The Lords of Salem aka Don't Let Zombies Direct (1 Viewer)

[Michael Elliott]

I watched Rob Zombie's latest earlier in the week. I'm not a major fan of the director. I think he's has a terrific vision for the screen but he's just not talented enough to actually make it worth. This film here deals with a DJ (Sheri Moon Zombie; not a porn actress) who gets a record from a group called The Lords and soon she is encounters all sorts of witches, demons and other "creatures" but is it real or all in her head?

This film looks just like those Satanic movies from the 1970s so I give Zombie credit for the actual look of the thing. Sadly pretty much everything else is pure crap and Zombie is to blame here. This film is so poorly put together than it makes his earlier films look like the work of Kubrick. Speaking of the master, it's clear that THE SHINING was a major influence on this picture as Zombie tries to create the same atmosphere of that film. It's obvious he's wanting each sequence of the film to build up tension and fear leading to a "shocking" ending. Sadly the direction is simply so poor that none of this happens and you're just left with something really embarrassing.

The most shocking thing is that Mrs. Zombie actually delivers a pretty good performance and it's a shame this story wasn't handed off to someone who could do it justice.

I'm sorry but I think it's time for Mr. Zombie to step away from the genre. I know certain films of his have a following but I think I've given up all hope.

I'm curious if anyone else caught this one.

* 1/2

 

[TravisR]

I was with the first 2/3 of the movie (the slow build seemed like it would be going somewhere potentially cool) but the last 1/3 of the movie is pure garbage. It pretends that it's deep or that it's some kind of surrealistic nightmare and it's just pretentious and obvious. And I'm not a particularly religious person but putting Christian religious figures in a sexual situation isn't shocking or scary or messed up, it's a lazy attempt at those things (and anyone over the age of 15 should realize that).

I loved The Devil's Rejects so I'm still not giving up on Rob Zombie yet but I hope that he learns how to make a decent third act. Nearly all of his work- House Of 1,000 Corpses, Halloween and now The Lords Of Salem- has been decent enough until the end sequences when the movie goes off the rails.

 

[Scott-S]

Michael; I just listen to the "Nerdist" podcast this week in which they interview Rob Zombie. He said that this movie is his last "horror" movie. He admited he is sort of getting bored with it and is going to tackle new stuff. He is doing a movie about the Phil Flyers i the 70's next I believe.

I have not yet seen this particular film, But I have liked his other movies for what they were. I think he is the sort of person who should be directing the Horror movies. I am not sure how he will do directing other types.

 

[TravisR]

Michael; I just listen to the "Nerdist" podcast this week in which they interview Rob Zombie. He said that this movie is his last "horror" movie. He admited he is sort of getting bored with it and is going to tackle new stuff. He is doing a movie about the Phil Flyers i the 70's next I believe.

I have not yet seen this particular film, But I have liked his other movies for what they were. I think he is the sort of person who should be directing the Horror movies. I am not sure how he will do directing other types.

I'm happy to see him do something different. Not because I like or dislike his horror stuff but because I enjoy seeing people who are pigeonholed as one thing do something else.

While I didn't like Lords, I got the feeling while watching it that Zombie had made the movie that he wanted to make and he didn't care what anyone else thought about it.

 

[Michael Elliott]

I heard the news that he was done with the genre but if you can't pull off horror then I really don't have much faith in him going somewhere else. Perhaps he might just be trying to do too much with the genre. Perhaps he's too much of a fan and letting other influence cause him from doing better work. I don't know.

As much as I bad mouth this guy I will admit that there's just something about his films that makes me want to see them again. Not SALEM but I hated his two HALLOWEEN movies but I'm looking around to find time to get them on. Didn't care for HOUSE but want to watch it again. I'm not a big fan of REJECTS but I'd say this was the best film he's made.

Back to SALEM, Travis did you see THE SHINING influence on here? In the Kubrick film he'd always get the music score going "crazy" to build up the drama or the psychological state of someone before fading to black (or white). It seemed Zombie was doing this same sort of thing but after a while it just really got on my nerves because it simply wasn't effective.

The ***mild spoiler*** masturbating scenes weren't shocking at all but I'm guessing this was some sort of nod to THE DEVILS.

I must admit that I can't wait for the DVD because I want to see Camille Keaton (I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE) and her scenes that were cut out of the picture.

 

[TravisR]

As much as I bad mouth this guy I will admit that there's just something about his films that makes me want to see them again. Not SALEM but I hated his two HALLOWEEN movies but I'm looking around to find time to get them on. Didn't care for HOUSE but want to watch it again. I'm not a big fan of REJECTS but I'd say this was the best film he's made.

Back to SALEM, Travis did you see THE SHINING influence on here?

Sure, I assume there were shots that were a direct homage of The Shining.

Udo Kier and Clint Howard were thanked in the credits so I assume they got cut out and will make the video release too. Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment but I'd like to hear what Zombie has to say about the movie because I think it's a somewhat interesting failure at best. Plus, when I read an interview or hear a commentary with Zombie, I like the guy. He's funny, he's knowledgable, we have similar tastes but I've just never really gotten into his movies (except The Devil's Rejects).

As for his other movies, I liked Halloween more on subsequent viewings but it's nothing great. The director's cut helped the movie to breath a little bit more and is superior to the theatrical cut. Halloween II is pretty lousy. There has to be a problem when you have a horror movie where the scenes with the girls working or going out partying are better than the suspense and horror scenes.

 

[WillG]

From the Zombie films I've seen (House, Rejects, Halloween I and II), rejects is the closest he's come to a good movie (but yes, kind of hops the rails in the third act). I do find him to have some genuine visual flair in his work. Seems all of his movies has at least a few noteworthy shots (although I cant be sure how much is him rather than his DP). In any case he does seem to have some talent in regards to the visual aspects of his films. Maybe he'd be better in more of a visual role instead of helming the whole production.

 

[schan1269]

I bet his main problem is the theatrical cuts...from his "visions".

But that goes with all movies. I know this will come from left field(from a "type of movie" standpoint), but the worst ever "theatrical cut" has to be All The Pretty Horses.

That movie, as shown, makes absolutely no sense...at all.

 

[Bryan^H]

I too really liked 'The Devils Rejects'. Just out of curiosity, how is the soundtrack for this film? Zombie seems to have really good taste in music even if the movie sucks.

 

[TravisR]

Just out of curiosity, how is the soundtrack for this film? Zombie seems to have really good taste in music even if the movie sucks.

There's a couple of great songs from The Velvet Underground (Venus In Furs and All Tomorrow's Parties) but I don't remember too much other music in the movie. I think the score was done by one of Zombie's band members and it's pretty subtle but the right kind of spooky 'noise' rather than a traditional score.

EDIT: The Spirit Of Radio from Rush and a Rick James song are in there too.

 

[Bryan^H]

Cool. I might see this. Not a fan of most of his movies, and that is a shame because they all show promise in at least a scene or two.

 

[AlexF]

For me, the best thing about his version of Halloween was the ~3hr behind-the-scenes documentary included on one of the DVD sets.

If there's something like that for this movie, I'll pick it up for certain.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I bet his main problem is the theatrical cuts...from his "visions".

But that goes with all movies. I know this will come from left field(from a "type of movie" standpoint), but the worst ever "theatrical cut" has to be All The Pretty Horses.

That movie, as shown, makes absolutely no sense...at all.

I don't think I've seen that, but I can't imagine that it's worse than the theatrical cut of Once Upon a Time in America. They took a 4-hour film that jumped back and forth between three different time periods, cut out over 90 minutes, and rearranged what was left in simple chronological order. It was incoherent.