Black Moon

At a time (1934) when horror films filled the screen with Universal's neck-biters and plodding giants, there's this little voodoo obscurity from Columbia studios. It's a genuine oddity, more closely related to the great Val Lewton atmospheric series of the 40's than the genres of the 30's. Seems an upper-class lady (Burgess) returns to Haiti following a voodoo curse placed upon her as a child. Going with her are her husband (Holt), nanny (Wray), and daughter (Collins). The island is a dark place and soon the lady begins acting strangely. Is it the bygone curse or some other malign influence.

I'm not surprised that Lewton's I Walked With A Zombie (1943) references this film in its screenplay (IMDB). There are many parallels, especially in mood and setting. Moon, however, lacks the coherence and general impact of the later film. Nonetheless, there are many unsettling moments—the first voodoo ceremony where Burgess twists and leaps to the accompaniment of a resounding drum beat. In fact, the crowd scenes featuring natives in synchrony to the incessant beat are especially effective. However, the story itself never really gels into a riveting whole. Perhaps that's because the focus shifts too often, splitting the story into threads that tend to scatter the suspense.

Still, the movie's definitely worth catching up with, and may even surprise viewers considering its general obscurity.

In BLACK MOON, a woman (Dorothy Burgess) is drawn back to the island of San Christopher, due to her obsession with the occult practices of the people there. Her husband sends his secretary (Fay Wray) along, and soon arrives himself.

Mysterious deaths and bizarre occurrences ensue.

This movie has a dark atmosphere of building dread, with some fairly unsettling moments for its era. It fits in really well with other films of its subgenre, like WHITE ZOMBIE or I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE. The use of voodoo is actually frightening, and the use of the creole language helps to make it more authentic.

Fans of Fay Wray should love this, since she's very good in her role...

In my unhealthy quest to see every available Fay Wray film, I picked up a copy of this off of Ebay, and I was very happy I did.

The Good: The film has a very dark mood to it, very much like the later film, "I Walked with a Zombie". Settings and locations are similar, and there are scenes and sets that look a lot like that later film. The overall feeling of doom is here, and the climactic scene is very well done. The scenes of the voodoo ceremonies really shine in this film, and although not a true horror flick, this satisfies with some eerie shots and creepy touches.

The Bad: I am not a Jack Holt fan. In my opinion he is the weakest part of the film. Also, there were some very good shots in the film. Some odd angles with good lighting. There were times, however, when the direction seemed uninspired and timid with this strong material. Almost like two directors had a hand in it.

Overall this is a fine film that deserves a good cleanup and DVD release.

This is a tense and exciting little film. I was surprised how quickly and effectively the movie manages to ratchet up the tension without wasting time on endless setup, giving us just enough to know the characters and get involved with the situation. There is a very effective and ominous tone struck with the opening frames and nicely developed as the cast heads to an island that is cut off from help. Good performances and cinematography help greatly; for once we have a juvenile who is not annoying and smart leads in Fay Wray and Jack Holt. Dorothy Burgess does a good job with a complicated part. This plays like a forerunner to Val Lewton's classic I Walked with a Zombie, though there are no zombies present here. Worth catching the beautiful print on TCM.

I didn't expect too much from this film due to the simple fact that I'd never heard of it, but on a recommendation, I took a look at it and to say that it did not disappoint is an understatement! If you are a fan of 1930's horror films, this one has it all. The incessant background drumming on the island of San Christopher (Haiti) heard throughout 90 percent of the movie is wholly pervasive and will get your heart pumping at an increasingly frenzied pace right up until the closing credits.

This is one of the last of the pre-code pictures and it hold nothing back. Jack Holt, Dorothy Burgess and, especially, Fay Wray give fine performances. No comic relief here; this is all played for horrors and suspense! Director Roy William Neill (of "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" fame) does a commendable job of keeping the pace of the film frantic, yet tight. Too many "zombie" pictures just sort of plod along, but this one (though technically "voodoo", rather than "zombie"-themed) is non-stop, edge of your seat kind of fare.

As a fan of the genre, what a delight to "find" this movie and more so to have it exceed all of my expectations. Fay Wray made several other renown horror films in the 2 year period preceding "Black Moon": "The Most Dangerous Game", "Doctor X", "The Vampire Bat", "Mystery of the Wax Museum", "The Clairvoyant", and, oh yes, a little movie called "King Kong". "Black Moon" holds its own along with all of the aforementioned films.