Based on my viewing experience, I’d say that 98.63% of horror movies about voodoo are about the malevolent impact that voodoo has on white people, while the black practitioners of voodoo remain ancillary (and usually evil, or at least dangerous) characters. Case in point: London Voodoo, in which voodoo is actually used as a force for good — granted, the “good” is in the form of black people risking their lives to save the white lead.
It’s basically a possession film, with voodoo being used to evict the unwanted supernatural entity from its host instead of Christianity. The entity in question is the spirit of a 19th century African female warrior who was killed for falling in love with a white French soldier and somehow condemned to always seek love unsuccessfully — you know, like Larry King. When a white American family that recently moved to England uncovers the lovelorn warrior’s hidden grave in their basement, the mother becomes possessed by the spirit, which drives her crazy…crazy horny, that is!
Out of nowhere, a bunch of black voodoo folks show up, offering to help (one man dying in the process because he thinks it’s a good idea to ring the doorbell and attack the possessed white woman when she answers) just because, as one woman puts it, “I believe in love.” WTF??? The “mystical darkies” barely get any back story — or even character names (I had to listen to the DVD commentary just to figure out who the actors are.). London Voodoo isn’t as over the top in its representation of voodoo as Serpent and the Rainbow or Angel Heart…meaning that it’s hella dull.
