Black Zombie (Fandango At Home)

Directed by : Maya Annik Bedward

Cast : Yves-Grégory Francois, Erol Josué, Mambo Labelle, Déesse, Slash, Tom Savini, Zandashé Brown

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Country : Country: Canada

Language: English, French, Haitian Creole

Subject : Film Studies, African-American Studies

Genre : Documentary, Horror

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Description

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.

Cast

Maya Annik Bedward - Director

Yves-Grégory Francois - Himself
Erol Josué - Himself
Mambo Labelle, Déesse - Herself
Slash - Himself
Tom Savini - Himself
Zandashé Brown - Herself

Reviews

“An act of reclamation. The rare documentary you want everyone you know to watch.”

– Jessi Cape, The Austin Chronicle

“An intellectual pleasure. Maya Annik Bedward artfully threads the needle between Caribbean spiritual practices and what we’ve seen on screen. A smart, nuanced love letter to Haiti, and a delight for cinephiles.”

– Caroline Colvin, Dread Central

“Unpacks the origins of one of the most popular horror genres of all time.”

– Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

“A fascinating, visually inventive journey... into the origins of horror’s enduringly popular figurehead, the zombie.”

– Nikki Baughan, Screen

“A thought-provoking perspective — one that might add some depth to your next experience of undead cinema.”

– Dennis Harvey, Variety

“A multigenerational, multilayered production that captures the richness of Haiti, Vodou, and zombies… Tackles dense history while weaving through a serene ode to the beautiful island and its residents.” – Tina Kakadelis, Film Obsessive

“Odds are, none of the people shuffling and snarling through Halloween 'zombie walks' knows this history, making Black Zombie an eye-opening reclamation.”

– Valerie Kalfrin, AWFJ

“Brilliant and vital. Maya Annik Bedward structures her arguments with great and vivid force."

– Jason Adams, Pajiba