‘Black Zombie’ Review – Power To The Zombie [SXSW 2026]

I knew about the tragedy of the zombie since I was a teen. Late Egyptian author and physician Dr. Ahmed Khaled Tawfik wrote about the zombie origin story multiple times in his horror/thriller series Metaphysics. I read all about the zombie and slavery in Haiti, Vodou, and how being a zombie was more of an entrapment of the soul, and the erasure of agency and free will. But what director Maya Annik Bedward does in Black Zombie is a completely different story, and on a much bigger, research-based scale than anything I’ve read before.

Bedward’s documentary separates fact from fiction. It takes the viewer on a journey to uncover the truth about the zombie, as a symbol of resistance and an allegory for slavery. She travels with us to Haiti, the birthland of Vodou, then back to the US, through the lens of zombie flicks, not comparing but rather placing side-by-side comparisons of what “zombie” in Haitian culture actually means vs. how white filmmaking culture first introduced it to audiences.

Bedward captures that essence of locations in Haiti, showcasing both the beauty of nature and the spiritual practices of Haitian people. She then goes back to snippets and clips from films, intercutting them with interviews about the origin, the lore, and the cultural impact of the zombie. She brilliantly outlines how zombies in film evolved and transformed from pure racial imagery to a fascination with the idea that zombies represent. Haitians also explain how vodouisants are inherently Catholics, and how both religious beliefs coexist within them. It’s a fascinating discovery, one that the director translates perfectly well on camera, as conflicting as it may seem.

It is also fascinating to discover how zombies were merely an inspiration—unfortunately racist—of Haitian culture in movies pre-George Romero fame. It wasn’t until John Russo and George A. Romero invented zombies as cadaverous predators that they became the modern horror staple we’re all too familiar with. Kudos to Bedward for fleshing out—no pun intended—the zombie character and its evolution throughout the years. 

It is an ambitious project, tying the genesis story of zombie and Vodou to its emergence in popular culture and evolution from racist tropes to a sadistic hybrid of movie monsters. The film tries to tie in everything, but the lore of the zombie figure is not as prominently outlined as its racial origins. It makes sense, given the title of the film, and how it showcases the status that a “zombie” should have in Black culture as a symbol of resistance and an allegory to slavery. How being a zombie means deprivation of free will and living under someone else’s control, whether a wizard in Haiti, or cruel White slave owners. 

But how does that become braided into Bedward’s bigger picture of what her documentary wants to say? It would have been rewarding to see more digging into the origin of the zombie creature in popular culture, and why it shifted into these corpse-devouring, gory, mutilated creatures. I would love to see more of how the genre itself shifted and evolved from mindless gory zombie movies to deep social commentary films about societal decay and authoritarian regimes, such as in The Walking Dead. There is some dissociation in terms of Bedward organizing her thought process in the documentary, but it’s overall a great, introspective analysis of the oppressive nature of the “zombie” as a symbol of resistance to imposed free will erasure.

Another highlight of Bedward’s picture is David Arcus’s haunting score. It complements the visual storytelling and creates an eerie atmosphere that blurs truth with the fantasy of fiction. It also captures the mythical nature of faith, especially after scenes where Vodou-practicing Haitians say their prayers and carefully perform the rituals. It traverses between past and present, bridging misconceptions by explaining the otherness of what complex terms mean. 

Black Zombie is a unique, introspective, analytical piece of documentary filmmaking. It shows the root of how our collective mindsets view zombies, but also what led to that deep-rooted fear and fascination with what became one of horror’s most prominent tropes. It’s an eye-opener and easily a film for everybody who loves the flesh-eating dead!

Black Zombie held its World Premiere as part of the Documentary Spotlight section of the 2026 SXSW TV & Film Festival. 

Director: Maya Annik Bedward

Screenwriter: Maya Annik Bedward

Rated: NR

Runtime: 90m