Movies
[Review] ‘The Lords of Salem’ A Slow Burn Letdown With Striking Imagery
The most impressive thing about Rob Zombie is that he’s always been able to operate outside of the studio mentality on a low budget. No matter what the film, he makes what he wants to make (sans the Halloween remake). After using Halloween 2 as a way out of his Dimension deal, he’s stripped it down to the bare minimum with his 1970’s inspired The Lords of Salem (his incredibly low budget indie horror that premiered to a sold out crowd at TIFF’s Midnight Madness). Budget appeared to be little bother but, once again, Zombie pens his own screenplay. And that’s littered with problems. The Lords of Salem is definitely cool to watch, and actually pretty entertaining (at times), but let’s be honest here (Rob Zombie fans sat there with a look of shock and disappointment on their faces, displaying the most fake smile you’ve ever seen), it’s not good.
I know Zombie loves his wife and enjoys putting her on screen, but Sheri Moon Zombie cannot carry a film. Again, this shows that Zombie just does whatever he wants, which is totally cool and all, but it does hurt his product. The Lords of Salem could have just been called the Sheri Moon Zombie show. Nearly every shot is of her walking, her in bed, her playing with her dog, and her kind of-sort of naked. The problem is that it doesn’t really propel the story anywhere and makes the film progress at a snail’s pace. But the biggest issue is that, with all of the striking imagery, Rob doesn’t have Sheri react to any of it; nearly everything that happens is either a vision or off in the corner. Yes, a lot of it is extremely cool, but then some of it is shockingly bizarre (like the tiny Devil-God who looked like a cross between Station from Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey and God in “South Park”).
Some of the best stuff is the flashbacks of the Salem 6 performing rituals and getting burned at the stake. The constant expectation was that these witches would be resurrected and create chaos among the women of Salem, and that would have been dope. Instead, the audience gets slapped in the back of the head (with what feels like a log) with an overly artistic, bizarre and unfulfilling performance by the “Lords of Salem.” This must have been due to one of the following: budgetary constraints, Zombie has surround himself with “yes” men, or he just didn’t give a fuck. I suspect it’s the latter, and for Lords, he didn’t even care about his viewers (I think by now he understands that his fans will like anything he does…they are the supreme “yes” men.)
It would be easy to give Lords a pass. It has genuinely creepy imagery, cool scares, super crazy sound design, and even more mind blowing set designs. But there will be no pass, mainly because of the awkwardly unfulfilling ending and the fact that much of the “cool” doesn’t interact with the characters or plot. Rob Zombie sympathizers are going to eat this up, and will spend their night analyzing the finale as if it were some revelation of brilliance. It’s not. It’s just bad. The Lords of Salem could only be recommended as background visuals while you’re jamming to old school White Zombie.
This week brings the next installment in the M3GAN Universe, plus a critically acclaimed queer horror movie, two new shark attack movies, and even a Lifetime Original clown thriller.
Here are the new horror movies that released July 27 – August 2, 2026!
Fresh out of theaters, queer supernatural horror film Leviticus is now available on Digital from NEON. Writer-director Adrian Chiarella makes his feature debut with Leviticus.
Joe Bird (Talk to Me) and Stacy Clausen star as star-crossed teenage boys who must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most — each other.
Mia Wasikowska (Crimson Peak) co-stars alongside Jeremy Blewitt, Ewen Leslie (The Nightingale), and Davida McKenzie (Silent Night).
“Leviticus is a strong debut with an incisive voice at the helm,” Meagan Navarro wrote in her review out of Sundance. “We care deeply about Naim and Ryan’s survival, making Leviticus a tense, atmospheric, and claustrophobic vision of young love in a hateful world.”
Just in time for the annual Shark Week festivities, brand new shark attack horror movie The Devil’s Mouth debuted globally on Amazon Prime Video this past Wednesday.
Kathryn Newton (Abigail, Lisa Frankenstein, Ready or Not 2), Lana Condor (Pretty Lethal), Nico Hiraga, Gavin Casalegno, Tommi Rose, and Tayme Thapthimthong star.
In the film, “Five friends set out on one last adventure along Thailand’s stunning coast, eager for a final thrill before life in the real world begins. They sign up for a guided swim through a remote cave system known as The Devil’s Mouth, a natural wonder that’s as breathtaking as it is unforgiving. Deep inside the labyrinth of narrow waterways, their journey takes a terrifying turn when they discover that a freak storm the week before flooded the caves with sea life.
“The creatures died in the fresh water, but something survived… and it’s hunting them now— fast, silent, and deadly. Every corridor they round is overflowing with anxiety, and every wrong turn becomes a deadly encounter. As panic spreads and their sense of direction slips away, the group begins to fracture.
“Trust erodes, fear takes over, and survival becomes a savage game. In the suffocating darkness, every choice could be their last as they learn that to make it out alive, sacrifices must be made.”
