A rash of disappearances along a highway has hit the headlines, all involving female motorists traveling alone. The police are baffled -- all two of them -- possibly because they are utter nincompoops. As luck would have it, the women have not only been kidnapped; they’ve been turned into zombies by the mysterious, thickly-goateed Dr. Richard Marlowe (played by the inimitable Bela Lugosi).

In a break from the tradition of “voodoo” zombie cinema, these zombies have not been created to perform labor; they’re far too ladylike for that. More in keeping with such Lugosi “classics” as Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Ape Man (also directed by William Beaudine), and the structurally identical The Corpse Vanishes, Dr. Marlowe is using his victims to tamper with their life essence -- trying to transfer it to his beloved, long-deceased wife, Evelyn.

He’s keeping Evelyn in a zombified state until he can bring her back to life; the other women are turned into zombies in the process. Matters are complicated, however, when his latest victim’s cousin and her fiancé come looking for her...

Of the various Poverty Row flicks starring a typecast Lugosi, Voodoo Man is easily the best that I’ve seen. True to the standards of its studio, Monogram Pictures, this is definitely B-movie quality; but it’s also relatively intelligent, highly entertaining, and even suspenseful. The humor fluctuates between the (unintended?) low-key wackiness typical of cheap '40s horror, and clever or even self-mocking gags and references that make for some legitimate chuckles.

The villains come across as both cruel and strangely sympathetic, especially the tragic doctor and his wife. Lugosi’s performance is great, as usual, and he steals enough moments to communicate a good sense of his character’s multidimensionality. John Carradine (having just finished his own stint as a zombie master in Revenge of the Zombies) is goofy but believable as Dr. Marlowe’s simpleminded henchman, who in his utter loneliness is infatuated with the unresponsive zombies. In between his priceless facial expressions while he’s voodoo-drumming, Carradine is oddly creepy and sad. George Zucco chants a lot as Nicholas, the faithful witch doctor whose main reward is that he gets to wear a silly robe and headdress when he’s not pumping gasoline. Louise Currie (who also starred in The Ape Man) is delightful, both when she’s conscious and as a spooky, bewildered zombie. Wanda McKay (who starred with Lugosi in The Bowery at Midnight) and Michael Ames are somewhat flatter, as are the tertiary characters; the steady pacing and often witty dialogue make up for it, however.

The Zombies
What you get is a dungeon / laboratory / ritual chamber full of beautiful, entranced young women standing around and... well, looking beautiful. Several shots of them are reminiscent of the (superior) classics White Zombie and I Walked with a Zombie. But the nature of these zombies gives Voodoo Man an interesting position in the history zombie cinema: Evelyn Marlowe is literally undead, having been reanimated and preserved after dying; the others are more in a state of hypnosis or somnambulism, but the effect is identical. Dr. Marlowe, the titular “voodoo man,” is also a mad-scientist type; working together with his witch doctor colleague, he uses a combination of “voodoo” magic, sketchy science, and Lugosi’s trademark ocular hypnosis to zombify and control his hostages. Thus, Voodoo Man brings together three usually distinct zombification techniques found in the films of this era.

Other Thoughts
The main subtext of this movie seems to deal with society’s commodification of women; not only are they being turned into objects to be leered at and used, but even Hollywood is shown trying to cash in on the trend. The film seems to be arguing that women’s very souls, or at least their individual wills, are at stake. In a sense, the men become reduced to little more than automatons themselves, with only the delusion of free will as they chase perpetually after an unobtainable female ideal.

What I’ve Learned
Apparently, anti-facial-wrinkle lights can be used as disintegrators, depending on the setting. You might want to keep a close eye on your dermatologist...

Voodoo Man, sadly, has fallen into relative obscurity. If you can track down one of the minor DVD releases out there, fans of old-school zombies, classic horror, and Bela Lugosi shouldn’t be disappointed.

Review Rating
7.5 out of 10 Stanley Kowalski moments (“Stella! Stella!”)