Juanita (Dorothy Burgess) was born on the island of San Christopher. When she was a child, her parents were killed in a voodoo ritual. She was then raised by her uncle, Dr. Raymond Perez (Arnold Korff) who owned a plantation on the island. Years later she married Stephen Lane (Jack Holt) and had a daughter, Nancy (Cora Sue Collins). Juanita finds herself homesick for the island and wants to return. Her uncle, knowing that the natives want her to return, tells her to stay in New York. Raymond sends John Macklin (Lumsden Hare), a family friend and the plantation overseer, to stop her from returning. The natives send someone to kill Macklin before he can tell Stephen about the voodoo rituals that Juanita was indoctrinated into celebrating.
Not knowing about Juanita’s past, Stephen allows his wife and daughter to return to the island for a vacation. Along with them he sends Nancy’s nurse Anna (Eleanor Wesselhoeft) and his secretary, Gail Hamilton (Fay Wray). Once Juanita is back on the island the natives begin planning a voodoo ritual. Her uncle tries to get her to leave but Juanita refuses. She soon begins participating in the native services and is looked on as a voodoo priestess.
When Stephen shows up on the island, he learns about what has been going on. The natives are planning a three-day ritual during the full moon. The ritual requires human sacrifices. Stephen observes one of the rituals and tries to stop the sacrifice of a young woman by shooting the high priest and wounding him. Juanita takes his place and kills the woman. The natives attack the plantation intending on murdering all the white people. Everyone escapes except for Nancy. The natives demand that the child be the next one sacrificed and that Juanita do the killing.
“Black Moon” was released in 1934 and was directed by Roy William Neil. It is an American pre-code horror drama. The film was based on the book “Black Moon” by Clements Ripley. Pre-code aspects include human sacrifice, especially that of a child, as well as a reference about living in sin. Also high on the list is the fact that the film is highly racist. It is one of the last horror movies to be produced before the Hays Code was strictly enforced.
Although the film is not as well-known as its contemporary, “White Zombie” 1932, it does have a similar atmosphere and tone. There aren’t any zombies in the film, but the voodoo aspect and the continuous sound of native drums give the film a hypnotic quality. I found it to be a well-done horror movie in line with other horror films of the 30’s.
The natives speak French Creole. French Creole is a hybrid language that is a combination of English and French. There are many different forms of Creole depending on where the language is spoken and what languages are mixed together to create it. Sometimes there are African influences on the language. Other Creole dialects will include Hawaiian, Chinese, Portuguese or Japanese depending on the contact between different peoples. Different areas speak different versions of Creole.