Black Zombie

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1:56

Black Zombie

Sep 2026

1h 30m

Documentary

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

42 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 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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Critics Consensus

Black Zombie is a thought-provoking and restorative reexamination of the zombie myth that confronts its roots in racial exploitation while deepening — and even renewing — appreciation of the genre.

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Katie Walsh

FilmWeek (LAist)

Sep 23, 2026

It should be required viewing for horror fans and people who like zombie movies.

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Peyton Robinson

RogerEbert.com

Sep 15, 2026

3/4

While modern-day blind spots burden the film, 'Black Zombie’ stays true to its motivation: lifting the cloche on the erasure and exploitation that founded one of horror’s most iconic figures.

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Lisa Kennedy

New York Times

Sep 10, 2026

In the ruins of a sugar plantation, this cultural multi-hyphenate performs a ritual dance, his rich voice beckoning the spirits — and viewers — like a hymn, like a restorative balm.

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Jim Slotek

Original Cin

3 days ago

B+

Black Zombie is sure-footed with its connections between the Haitian slave trade and popular culture’s zombie mythos. It seems less sure of what to make of the shift in zombie films from slow-footed slaves to fast-moving predators.

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Louisa Moore

Screen Zealots

3 days ago

A fascinating look at the Haitian Revolution that completely reframes the zombie myth, turning horror history into an act of reclamation. This is one of the most interesting and educational documentaries I’ve ever seen.

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Caroline Colvin

Dread Central

Sep 28, 2026

5/5

The creature feature subgenre was born from Haitian vodou and the realities of slavery, which Black Zombie explores thoroughly and artfully.

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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

Black Zombie: Trailer 1

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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
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 6, 2026
Box Office (Gross USA): $16.4K
Runtime: 1h 30m

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