Terror lives in the shadows in a pair of mesmerizingly moody horror milestones conjured from the imagination of Val Lewton, the visionary producer-auteur who turned our fears of the unseen and the unknown into haunting excursions into existential dread. As head of RKO’s B-horror-movie unit during the 1940s, Lewton, working with directors such as Jacques Tourneur and Mark Robson, brought a new sophistication to the genre by wringing chills not from conventional movie monsters but from brooding atmosphere, suggestion, and psychosexual unease. Suffused with ritual, mysticism, and the occult, the poetically hypnotic I Walked with a Zombie and the shockingly subversive The Seventh Victim are still-tantalizing dreams of death that dare to embrace the darkness.

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Video Quality

The Criterion Collection presents I Walked with a Zombie and The Seventh Victim on 4K UHD Blu-Ray courtesy of impressive 4K digital restorations from the 35mm Original Nitrate Camera Negative in 2160p that is a joy to observe even without HDR implementation. This release marks the first time these films have been made available in HD and UHD domestically. The included Blu-Ray is also wonderful for those who are not 4K UHD capable, but the 4K UHD Blu-Ray disc does offer some improvements that easily make it the preferred choice. The black and white cinematography is enticingly moody with consistent gradients and exceptional textures. The contrast is stable throughout and provides notable improvements in clarity.

The transfer eliminates any dirt and dust specks or other instances of print damage that plagued previous exhibitions. The booklet notes that the negative of The Seventh Victim had large amounts of mold throughout with mold residue remaining even after the digital restoration, but we did not observe any significant variance between the excellent I Walked with a Zombie and The Seventh Victim. The transfers retain the filmic quality of the pictures with delicate film grain unlocking unbelievable detail. Black levels are nice and deep without any undesired nuisances such as digital noise or compression artifacts. You get a surprising amount of depth from the image which brings personality to the locales. There are favorable textural details in the costumes and production design. The 4K UHD disc is given more room to breathe without the supplements found on the Blu-Ray disc. These films have been anxiously requested for years, and the Criterion Collection has made the wait well worth it.

Audio Quality

The 4K UHD Blu-Ray disc comes with excellent LPCM 1.0 restored mono tracks. Given the age of these films, there is a level of minor age-related wear and tear to be expected, but the results are mighty impressive with only the most discrete amount of hiss in some of the upper registers. Dialogue emanates consistently with no trace of sibilance and nothing overshadowing important exchanges. There is not much in the way of music across these films, but what emerges holds together decently. Environmental sounds such as percussive drumming or creaking boards are rendered well alongside everything else. Criterion has given these films the impeccably preserved, organic audio presentations they deserve. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.

Special Features

The Criterion 4K UHD Blu-Ray of I Walked with a Zombie and The Seventh Victim includes a foldout pamphlet featuring the essays “Better Doctors” by author Chris Fujiwara and “The Inner Darkness” by author Lucy Sante. Both of these essays explore the themes, the background of the creative figures, the legacy of the film, and more that are very illuminating. The on-disc special features are as follows:

Audio Commentary (I Walked With A Zombie): A 2005 audio commentary from critics Kim Newman and Stephen Jones provides engaging insights into the history of this production, the creative figures, the film’s legacy, and more.

Audio Commentary (The Seventh Victim): A 2005 audio commentary from critic Steve Haberman provides worthwhile insights into the history of this production, comparisons to the shooting script, the creative figures, literary references, the film’s legacy, and more.

The Secret History of Hollywood: Instead of a second commentary track, this disc gives the option to listen to excerpts from Adam Roche’s podcast The Secret History of Hollywood as an alternate audio track featuring stories about the cast, crew, and production of I Walked With A Zombie and The Seventh Victim.

Imogen Sara Smith on Val Lewton: An excellent 47-minute piece with critic Imogen Sara Smith in which discusses the output of Val Lewton, the production histories of I Walked With A Zombie and The Seventh Victim, the creative identity of Jacques Tourneur and Mark Robson, the intangible qualities within the features, and much more that is a valuable listen.

Shadows In The Dark – The Val Lewton Legacy: A nearly 54-minute documentary from 2005 narrated by James Cromwell and featuring Val E. Lewton, son of producer Val Lewton; filmmakers William Friedkin, Guillermo del Toro, George A. Romero, John Landis, and Robert Wise; actor Sara Karloff; film historians; and more. This provides a great examination of the legacy of Val Lewton.

The Origins of the Zombie – From Haiti to the U.S.: A 13-minute excerpt from the PBS Digital Studios series Monstrum in which Dr. Emily Zarka explores the West African and Haitian origins of vodou and zombification. This takes a look at the portrayals of undead characters produced during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Jean Brooks and Tom Conway: There are two extended excerpts from Adam Roche’s podcast The Secret History of Hollywood centering on two of the performers.

- Jean Brooks (53:14)

- Tom Conway (1:09:53)

Trailers: There are trailers provided for I Walked With A Zombie (1:04) and The Seventh Victim (1:14).

Final Thoughts

I Walked with a Zombie and The Seventh Victim are two moody classics from producer Val Lewton, although equal credit should be given to directors Jacques Tourneur and Mark Robson. These films feel quite daring for the time, and it is this quality that allows them to resonate with modern audiences so strongly after all of these years. Neither film is very long, but each of them packs a punch during the brief runtime. If you need to conjure some genuine chills for spooky season, these two will more than do the trick. The Criterion Collection has delivered a new 4K UHD Blu-Ray that offers a fantastic A/V presentation and some top-notch special features. If you have been clamoring for these films, this release is a dream come true. Essential

The Criterion Collection edition of I Walked with a Zombie/The Seventh Victim is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD and Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: The Criterion Collection has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.