More than reclaiming the zombie motif from the knee-jerk response that Night of the Living Dead inhibited, Maya Annik Bedward’s Black Zombie is a reclamation of Vodou from the colonial fear-mongering that used it to demonize Black people the world over. It’s why I love that Bedward included Erol Josué’s candid response when asking about his feelings towards the film. He’s seen other filmmakers come and go, only to have the finished work become yet another example of cultural voyeurism. Yet the only reason John Russo and Romero made their zombies into flesh-eaters was because Old Hollywood’s evil Black slaves weren’t scary enough. Black Zombie screened at the 2026 Fantasia International Film Festival and opens in select theaters on September 11.