Zombi Child is a supernatural drama film directed by French filmmaker Bertrand Bonello. The movie tells the story of a young Haitian girl named Mélissa, who is a student at an elite boarding school in Paris. Mélissa is the granddaughter of Clairvius Narcisse, a Haitian man who was declared dead and then mysteriously came back to life in 1962, allegedly due to the use of voodoo.
The movie skillfully interweaves two parallel storylines - one set in modern-day Paris and the other in Haiti in the 1960s. In Haiti, we see Narcisse being resurrected from the dead and then sent to work on a sugarcane plantation under brutal conditions. The scenes in Haiti are replete with voodoo rituals, Haitian mysticism, and the horrors of plantation life.
In Paris, we see Mélissa and her classmates grappling with their own problems - teenage angst, academic pressures, and fraught relationships with their families. However, Mélissa's Haitian heritage and her family's dark past give her a unique perspective. She shares with her classmates the story of her grandfather's strange resurrection and the secrets her family has been carrying for decades.
The movie builds tension slowly and deliberately until it reaches a startling conclusion. Mélissa's story inspires a classmate, Fanny, to attempt to resurrect her own dead lover. The results are disastrous, leading to a chilling climax that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats.
Zombi Child is a thought-provoking and powerful movie that explores issues of culture, identity, and the legacy of colonialism. It is a haunting and beautiful film that lingers long after the credits have rolled.
