The Lords of Salem

Rob Zombie is the Quentin Tarantino of horror films.  Whereas Tarantino's films are peppered with homages and references to grindhouse and exploitation films, Zombie's films are full of horror homages.  With "The Lords of Salem," Zombie manages to marry constant references to other horror with a style that feels altogether original.  The result is hypnotic.

 

This is not a film for everyone.  It's extremely stylized.  The lighting bounces from daylight to near darkness to chiaroscuro without ever feeling jarring or inconsistent.  Color schemes change at the drop of a hat.  As the madness of the story reaches its crescendo, bizarre, psychedelic animation is intercut with rapid-fire shots of nightmare imagery.  Considering the beauty and horror of many of the shots, it's incredible that no digital effects were utilized in this movie.

 

"The Lords of Salem" is about a radio DJ who receives a record containing music that triggers a curse cast by witches executed during the Salem witch trials.  She wonders if she's losing her mind, but witches are indeed trying to use her to give birth to the son of Satan.

 

This story moves slowly yet deliberately.  Much like the horror films that Zombie reveres, "The Lords of Salem" is a film of atmosphere.  Characters that you've come to know and like plus horrific imagery equals terror.  This is more like "Rosemary's Baby" than anything Zombie has made before.

 

The performances are good enough for this type of movie.  The real magic of the cast are the copious supporting roles and cameos played by cult horror icons.  Udo Kier has a "blink and you'll miss it" cameo.  Lisa Marie appears briefly as does Zombie (and exploitation) staple Sid Haig.  But Meg Foster, Patricia Quinn, and Dee Wallace are the best of the horror stunt casting.  Maybe this kind of hyper-specific nerdiness skewed my judgment, but I enjoyed picking out all the bits of cult and classic horror films almost as much as the actual movie.

 

Again, this is not for everyone.  There's a lot of unattractive nudity.  And I mean A LOT!  But it's a great time.  If I had to sum it up in one sentence:  It's "Rosemary's Baby" by way of "Haxan" with a hefty dose of "The Shining" if it had been directed by Stan Brakhage.  That'll make sense to a very specific group of people.  And if you don't know about any of the items mentioned, seek those out too.  You'll thank me.

 

7.5 out of 10