Before zombies were brain-eating monsters, they were something else entirely: a metaphor for slavery and stolen humanity.

That’s the driving force behind Black Zombie, Maya Annik Bedward’s debut feature documentary that digs into how one of horror’s most recognizable figures was co-opted from Haitian spiritual traditions and repackaged for Hollywood. The film traces the zombie’s journey from colonial Haiti to modern cinema, reexamining classics like White Zombie, Night of the Living Dead, and The Serpent and the Rainbow through a cultural lens that’s long overdue.

Bedward, an Afro-Caribbean-Canadian filmmaker, brings together cultural historians, artists, and genre legends including Slash, Tom Savini, and Mambo Labelle Déesse to reclaim the zombie’s deeper significance as a symbol of survival and resistance. The doc blends archival footage, vérité scenes, and critical analysis to show how Black spiritual practices were distorted and erased in the process.

Black Zombie premiered at SXSW 2026 and has since picked up acclaim at Hot Docs and BlackStar Film Festival. It opens in theaters September 11 via Kino Lorber, starting at New York’s Quad Cinema and LA’s Laemmle Nuart.

For indie creators working in horror or documentary, this is a reminder that reclaiming history can be just as powerful as creating new stories.