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.

While Black Moon tends to be met with some harsh criticism for its outdated themes, values, and morals, today it stands as a fascinating relic of its time. Though some might argue that its portrayal of racism and cultural misunderstandings feels uncomfortable by today's standards, the film nonetheless represents important historical themes that still hold significant relevance. Its eerie atmosphere and compelling narrative make it an unsettling yet captivating experience, one that deserves more acceptance from film enthusiasts and critics alike.

The film doesn't linger. Its one-hour and eight-minute runtime keeps the audience engaged and the story steadily churning along. The tension between the whites and the blacks feels hauntingly plausible, as it highlights how feelings of resentment, power, and fear can fester and manifest in destructive ways, epitomized by the concept of "Mob Rule."

In today's world, which hasn't entirely improved, we've tried to create diversity and inclusion for all types of people, but we have somehow lost ourselves in the process of understanding the lessons history can teach us.

Black Moon isn't just a product of its time; it challenges us to reflect on the uncomfortable truths that still echo in our world today.

As already discussed the film features a fair share of racism, white superiority, and the mystique of "voodoo." These elements, while still uncomfortable today, would likely have been utterly terrifying to audiences at the time, as many of these themes were rooted in fear of the unknown.

Moving from the racial tensions in the film to its portrayal of fashion, one thing is clear: the clothing of the era is undeniably elite. We've never come close to matching that style and elegance in the last hundred years.

As for the film itself, which is full of dark mystery and intrigue, Black Moon doesn't explain the details of the beliefs of the natives but still provides enough clarification on their objective: human sacrifice, heightened by the haunting beat of the jungle drums.

Riddled with "tobacco smoke and hair tonic," Stephen Jack Holt plays a successful businessman whose powerful, unbreakable bond with his daughter Nancy is at the core of the film.

The film also likes to bring in a vague undertone of the Secretary Gail played by Fay Wray and her romantic interests in the father Stephen, her motherly and protective instincts and caring nature make her a highly valued women.

Dorothy Burgess who plays Juanita seems a bit off from the beginning, she harbours immense traits of a split personality with hidden anger and resentment. And with the slow beat of the drums transforms from mother and wife, to a voodoo queen in the full moon.

In the last twenty minutes, I felt tense and anxious. I sat in utter anticipation that the worst possible outcome was about to occur. Very few films make you feel emotionally engaged, but when young children are involved, and as a relatively new father, it hits a new type of agonizing fear.

Nancy who goes through that traumatic experience in the final scenes with her mother Juanita, I felt heartbroken for the level of trust that may never return after an ordeal so insatiably cruel.

If that were my Daughter, I would have, without hesitation, confronted the situation and all those involved with overwhelming force, seeking retribution for every native involved in such a heinous act of barbarism.

Overall, Black Moon is an enticing film that deserves a little more recognition, offering valuable historical insights that still appeal today, and I'm glad it hasn't been totally erased from history, but I fear it will never get its proper appreciation.

7/10.

I'm not sure, but Black Moon may be the first horror film to be set in the West Indies and focus on voodoo. Of course, it would be the Val Lewton/Jacques Tourneur film I Walked With a Zombie that would go on to become the best known early example; but Black Moon is still a worthy effort. The plot focuses on a woman born in the West Indies. She left at the age of two when her parents were sacrificed in a voodoo ritual, but apparently she is under some curse and decides to return to the island. She takes along her husband, nanny, daughter and his secretary and upon returning to the island, is elevated to the level of a God by the locals; which leads to danger for her family. The film was obviously made on a low budget as it all looks very cheap throughout. This improves once the film reaches the West Indies as the location shoots take some of the focus off the cheap looking sets seen earlier on in the film. The film is very slow burning and takes a while to get going, but once it does it's constantly interesting. Director Roy William Neill (who would of course go on to become best known for his Sherlock Holmes films) does well at implementing the atmosphere needed to ensure that the film is successful. It has to be said that there isn't a great deal of tension in the early parts of the film; but this is made up for by the ending which is strong. Overall, I wouldn't quite say that this film is a classic; but it will certainly be of interest for fans of thirties horror.

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.

Black Moon (1934)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Twenty-plus years after her parents were murdered in a voodoo ritual, a woman (Dorothy Burgess) travels back to the native land where the people there want her to start up as their leader. The woman's secretary (Fay Wray) wires her husband (Jack Holt) to come and try to save her but it might be too late. This forgotten horror film from Columbia falls somewhere between WHITE ZOMBIE and I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE so fans of those two films will certainly want to check this out. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not a major fan of all three films as I think they all have a great atmosphere but in the end their stories just aren't strong enough to carry the films for me. There's a lot of stuff that does work here with the biggest plus being the atmosphere created by the director. We really get the feeling as if we're on this island surrounded by the strange locals and in the middle of something evil. There's no fog machines but that doesn't keep Neill away from delivering the goods as the dark tone of the film also hits on something that the Val Lewton films would eventually do and that's the use of shadows. Another plus is some fine cinematography as well as a nice performance by Holt. Wray, the original Scream Queen, is good too, although, as usual, she isn't given enough to do. What doesn't work, for one, is the performance of Burgess who is easy on the eyes but her character is badly underwritten. Another problem is the actual screenplay that really doesn't offer any twist or turns up until the very end when the movie does go in a direction that you wouldn't normally expect.