The Lords of Salem, 2012.
Written and Directed by Rob Zombie.
Starring Sheri Moon Zombie, Bruce Davison, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Judy Geeson, Meg Foster, Patricia Quinn, Ken Foree, Dee Wallace, Michael Berryman, and Sid Haig.
SYNOPSIS:
Heidi, a radio DJ, is sent a box containing a record — a “gift from the Lords.” The sounds within the grooves trigger flashbacks of her town’s violent past. Is Heidi going mad, or are the Lords back to take revenge on Salem, Massachusetts?
Rocker turned director Rob Zombie is fast becoming something of a veteran in the horror world. A few odd cult films and a somewhat unwelcome remake (and subsequent sequel) to his name brings us nicely to this point in Zombie’s career. Lords of Salem once again sees Zombie cast his wife, Sherrie Moon Zombie. Though his films have largely divided audiences into very much a love or hate camp, one thing to his credit is an ability to change styles. He’s done wacky and exploitative and he’s done horrors, including this, with a more measured pace.
Lords of Salem sees Sherrie Moon Zombie starring as Heidi, an underground DJ with an interest in the weird. She’s delivered a vinyl record by a band called the Lords of Salem. When played it causes some of the local women to become entranced. All this relates to a coven of witches from the 17th century, from Salem. Now it seems descendant’s from these are back to get revenge on Salem. The plot really takes it’s time getting going. The film’s a real slow burner. This is unfortunately largely to the detriment of the film. It just moves too slowly and lacks the performing power and wonderful atmospherics of something like The Shining for example.
In terms of atmosphere this is okay. It’s nicely shot, though the lighting is just a bit too muted. Everything seems a bit drawn, almost monochrome at times. The cinematography is very considered but it only adds to give the film more of sleepy atmosphere than a scary one. The music is sometimes effectively creepy, other times only effective in being painful to the ears. There’s some nice gruesome gore effects as expected from a film directed by a guy called Zombie, but there’s probably not going to be enough for some of his more blood thirsty fans.
The cast are okay. Sherrie Moon Zombie is probably not a strong enough lead to have pulled off quite what the film is going for. To her credit, she’s different, somewhat unique, but not the strongest actress in all honesty. The support cast are pretty decent. There’s plenty of recognizable faces. Ken Foree pops up as one of Heidi’s fellow DJ’s. Bruce Davison and Maria Conchita Alonso also appear while Judy Geeson and Dee Wallace take show stealing honours together. Wallace in particular is brilliant in this and a world away from a lot of her more homely roles in films like E.T.
In all this may be a marked change of pace for its director, but it’s probably going to be seen by the majority as a failure. An interesting failure none-the-less but it just doesn’t hit the mark enough. The film doesn’t move quickly enough and it needs a lot of trimming. Tonally it loses a grip of things near the end and resorts to cheap, largely illogical theatrics. That said, there’s a very clear intent here to do something a bit different and a bit more considered. The delivery is just wide though.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Tom Jolliffe
Originally published April 25, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
