Revolt of the Zombies (1936)

User Rating:

2.8/10   

Director:

Victor Halperin

Writers:

Release Date:

4 June 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Romance | War

Tagline:

Zombies--- Not dead, not alive!

Plot:

An international expedition is sent into Cambodia to destroy an ancient formula that turns men into zombies.

Plot Keywords:

Servant | Priest | Expedition | Bronze | Colonel

Cast

Dorothy Stone	...	Claire Duval
Dean Jagger	...	Armand Louque
Roy D'Arcy	...	Col. Mazovia
Robert Noland	...	Clifford Grayson
George Cleveland	...	Gen. Duval
E. Alyn Warren	...	Dr. Trevissant (as E. Alyn 'Fred' Warren)
Carl Stockdale	...	Ignacio MacDonald
William Crowell	...	Priest Tsiang
Teru Shimada	...	Buna
Adolph Milar	...	Gen. von Schelling (as Adolph Millard)
Sana Rayya	...	Dancer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bela Lugosi	...	The Eyes (archive footage)

Runtime:

65 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2161) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (2005)

Company:

Edward Halperin Productions

Trivia:

The eyes that are frequently superimposed on the screen are those of Bela Lugosi. They were taken from Victor Halperin's earlier film White Zombie (1932).

Quotes:

Ignacio MacDonald: You've done a terrible thing to her.
Armand Louque: Is it so terrible to fight for and to get the one thing in this world that you want?
Ignacio MacDonald: Not if you played a gentleman's game.
Armand Louque: I don't like sermons.
Ignacio MacDonald: Nor, perhaps, the truth?

Movie Connections:

Edited into Zombie Evolution (2008)

Much Potential, But Halperin Drops the Ball

This film is something like a sequel of "White Zombie", since it is made by the same man (Halperin) and features zombies. Halperin, the George A. Romero of his day, fails to deliver with this one, though.

We have a man who can control the minds of people in Cambodia, and a search to destroy the source of his power so the zombies can be sent free. Also, a love interest for the evil man.

Where this film really excels is in the imagery. The Cambodian temples and dancers are very nice and the zombie look very powerful in their large numbers. Unfortunately, we don't really get to see much of the zombies in action and the love story seems to play a much too large role for a horror film (though this has a valid plot reason later on).

I would have loved to see some 1930s zombies attack helpless city folk, but this film just did not deliver. And no strong villain (like Bela Lugosi) was waiting to do battle against our heroes. And the use of Lugosi's eyes? A nice effect, but misleading as he is never in the film... why not recreate this with the new actor's eyes? Overall, a film that could be a great one with a little script re-working and could someday be a powerful remake (especially if they keep it in the same post-war time frame). Heck, if they can fix up "The Hills Have Eyes" then this film has hope.