"The Lords of Salem (2013/Blu-ray+DVD Combo/Anchor Bay Films)" Review

I have been a fan of Rob Zombie's music back from when I first discovered White Zombie back in I think 1995 and when he did his first film "House of 1,000 Corpses" I was excited to see what he would come up with. What I got was something very stylish and quite fun to watch, since then he has done 3 other films and now I have in front of me his 5th film which is the oddest of them all. This time around which is his last horror film for awhile is not about unholy serial killers or slasher icons instead it takes on the classic "satanic panic" genre of film that was made alot in the 70's and 80's. Let this unholy autopsy begin!

The Lords of Salem follows a Salem, Massachusetts DJ who receives a mysterious album from a local band called The Lords, whenever the album plays it seems to affect her. After her first encounter she starts having bizarre dreams of witches being burned to death. As each day passes things become more and more odd and her sanity seems to be slipping away from her. Will she be able to walk away with her soul or will the curse of Salem finally come to fruition and the dark lord will finally have his revenge?!

The plot of this film was quite intriguing for me and I really couldn't wait to check it out. I heard many things about it being different than anything he has done before. Now I can pretty much agree with that, but in ways what he did in parts of Halloween 2 in ways shows what was to come from him. I was expecting something a little different from what I got which was fine with me. Only thing I can think of that I would of changed with the plot is I would of shown more of the awesome scenes of the Salem witch trials. Now I know that this film is supposed to be more about the character Heidi, bit it would of been that much more cooler to of seen. The pacing of this film does go along well and does take it's time working up the the madness that comes later in the film. 

 The charaters were actually not bad even though I really wish that the character of Heidi would of been played by someone else besides Sheri Moon Zombie. She is not bad as an off-beat backwoods hillbilly psychopath, but when it comes to this role I think there could of been a better actress in the role. Now I am not trying to down player her acting, but I just would of liked to of seen someone else. The other supporting cast was quite great which included film icons Ken Foree, Meg Foster, Bruce Davison, Patricia Quinn, and Dee Wallace to name just a few. I know some of them Rob Zombie has used before, but trust me they do fit into their roles perfectly. 

 When it comes to the gore and visuals they are both top notch. The gore is quite minimal which is fine for a film like this that relies more on atmosphere and visuals. Now the visuals are quite bizarre and appeal to me very much because I simply can't get enough of seeing unholy imagery. I particularly love the scene that the cover image and poster art come from. I really wish they would of used her in that makeup more than that one scene. Overall this is a film that you are honestly going to like or just fucking hate, I personally really liked it and wish Rob Zombie would keep on with films of this nature or even like it. My only warning is that you must go into this film with an open mind. 

The presentation of this film is quite great and has a look that really works for it. The colors are really bold and the blacks are deep. The audio is great as well. When it comes to special features there is only an audio commentary with Rob Zombie which is very awesome and informative like always! I have always loved hearing his commentaries because he tells all about the making of the film.

-Daniel "Damnation" Lee

Director: Rob Zombie
Lead Actor/Actress: Sheri Moon Zombie
Genre: Horror
Blu-ray Release Year: 2013
Theatrical Release Year: 2013
Time Length: 101 mins.
Rating: R
Region Code: A
Release Company: Anchor Bay Films
Website:  www.anchorbayent.com

ADDITIONAL SCREENSHOTS: