I Walked with a Zombie / The Seventh Victim: Produced by Val Lewton
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Synopsis
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.
Picture 9/10
The Criterion Collection presents two horror classics from producer Val Lewton—Jacques Tourneur’s I Walked with a Zombie and Mark Robson’s The Seventh Victim—on 4K Ultra HD. Both films share a triple-layer disc and are presented in SDR 2160p/24hz in their original aspect ratio of 1.37:1. A standard Blu-ray is also included, featuring 1080p presentations of the films alongside all video supplemental material.
Sourced from new 4K restorations scanned primarily from their respective 35mm nitrate negatives (transitions have probably been sourced from other elements), both films look exceptional, far exceeding expectations. The digital presentations deliver remarkably sharp images with gorgeous film-like textures, rendering grain and other fine details beautifully. The restoration work has done wonders, cleaning up the films significantly while retaining their natural cinematic look. A few minor blemishes remain, such as mold residue and stains, though Criterion specifically notes this being an issue for The Seventh Victim. Interestingly, I found these imperfections slightly more noticeable in I Walked with a Zombie, but they’re minor and barely detract from the otherwise sharp presentations.
The lack of HDR is a slight disappointment, as its inclusion could have added an extra level of depth, perhaps achieving that "silver screen" effect seen in Criterion’s Mildred Pierce. Nevertheless, the dynamic range remains impressive, with deep, inky blacks and clean gradations in the shadows, both of which aid films' atmospheric cinematography. The grayscale is expansive, further delivering that photographic texture.
Overall, both films look stunning, delivering a substantial improvement over Warner’s previous DVD editions and solidifying this as a must-have upgrade for fans.
Audio 6/10
Each film comes with single-channel monaural soundtracks, both presented in lossless PCM. Age factors aside, I was pleasantly surprised by how clean and dynamic both tracks ultimately were. Heavy damage, such as pops, hiss, or distortion, is absent, while range is fairly wide.
Extras 8/10
Criterion offers a good selection of supplemental material for this edition, though much of it is carried over from Warner Bros.’ previous DVD releases. This includes the 2005 commentaries recorded for each film: Kim Newman and Stephen Jones for I Walked with a Zombie, and Steve Haberman for The Seventh Victim.
Haberman’s track is particularly engaging, as he not only delves into the film’s production and Lewton’s career but also places the film in its historical context, exploring how post-war nihilism may have shaped its themes and reception. Newman and Jones deliver a solid discussion on Zombie, analyzing its depiction of Voodoo, which, surprisingly, was more grounded and researched compared to the often sensationalized portrayals in later films. They also explore the film’s influences, including Jane Eyre. It's a good track, though there is one caveat: Jones does spoil the ending of The Leopard Man.
Criterion also includes audio essays adapted from Adam Roche’s podcast series The Secret History of Hollywood, available as alternate audio tracks for each film, playing over them (on both the 4K and Blu-ray), and as standalone audio features covering a couple of the actors found on the Blu-ray. The film-focused tracks explore the production histories, cultural impact, and themes of Zombie and Victim, with a particularly fascinating segment connecting Zombie to the rise of Calypso music. Additionally, the actor-focused essays cover the careers of Tom Conway (70 minutes) and Jane Brooks (53 minutes) in painstaking detail. Conway’s segment is especially compelling as it examines his struggles with alcholism and being overshadowed by his brother, George Sanders.
A major highlight of the set is a newly recorded 47-minute interview with film scholar Imogen Sara Smith, where she analyzes the themes and visual style of both films. Smith discusses the noir-like photography, breaking down key scenes, and examines how directors Jacques Tourneur and Mark Robson brought distinct approaches to their respective films. She also ties the works to the post-war nihilism of the time. While her insights are excellent, it’s disappointing that Criterion didn’t commission her for full commentaries (something they still have yet to do) as I feel she would have had no problem filling the time.
Also included is Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy, a 53-minute documentary from Warner’s 2005 Val Lewton Collection. Narrated by James Cromwell, this feature explores Lewton’s career, focusing primarily on his RKO horror films. Featuring interviews with filmmakers and scholars like Joe Dante, Guillermo del Toro, William Friedkin, and George Romero, it offers a concise but thorough examination of what made Lewton’s films unique compared to the more traditional horror fare of the time, such as what was coming out of Universal.
The disc concludes with trailers for both films and Origins of the Zombie: From Haiti to the U.S., a 13-minute PBS web program. While the feature briefly explores the cultural and colonial origins of the zombie myth in Haitian traditions and its evolution into a pop culture staple, its TikTok-inspired style undermines its otherwise interesting content.
Criterion then includes a tête-bêche style booklet, which features artwork for I Walked with a Zombie on one side with an essay on the film by Chris Fujiwara, and artwork for The Seventh Victim on the other, and an essay on that film by Lucy Sante.
Though the new material is ultimately minimal, Criterion has still put together a solid set of features for this double-bill.
Closing
Though I wish the features were a bit more expansive, the two new 4K presentations look absolutely fantastic.
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