The Lords of Salem (2012)
As one of horror's new generation of directors, Rob Zombie's films, along with those directed by Adam Green and Eli Roth, will always divide opinion and come under heavy scrutiny among horror fans. Personally i love House of 1000 Corpses and its sequel The Devils' Rejects. Halloween i liked, especially its opening hour, however i found H2 to be a huige disappointment.
So where would Zombie go from here? The Lords of Salem is the answer. A film unlike anything that came before it from the former White Zombie frontman.
One of the main questions i had was whether its star, Zombie's wife, and a regular in all his movies, Sherri Moon Zombie could make the step up from support player to leading lady. Thankfully the answer is a resounding yes. Moon makes the transition with ease and gives a measured, mature performance at the centre of the film as Heidi, one of a trio of local, late night rock dj's. Heidi takes home an odd looking record, sent to the station which when played sends out the message that "The Lords are coming" and seems to trigger halucinations of Salem's violent past. From here Rob Zombie takes the film in a direction reminiscent of Rosemary's Baby and The Sentinel as it becomes increasingly likely that Heidi is an innocent soon to be at the heart of something evil.
The Lords of Salem is a film unlike anything the director had previously put his name to. Gone are the heavy handed gore and shock tactics. The film builds at a slow, intriguing pace, heavy on atmosphere, partially created by the cool yellow hue Zombie gives his night time scenes. As previously mentioned the gore is practically non-existant which to me makes the story more believable and allows it to breathe without the viewer waiting for the next bloody kill, therefore allowing the feeling of impending dread to build significantly. I suppose if i was to compare Lords to anything then Ti West's The House of the Devil would be an obvious choice. Naturally Rob can't resist the wierd and wonderful for the entire film. He adds flourishes of colour to The Lords of Salem in spades in the form of flashbacks to the 1692 witch trials and the alleged horrors that built up to them in the form of nightmarish scenarios that may or may not be Heid's dreams.
Rob Zombie gives a lot of screen time to veteran actresses Judy Geeson, Dee Wallace and Patricia Quinn who Hammer fans may remember as a witch in the Hammer House of Horrors episode Witching Time. The three all revel n their roles and its wonderful to see them seemingly having so much fun in meaty, integral roles in a genre film.
In The Lords of Salem Rob Zombie takes his film making in an adventurous, bold new direction and i hope it goes down as well with the horror community as it did with me.
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