The great Val Lewton, Ukrainian-American novelist, film producer, and screenwriter, was the OG pillar of the less-is-more technique of the horror genre, meaning that he always knew how to truly chill you without showing virtually anything. In a series of classic (and arguably contemporary) films, pre- and post-war fears and anxieties were manifested in tales of voodoo, mysticism, queerness (intentional or otherwise), and the unknown. Two of his best works: I Walked with a Zombie and The Seventh Victim (both 1943) represent Lewton’s influential genius.
Buy I Walked with a Zombie / The Seventh Victim: Produced by Val Lewton (The Criterion Collection) Blu-rayIn I Walked with a Zombie, Francis Dee stars as Betsy, a young nurse who comes to care for Jessica (Christine Gordon), a comatose wife of Paul (Tom Conway), a plantation owner on a Caribbean island. Jessica appears to have an affliction as a result of fever. When Betsy falls in love with Paul, she decides to find a cure for Jessica, even if she has to resort to voodoo to give Paul back what she thinks he’s lost.
In The Seventh Victim, future Oscar-winner Kim Hunter (in her film debut), stars as Mary Gibson, a young boarding student who is searching for her missing sister Jacqueline (Jean Brooks) in New York. Mary’s search leads her to discover a disturbing cult of murderous devil-worshippers.
There’s a bleak atmosphere that suffices both films. Innocence finds itself in danger where both Betsy and Mary tread into dangerous terrain as they discover secrets that perhaps they shouldn’t. These and other Lewton classics still influence genre filmmakers to this very day with their elegant approach to suggestion and humanity going oh so wrong. You can thank Lewton for that.
Being released on both 4K UHD and Blu-ray from the usually reliable folks at Criterion, I bet fans will be happy with new restorations of the two classics. The supplements also seem pretty substantial too. They include commentaries by authors Kim Newman and Stephen Jones, and film historian Steve Haberman; an interview with film historian Imogen Sara Smith; audio essays from Adam Roche’s podcast The Secret History of Hollywood featuring stories about the casts, crews, and productions of both films; 2005 documentary Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy; excerpts from “The Origins of the Zombie, from Haiti to the U.S.,” an episode of the PBS series Monstrum; and trailers. There also new essays by by critics Chris Fujiwara and Lucy Sante.
If you love genre cinema and are looking for some subtlety to your horror, then this Val Lewton set is just for you.
Other releases:
Kinds of Kindness: Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest absurdity tale contains three connected stories of quirky characters trying to find their own meaning in life.
Late Night with the Devil: Horror great David Dastmalchian stars as Jack Delroy, the desperate host of a 1970s fledgling talk show who plans a Halloween special for the ages, unaware of the horrors he’s about unleash to his viewing public.
Robot Dreams: A charming, animated tragicomedy where a dog makes a companion out of a robot to be best buddies with in 1980s New York City.
