‘Black Zombie’ to World Premiere at SXSW 2026, Reclaiming the True Origins of the Undead

A cultural reckoning traces the zombie’s roots back to Haitian Vodou in Black Zombie.

Before the zombie became a blockbuster commodity, a grindhouse staple, or a Halloween costume, it was something far more unsettling—and far more real.

Black Zombie, a new documentary written and directed by Maya Annik Bedward, is set to make its World Premiere at SXSW 2026 as part of the festival’s Documentary Spotlight section on March 13, 2026. And for horror fans, historians, and genre obsessives alike, this one feels essential.

Rather than celebrating the zombie as we know it today, Black Zombie digs into what modern horror has largely buried: the creature’s origins in Haitian Vodou, enslavement, spiritual belief, and resistance. Long before Romero, before flesh-eaters, before global franchises, the zombie was born out of trauma—and survival.

The film traces the undead’s evolution from its Haitian roots through key cultural milestones, including White Zombie, Night of the Living Dead, and The Serpent and the Rainbow, mapping how a figure rooted in Black history was transformed, distorted, and monetized by Western pop culture. What emerges is part cultural reckoning, part horror remix, and part reclamation.

Black Zombie doesn’t just critique—it reclaims. The documentary reframes the zombie as a symbol shaped by colonial violence and spiritual defiance, while honoring Haiti as the only nation forged through a successful slave uprising. In doing so, it challenges how horror history has been told—and who has been allowed to tell it.

The film features an eclectic and powerful lineup of voices, including Vodou practitioners and cultural historians alongside genre icons. Among them are Yves-Grégory Francois, Erol Josué, Tom Savini, Tananarive Due, and even Slash, bringing together scholarship, lived experience, and genre legacy in one conversation.

Produced by Bedward alongside Hannah Donegan and Kate Fraser, with executive producers Jennifer Holness, Michael Paszt, Andrew Thomas Hunt, and James Fler, Black Zombie positions itself as both corrective and celebratory.

This isn’t a nostalgia piece. It’s not a surface-level horror history lesson. It’s a confrontation with how genre mythology is formed—and how easily its roots can be erased when profit takes precedence over truth.

For a festival that prides itself on boundary-pushing work, Black Zombie feels like a perfect fit. And for horror fans willing to interrogate the genre they love, it may be one of SXSW 2026’s most vital screenings.

Black Zombie

SXSW 2026 – Documentary Spotlight

World Premiere: March 13, 2026