Kino Lorber has announced their physical releases for Maya Annik Bedward’s documentary ‘Black Zombie’. The film will be available to own on Blu-ray and DVD beginning November 10, 2026.

WINNER

Northern Excellence Award – Fantasia International Film Festival 2026

OFFICIAL SELECTION

SXSW Film Festival 2026

Hot Docs 2026

Fantasia International Film Festival 2026

Black Star Film Festival 2026

Available on Blu-ray and DVD November 10, 2026

Featuring Audio Commentary by Writer/Director Maya Annik Bedward

 

“Fascinatingly unpacks the origins of one of the most popular horror genres of all time.”

– Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

“An act of reclamation. It’s the rare documentary you want everyone you know to watch.”

– Jessi Cape, The Austin Chronicle 

“Brilliant and vital.”

– Jason Adams, Pajiba 

“A smart, nuanced love letter to Haiti, and a delight for cinephiles…Bedward artfully threads the needle between Caribbean spiritual practices and what we’ve seen on screen.”

– Caroline Colvin, Dread Central

“A thought-provoking perspective — one that might add some depth to your next

experience of undead cinema.”

– Dennis Harvey, Variety

 

Synopsis

Black Zombie digs beneath the blood-soaked spectacle of modern horror to uncover the zombie’s buried and unsettling origins. Long before it became associated with flesh-eating ghouls, the zombie was a living metaphor for slavery: not a monster, but the ultimate victim of colonial power. A symbol of stolen agency was recast as an object of fear, while Black spiritual traditions were distorted, sensationalized, and erased. Director Maya Annik Bedward traces the evolution of the zombie from colonial Haiti to contemporary Hollywood, reconsidering iconic films like White Zombie, Night of the Living Dead, and The Serpent and the Rainbow alongside archival footage, vérité scenes, and interviews with cultural historians, artists, and genre legends including Yves-Grégory Francois, Mambo Labelle Déesse, Slash, Tom Savini, and Tananarive Due. Part cultural reckoning, part horror remix, Black Zombie exposes how a figure born from enslavement, spiritual belief, and resistance was transformed into one of pop culture’s most profitable monsters.

 

Blu-ray and DVD Street Date: November 10, 2026

Blu-ray SRP: $29.95

DVD SRP: $22.95

Director: Maya Annik Bedward

Writer: Maya Annik Bedward

Producers: Maya Annik Bedward, Hannah Donegan, Kate Fraser

Executive Producers: Jennifer Holness, Michael Paszt, Andrew Thomas Hunt, James Fler, and Slash

Featuring: Yves-Grégory Francois, Tananarive Due, Mambo Labelle Déesse, Slash, Tom Savini, and Zandashé Brown

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary by Writer/Director Maya Annik Bedward
• Theatrical Trailer

 

 

ABOUT KINO LORBER MEDIA GROUP:

The Kino Lorber Media Group, encompassing Kino Lorber Films, Kino Film Collection and MHz Choice, acquires and presents more international content than any other independent media company in the U.S. A leader in independent art house distribution in North America, Kino Lorber Films garnered the 2026 Oscar® for Best Documentary Feature for Mr. Nobody Against Putin, with 16 Academy Award® nominations for its films since the year 2000. Led by Chairman and CEO Richard Lorber, the company also includes the leading international TV series subscription streamer MHz Choice (the exclusive U.S. home of Babylon Berlin) and the Kino Film Collection, now the fastest-growing subscription service for film lovers, showcasing new releases direct from theaters plus curated, award-winning international, indie, and documentary films and newly restored classics from the Kino Lorber Films library. Additionally, the company brings hundreds of titles annually to the home entertainment and educational markets through digital and physical media releases.