Jeff Wadlow (Truth or Dare, Imaginary) directs the shark attack movie from a script he revised from Aja Gabel (“Sunny”) and Myung Joh Wesner (“Star Wars: Skeleton Crew”).
And speaking of new shark attack movies, Aura Entertainment brought director Jesse V. Johnson’s Above & Below to select theaters beginning Wednesday. Check local listings.
30 feet below. 10 minutes of oxygen. 1 apex predator.
In shark attack horror movie Above & Below, “Friends embark on a dream vacation of parties and diving, but their trip takes a terrifying turn when criminals attack them at sea.”
This one looks like every other shark movie that’s been released in the last several years, but it’s armed with something that puts it a fin above the competition. Oscar nominated actor Antonio Banderas stars in Above & Below, with the cast also including Christina Ochoa, Laura Marano, Timothy V. Murphy, Louis Mandylor, Jess Liaudin, Ryan Bertroche, Ramiro Alonso, Diego Llinás, Rodrigo Poisón, Mario Tardón, and Donncha Tynan.
Anthony Steven Giordano wrote the screenplay.
Pregnancy nightmare Son of Sara aims to be the next generation’s take on the horror classic Rosemary’s Baby, and it’s now available on Digital at home from Saban Films.
In Son of Sara, “A pregnant woman’s cravings turn sinister as her estranged boyfriend’s return coincides with a terrifying secret about the life growing inside her.”
The film stars Chloe Van Landschoot, Tymika Tafari, Garret Hnatiuk and Jane Moffat.
Canadian filmmaker Houston Bone directed Son of Sara.
There’s something seriously wrong with the newborn in dark fable Nightborn, the new horror movie from Hatching filmmaker Hanna Bergholm. It’s now streaming on Shudder.
In Nightborn, “With dreams of starting a perfect family, Saga and her British husband Jon move to the isolated house where she spent much of her childhood, deep in the Finnish forest. But as soon as their baby is born, despite the reassurance of all around her, Saga knows there’s something terribly wrong with her son. As their marriage starts to crack, Jon struggles to support his wife, but only Saga suspects the terrible truth about her newborn.”
Seidi Haarla (Compartment No. 6) and Rupert Grint (Knock at the Cabin, “Servant”) star in the Shudder horror film that’s been described as “a visceral, gripping and terrifying dark fable about motherhood and unconditional maternal love.” The movie’s cast also includes Pamela Tola, Pirkko Saisio, Rebecca Lacey and John Thomson.
Nightborn is inspired by Nordic folklore.
“Hanna Bergholm’s audacious sophomore follow up to Hatching delivers tension and shocking moments surrounding parenthood and self discovery — with a touch of humor,” said Shudder’s Emily Gotto. “We are thrilled to share Nightborn with audiences.”
Every so often, Lifetime premieres an original thriller that grabs hold of our attention and forces us to tune in. And they’ve got another one headed our way this weekend: Killer Clown.
Inspired by real stories, Killer Clown is a psychological thriller that explores trauma, memory, and gaslighting through the lens of a woman confronting the truth about her mother’s murder.
Premiering Saturday, August 1 at 8pm ET on Lifetime, Killer Clown stars Sara Paxton (The Innkeepers, The Last House on the Left, Weapons)! Watch the official trailer below.
Here’s the full plot synopsis: “Decades after witnessing her mother’s brutal murder at the hands of the Killer Clown, Elizabeth Helmer (Sara Paxton) remains haunted by the crime that shattered her childhood. When she begins investigating the long-unsolved cold case, Elizabeth becomes the target of a terrifying copycat stalker, forcing her to confront painful memories she has spent a lifetime trying to escape.
“As she searches for answers alongside her father Reed (David Cubitt) and husband Dan (Hamza Haq), Elizabeth uncovers a tangled web of family betrayal and long-buried secrets.
“As she closes in on the truth, Elizabeth must separate fact from manipulation and fight to survive before history repeats itself.”
Following Saturday night’s premiere, Killer Clown streams next day on the Lifetime app.
Killer Clown is directed by Annie Bradley and written by Katie Boland.
After multiple delays, Blumhouse Atomic Monster finally launches M3GAN Universe spinoff movie SOULM8TE directly onto Digital platforms this Saturday, August 1.
Lily Sullivan (Evil Dead Rise, Monolith) stars alongside Claudia Doumit (“The Boys”). The spinoff is described as a ’90s-style erotic thriller with a “new technological twist.”
David Rysdahl also stars in SOULM8TE.
The film follows a man (Rysdahl) who acquires an Artificially Intelligent android (Sullivan) to help him cope with the recent loss of his wife. In an attempt to create a truly sentient partner, the man inadvertently turns a harmless lovebot into a deadly soulmate.
Kate Dolan (You Are Not My Mother) directs. The filmmaker rewrote an original draft from Rafael Jordan (Salvage Marines), based on a story by James Wan, Ingrid Bisu and Jordan.
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