The Lords of Salem is a horror film that was written and directed by Rob Zombie and stars Sheri Moon-Zombie as a radio show host who has a vinyl record sent to her with a song by "The Lords", as she listens to the song, she starts having horrific cult visions and nightmares. Released in 2013, the film was divisive, receiving mixed reviews from critics and mostly negative reviews from audiences, the film only got a limited release in theaters.
THE GOOD
This movie was....weird! I loved it for that! This was a very different film, even for Rob Zombie! The movie didn't rely on gore and extreme violence either, it relied on atmosphere and disturbing imagery. The story was thoroughly engaging and never boring. I loved the visuals in this film, they were delightfully freaky, grotesque and it was all practical, no CGI to be found here. The acting was really good, Sheri Moon-Zombie was fantastic! Whenever she was fearful or bad things were happening to her, it was actually pretty convincing! The actresses playing the 3 creepy old ladies were fantastic too! The musical score is also a stand out, it's not overbearing, it sets the right tone for the film. The ending of the film was very unexpected and mesmerizing, and that especially is where all the weirdness and crazy visuals shine! The uniqueness and how different this movie is something I can't praise enough! The soundtrack is fucking badass too! You get Rick James, Manfred Mann, Rush, Velvet Underground, it's fucking awesome!
THE BAD
Considering this is pretty much the black sheep of Rob Zombie's career, if you don't like this movie, I get it! It doesn't offer all the stuff you expect from a Rob Zombie movie. I don't personally see it as a bad thing but I understand if you do. My only issues are that this movie does have some weak dialogue from time to time. It's a similar problem I had with his version of Halloween, I do prefer that film to this but that is an issue that this film shares with that. Another issue is that this film could have used more scares. As a horror film this movie did surprisingly lack scares.
CONCLUSION
The Lords of Salem is a different, unique horror film that should be given a second chance. Sure it suffers from some weak dialogue and lack of scares, but makes up for it with insanely creative and unsettling visuals, good atmosphere, fantastic performances, great story and of course a kickass soundtrack. It's definitely not for everyone but if you are a horror junkie like me, it's definitely worth checking out!
8.3/10
Check out my review for Ghostbusters
FILM INFO
MPA rating: R (for disturbing violent and sexual content, graphic nudity, language and some drug use)
Run time: 101 min
Release date: April 19th, 2013
Studio: Anchor Bay, Alliance Films
SOURCES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lords_of_Salem_(film)
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