Voodoo Movies: Essential Films

Other Watch Lists:
1932 - 202019 Films31h 30m3.3 Average

Voodoo has captivated filmmakers for nearly a century, from early zombie origins to modern psychological thrillers. This collection traces the evolution of how cinema has portrayed Haitian Vodou, Louisiana Voodoo, and Hoodoo practices, showcasing both foundational classics and contemporary interpretations.

The watch list spans White Zombie's pioneering 1932 depiction of zombification through Val Lewton's atmospheric I Walked with a Zombie, the blaxploitation revenge of Sugar Hill, Wes Craven's ethnographic horror in The Serpent and the Rainbow, and modern entries like The Skeleton Key that explore belief as power. These films represent the subgenre's most culturally significant and influential works, balancing historical importance with quality and accessibility.

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List not ranked (sorted by Release Date)

1
White Zombie poster

White Zombie

19321h 7m3.2
Director: Victor Halperin
Cast: Bela Lugosi, Madge Bellamy, John Harron, Robert Frazer, Joseph Cawthorn

A wealthy landowner in Haiti enlists a sorcerer to steal away a woman from her fiancé using dark voodoo magic. This early horror classic explores themes of obsession and supernatural control in the atmospheric setting of 1930s Haiti.

Horror

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2
The Ghost Breakers poster

The Ghost Breakers

19401h 25m3.6
Director: George Marshall
Cast: Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Richard Carlson, Paul Lukas, Anthony Quinn

When radio announcer Larry Lawrence accidentally becomes a stowaway in Mary Carter's trunk, he finds himself helping her investigate the supernatural mysteries surrounding her newly inherited Cuban mansion. Together they face voodoo magic, zombies, and ghosts in this classic comedy-horror adventure.

ComedyHorrorMystery

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3
King of the Zombies poster

King of the Zombies

19411h 7m2.5
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Cast: Dick Purcell, Joan Woodbury, Mantan Moreland, Henry Victor, John Archer

During World War II, a small plane crash-lands on a mysterious Caribbean island where the survivors take refuge in a doctor's mansion. The group soon discovers that the estate may be inhabited by zombies and supernatural forces.

HorrorComedy

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4
I Walked with a Zombie poster

I Walked with a Zombie

19431h 9m3.9
Director: Jacques Tourneur
Cast: James Ellison, Frances Dee, Tom Conway, Edith Barrett, James Bell

A nurse travels to the Caribbean to care for a plantation owner's catatonic wife, but becomes entangled in local voodoo practices and forbidden romance.

MysteryHorrorDrama

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5
Voodoo Man poster

Voodoo Man

19441h 2m2.4
Director: William Beaudine
Cast: Bela Lugosi, George Zucco, Tod Andrews, Wanda McKay, Louise Currie

A mad doctor and his sinister assistants kidnap young women for disturbing experiments in an attempt to help his catatonic wife.

HorrorMystery

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6
The Plague of the Zombies poster

The Plague of the Zombies

19661h 31m3.5
Director: John Gilling
Cast: André Morell, Brook Williams, Diane Clare, John Carson, Jacqueline Pearce

When Sir James Forbes investigates a mysterious plague in a remote Cornish village, he discovers that a local squire is using Haitian witchcraft to raise the dead as servants. As the dark scheme unravels, the village faces a terrifying zombie uprising.

Horror

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7
Live and Let Die poster

Live and Let Die

19732h 1m3.6
Director: Guy Hamilton
Cast: Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto, Jane Seymour, Clifton James, Julius Harris

James Bond investigates the mysterious murder of a British agent in New Orleans, leading him into conflict with a powerful gangster boss named Mr. Big.

AdventureActionThriller

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8
Sugar Hill poster

Sugar Hill

19741h 31m3
Director: Paul Maslansky
Cast: Marki Bey, Robert Quarry, Don Pedro Colley, Betty Anne Rees, Richard Lawson

When her fiancé is murdered by gangsters, a woman turns to voodoo magic to seek revenge against the mob boss and his crew.

