"Even by today's standards, West of Zanzibar is pretty seedy, sort of a Jacobean revenge tragedy by way of Heart of Darkness, the film is pure, unfiltered cruelty. While it looks like the stuff of melodrama, its underlying themes tap into the horror of the destruction of man's body and soul. In an echo of Victorian-era fear (which was making a comeback during this decade), it takes the exotic badlands of Africa to truly transform the victimized Phroso into a hateful, almost otherworldly specter who rules the local tribes with his stage magic. The film derives much of its power from its exoticism, as there's a certain unreal quality about the soundstage jungle that amps up its claustrophobic qualities." - Brett Gallman, Oh, the Horror!