Klili (Fredi Washington) is a light-skinned voodoo priestess who is in love with a white plantation owner named Adam (Philip Brandon). He spurns her advances and gets engaged to a white woman, which throws Klili into a fit of jealous rage. She then uses her voodoo expertise to put a curse on Adam’s fiancée. When that fails, she takes to raising a zombie army (OK, two guys) from the dead to do her bidding.
Ouanga is an interesting early voodoo thriller. Sure, there are aspects about it that are a little creaky, but it at least tries to deal with the complications that come with an interracial romance. (Adam says he wants to be with her, but there’s a “barrier” between them.) The film is at its best when Klili is wrestling with her place in the world. Once she realizes that no matter how light her skin is, she’ll always be seen as “black” by the whites on the island, she finally accepts her heritage and goes out for revenge. This sequence is really terrific, and you’ll cheer when Klili snaps, “I’ll show him what a black girl can do!”
While Ouanga pales in comparison next to something like White Zombie (mostly because it lacks the presence of a master of horror like Bela Lugosi), it is nevertheless an excellent vehicle for Washington. With her piercing stare and devilish charm, she makes for a strong lead, and it’s easy to side with her once she finally goes out for revenge. She is so hypnotic in the scenes where she looks directly into the camera while performing her voodoo incantations that you’ll swear she’s casting a spell on you!
The other cast members don’t come close to matching her intensity. Brandon is especially wishy-washy in the lead. He’s so white bread that it’s hard to tell just what Klili sees in him. It is fun seeing Sheldon Leonard in an early role in light-skin face as the plantation overseer who is in love with Klili.
The horror elements are a little surprising too. The scene where Klili raises the zombies is really cool, and just might be the first instance of zombies coming out of their grave in film history. The scenes of them slowly stumbling in the dark are pretty effective as well.
The behind the scenes drama surrounding the film might make for its own terrific horror movie. Apparently, the filmmakers originally went to Haiti to film the movie in order to capture an authentic feel. The local witch doctor became enraged when they tried to film a voodoo ceremony and put a curse on them. They then went to Jamaica to finish the picture, and two crew members mysteriously wound up dead! COINCIDENCE???
AKA: Love Wanga. AKA: Drums of the Jungle.
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