CrimeActionHorror

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9
Zombie Flesh Eaters poster

Zombie Flesh Eaters

19791h 31m3.8
Original Title: Zombi 2
Director: Lucio Fulci
Cast: Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson, Olga Karlatos, Al Cliver

A reporter and the daughter of a missing researcher investigate a mysterious island where the dead have begun to rise, threatening to spread their plague beyond its shores.

Horror

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10
Angel Heart poster

Angel Heart

19871h 53m4.1
Director: Alan Parker
Cast: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling, Stocker Fontelieu

A down-and-out Brooklyn detective is hired to track down a missing singer, leading him on a dark journey through Harlem, New Orleans jazz clubs, and the voodoo-filled underworld of Louisiana.

HorrorMystery

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11
The Believers poster

The Believers

19871h 54m3.2
Director: John Schlesinger
Cast: Martin Sheen, Helen Shaver, Harley Cross, Robert Loggia, Elizabeth Wilson

A police psychologist mourning his wife's death moves to New York with his young son and becomes reluctantly involved in investigating a series of ritualistic murders.

HorrorMysteryThriller

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12
The Kiss poster

The Kiss

19881h 41m3
Director: Pen Densham
Cast: Meredith Salenger, Joanna Pacula, Mimi Kuzyk, Nicholas Kilbertus, Sabrina Boudot

A teenage girl faces supernatural terror when her mysterious estranged aunt arrives after her mother's death and begins to disrupt her family's life.

ThrillerHorrorDramaFantasy
13
The Serpent and the Rainbow poster

The Serpent and the Rainbow

19881h 38m3.5
Director: Wes Craven
Cast: Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson, Zakes Mokae, Paul Winfield, Brent Jennings

A Harvard anthropologist travels to Haiti to investigate a mysterious powder rumored to resurrect the dead, plunging him into a terrifying world of voodoo, zombies, and ancient curses.

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14
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil poster

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

19972h 35m3.5
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: John Cusack, Kevin Spacey, Jude Law, Alison Eastwood, Jack Thompson

A journalist covering Savannah's eccentric social scene becomes entangled in the murder trial of a charismatic local millionaire he befriends.

MysteryCrimeDrama

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15
Ritual poster

Ritual

20021h 51m2.1
Director: Avi Nesher
Cast: Jennifer Grey, Craig Sheffer, Daniel Lapaine, Kristen Wilson, Gabriel Casseus

An American doctor travels to Jamaica to treat a wealthy patient and becomes entangled with a dangerous voodoo cult.

Horror

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16
The Skeleton Key poster

The Skeleton Key

20051h 44m3.7
Director: Iain Softley
Cast: Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, Peter Sarsgaard, John Hurt, Joy Bryant

A hospice nurse working at a spooky New Orleans plantation home finds herself entangled in a mystery involving the house's dark past.

DramaHorrorMysteryThriller

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17
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End poster

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

20072h 49m4.2
Director: Gore Verbinski
Cast: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport

Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann team up with Captain Barbossa to rescue Jack Sparrow from Davy Jones' locker. The pirates must navigate treacherous waters and face a final battle that will determine the fate of piracy itself.

AdventureFantasyAction

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18
Jessabelle poster

Jessabelle

20141h 30m2.8
Director: Kevin Greutert
Cast: Sarah Snook, Mark Webber, Joelle Carter, David Andrews, Chris Ellis

A young woman recovering from an accident at her father's deteriorating home discovers a supernatural presence linked to her deceased mother.

ThrillerHorror

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19
Spell poster

Spell

20201h 31m3.6
Director: Mark Tonderai
Cast: Omari Hardwick, Loretta Devine, John Beasley, Peter Butler, Lorraine Burroughs

A man who survives a plane crash in rural Appalachia becomes suspicious of the elderly couple nursing him back to health with mysterious ancient remedies.

ThrillerHorrorFantasy

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