and introduced the Anglicized “zombie” concept.
- The documentary also examines the way later genre landmarks, including George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, altered the subgenre and intersected with Black history and political themes.
Black Zombie mixes testimony from cultural and historical experts with dramatizations and on-the-ground perspectives. Contributors include figures such as Tananarive Due and Tom Savini, who provide personal and professional reflections that connect the cinematic afterlife of the zombie to broader racial and political histories.
The film argues that the commercial appropriation of Haitian zombi lore erased its links to slavery and social control—practices that predate Hollywood’s monstrous transformations. Bedward’s feature aims to restore those connections and challenge how the horror trope has been framed by predominantly white storytellers.
Black Zombie positions itself as a topical exploration of genre, race and memory, asking viewers to reconsider what it means to dehumanize and commodify spiritual and historical experiences. According to coverage, the documentary opens in select theaters in New York City and Los Angeles on September 11, 2026.
Source: Horror Press — ‘Black Zombie’ Demystifies the Horror Trope With Black History