Plot
Heidi, a radio DJ, is sent a box containing a record -- a "gift from the Lords." The sounds within the grooves trigger flashbacks of her town's violent past. Is Heidi going mad, or are the Lords back to take revenge on Salem, Massachusetts?
Release Year: 2012
Rating: 5.7/10 (1,173 voted)
Director:Rob Zombie
Storyline
Heidi, a blond rock chick, DJs at a local radio station, and together with the two Hermans (Whitey and Munster) forms part of the "Big H Radio Team." A mysterious wooden box containing a vinyl record arrives for Heidi, a gift of the Lords. She assumes it's a rock band on a mission to spread their word. As Heidi and Whitey play the Lords' record, it starts to play backwards, and Heidi experiences a flashback to a past trauma. Later, Whitey plays the Lords' record, dubbing them the Lords of Salem, and to his surprise, the record plays normally and is a massive hit with his listeners. The arrival of another wooden box from the Lords presents the Big H team with free tickets, posters and records to host a gig in Salem. Soon, Heidi and her cohorts are far from the rock spectacle they're expecting. The original Lords of Salem are returning and they're out for blood.
Taglines:
We've been waiting ... we've always been waiting.
Trivia: Rob Zombie described the film as "If Ken Russell directed "The Shining". See more »
Goofs:
Zombie released a still of Wayne Toth working on a charred corpse special effect. The corpse had clearly been burned at the stake, yet had long flowing hair. In reality, the hair would have been one of the first things to burn. See more »
Quotes:
User Review
A throwback to Classic 70s Horror
Rating: 7/10
Rob Zombie has really outdone himself with The Lords of Salem. The film
plays like a throwback to the psychedelic satanic Horror Movies of the
early 70s. The movie starts out with a slow build getting to know the
lead character, Heidi. Heidi, played by Sherri Moon Zombie, is a
recovering addict that works for the local radio station as a DJ for a
popular late night radio show. She lives in Salem, Massachusetts, which
is famous for its witch trials during the 1600s.
When Heidi arrives at the radio station for her show she receives a
demo record from a band called The Lords. Thinking the album must be
from a new and upcoming band, the DJs play it on the show. When the
sound goes out over the radio, many local women go into a trance, very
much like when the tape is played in Evil Dead! Heidi has severe
headaches when the album is played and from that point on starts having
hallucinations. There are many flashbacks to the 1600s, when a coven of
witches were having their Sabbath or Black Mass, dancing around a fire
nude, praying to Satan, and playing music. The local Salem Authorities
catch all the witches and put them on trial. Found guilty of
witchcraft, they are burned alive at the stake. While dying, the leader
of the coven curses her accuser, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and all of his
ancestors.
Heidi lives in a historic building with an older lady that lives in the
apartment below her. She invites Heidi for tea with her friends, but
right away you can tell the older ladies have something to hide. Heidi
starts a slow decent into madness after hearing the Lords of Salem
album again. And that's when we get the flashbacks to the ancient evil
witches and their strange satanic rituals.
Sherri Moon Zombie does her best acting to date, but she is still no
match for the older scream queens that play the witches…Dee Wallace,
Patricia Quinn, Judy Geeson, and Meg Foster steal all the scenes. Meg
Foster and Dee Wallace especially shine in their roles. One of things I
like about Rob Zombie is that he casts a lot of familiar faces from the
horror genre and Lords of Salem was no exception.
Lords of Salem has a real art-house artistic feel to it, which Zombie's
previous films did not have. There are several shots that remind me of
classic Argento films like Suspiria. The use of colourful architecture
and background scenery is almost like another character in the film.
The movie was visually stunning and it owes a lot of its influences to
classic Horror films like The Devils, The Sentinel, Eraserhead and The
Shining. The only part of the film I was not all that keen on was the
psychedelic ending. It just seemed out of context, but maybe I will
like it better on a second viewing. It also had way too many gratuitous
shots of Sherri Moon's backside which was a little distracting from the
storyline in my opinion. Unfortunately, I don't think Lords of Salem
will appeal to the general public and will probably not get a wide
release the way his previous films did.
In the end, I think this movie will get very split reviews from horror
fans. If you can appreciate an art-house independent horror film you
will enjoy it. If you prefer a grindhouse style gory action movie, you
will hate it. I am sure this movie will surprise and divide Rob Zombie
fans. Up until now, Zombie has earned a very well-deserved reputation
for films that push the limits of good taste. For the most part I have
enjoyed most of his films (yes, even Halloween 2!) For me, Lords of
Salem showed that he is not a one trick pony when it comes to his
writing and I really appreciate that. I highly recommend you go and see
it when it comes out and form your own opinion about it.
0