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Black Zombie

Play trailer Poster for Black Zombie In Theaters Sep 11 1h 30m Documentary Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 19 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Verified Ratings
BLACK ZOMBIE digs beneath the blood-soaked spectacle of modern horror to uncover the zombie's buried and unsettling origins. Long before it became associated with flesh-eating ghouls, the zombie was a living metaphor for slavery: not a monster, but the ultimate victim of colonial power. A symbol of stolen agency was recast as an object of fear, while Black spiritual traditions were distorted, sensationalized, and erased. Director Maya Annik Bedward traces the evolution of the zombie from colonial Haiti to contemporary Hollywood, reconsidering iconic films like WHITE ZOMBIE, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, and THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW alongside archival footage, vérité scenes, and interviews with cultural historians, artists, and genre legends including Yves-Grégory Francois, Mambo Labelle Déesse, Slash, Tom Savini, and Zandashé Brown. Part cultural reckoning, part horror remix, BLACK ZOMBIE exposes how a figure born from enslavement, spiritual belief, and resistance was transformed into one of pop culture's most profitable monsters.
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Cast & Crew

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Maya Annik Bedward

Director

Yves-Grégory Francois

Self

Tananarive Due

Self

Mambo Labelle Déese Botanica

Self

Slash

Self

Tom Savini

Self

Critics Reviews

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Dennis Harvey Variety Aug 3
While “Black Zombie” isn’t quite the genre “greatest hits” parade many viewers may be hoping for, it does provide a thought-provoking perspective -- one that might add some depth to your next experience of undead cinema, however purely escapist. Go to Full Review Brian Tallerico RogerEbert.com Mar 19
I still love zombie movies. I think Bedward does, too. She’s just made a film that allows you to love them in a different context. Go to Full Review Jessi Cape Austin Chronicle Mar 18
Black Zombie demands you reconsider both the horrors humans are capable of and the untold beauty of the living and the dead. It’s the rare documentary you want everyone you know to watch. Go to Full Review Jonita Davis The Black Cape (Medium) 16h
It was the most informative documentary of my year so far, with so many tidbits that I never knew about the zombie as a monster and the culture that is came from. Go to Full Review Jamie Broadnax Black Girl Nerds 4d
4/5
Black Zombie offers insight, education, humor, horror, gore and history about zombie culture. Ultimately this is a film about Haiti and a people who have been misrepresented, marginalized and stereotyped in books and on screen for nearly a century. Go to Full Review Jason Adams Pajiba Aug 2
A film practically bursting its seams with the fresh air of a fresh perspective that’s, dare one say, refreshing... brilliant and unmissable, Black Zombie will feed your brainssss Go to Full Review Read all reviews
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Black Zombie

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Movie Info

Synopsis BLACK ZOMBIE digs beneath the blood-soaked spectacle of modern horror to uncover the zombie's buried and unsettling origins. Long before it became associated with flesh-eating ghouls, the zombie was a living metaphor for slavery: not a monster, but the ultimate victim of colonial power. A symbol of stolen agency was recast as an object of fear, while Black spiritual traditions were distorted, sensationalized, and erased. Director Maya Annik Bedward traces the evolution of the zombie from colonial Haiti to contemporary Hollywood, reconsidering iconic films like WHITE ZOMBIE, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, and THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW alongside archival footage, vérité scenes, and interviews with cultural historians, artists, and genre legends including Yves-Grégory Francois, Mambo Labelle Déesse, Slash, Tom Savini, and Zandashé Brown. Part cultural reckoning, part horror remix, BLACK ZOMBIE exposes how a figure born from enslavement, spiritual belief, and resistance was transformed into one of pop culture's most profitable monsters.
Director
Maya Annik Bedward
Producer
Maya Annik Bedward, Hannah Donegan, Kate Fraser
Screenwriter
Maya Annik Bedward
Distributor
Kino Lorber
Production Co
Raven Banner Entertainment
Genre
Documentary, Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 11, 2026, Limited
Runtime
1h 30m
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