The Lords of Salem
| release date | April 19 2013 |
| studio | Anchor Bay Films |
| director | Rob Zombie |
| writer | Rob Zombie |
| starring | Sheri Moon Zombie, Bruce Davison, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Ken Foree, Patricia Quinn, Dee Wallace, Maria Conchita Alonso, Judy Geeson, Meg Foster, Griffin Boice |
| rating | R |
| tagline | We've been waiting... We've always been waiting. |
| site | robzombie.com/tag/the-lords-of-salem |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
| trailer 2 | Trailer #2 |
1 Comments
First off I want to start out by saying thank you to Anchor Bay films for finally releasing one of there films in at least 300 theaters which is a pretty wide release. I have never been able to see any Anchor Bay films in theaters because they would only release them in fucking 10 theaters nationwide. Ok now on to the movie, The Lords of Salem is definitely the definition of an Art House horror film. There is nothing mainstream about this film whatsoever. This movie is 100% Rob Zombie. You can tell he made the film his way despite some budget and time constraints he revealed during his interview with Bloody Disgusting. Anyway the movie is very different. You guys know the plot so I am just gonna say I really liked the first two acts of this film. They are filled with freaky and gruesome imagery and numerous nightmarish scenes. I did not like the third act of the film because I felt that it was too over the top and didnt fit well with the rest of the movie. So, while I would not say that I enjoyed this movie, I appreciated it because its completely different from any other genre film you will see this year. This movie proves that you can be a genre filmmaker and create something different and unique. If you like Rob Zombie, you will most definitely appreciate this film.
I was lucky enough to have one of the theaters in my area showing this movie. I’d been following it’s progress online and after being pushed back for so long, I was stoked to finally see it. I guess the movie could be described as an expressionist effort. I thought it ended up being like a mix of Rosemary’s Baby with Cronenberg’s version of The Fly. Lots of crazy/beautiful imagery, lots of “what the fuck” moments, and a solid plot that sometimes gets put on the back-burner for bizarre scenes. I enjoyed this movie and though I don’t think this is Zombie’s best work, (which I consider The Devil’s Rejects hands down,) but it was refreshing to see Zombie trying something new and was a fun movie to watch. I’ll definitely be seeing this again sometime soon to see if it becomes more clear.
Honest score: 4.5 but 4 is too low.
This is a Rob Zombie film. It’s a Rob Zombie film in its strong visuals, uniqueness, ambition and pure heart. For me Zombie is a man who has serious skills as a director but has also had his share of missteps. ‘The Lords of Salem’ is what happens when Zombie has full control and vision. This is ‘Halloween II’ for the people that didn’t get ‘Halloween II’ or its objective.
Now to debunk the misconception that Sheri Moon-Zombie cannot act, here’s your proof folks. Obviously it is no Oscar-worthy performance but she catches a lot of shit in the horror community that is not at all deserved. I felt for her character here. My first thought when I saw the images of her with the dreads was that she didn’t look like a real person, as soon as I became familiar with her character that was no longer an issue. She was a genuine person. Heidi and the other characters don’t speak in the usual Zombie “skull-fuck the shit out of you” dialogue, in fact the language in this is fairly mild, considering.
As for the film as a whole, Zombie payed homage to the greats while keeping painting it with his own creative style and it works like gangbusters. The atmosphere is certain to get under your skin if only you allow it, this is not a fast-paced film. Again, I felt a genuine connection with the protagonist. There is a scene of Heidi on the phone with another character and the feeling of dread and absolute sorrow/sadness gave me chills.
Regardless of how you feel about Zombie’s previous work this is a film worth seeing, it’s stunning. The last twenty-or-so minutes felt like a subliminal message so beautiful I couldn’t take my eyes away, and it was powerful.
Job well done, Mr. Zombie.