Re: "The Lords of Salem" Reviews/Discussion - 2013 Horror Challenge: Day 6
 

I read the book and watched the movie afterward. This is definitely a case where the book is ALOT better than the film. The book is ALOT more disturbing as well.


I liked the movie, but the last half went "off the rails". I know on and off the set there were alot of problems which caused this. I am glad i read the book and watched the film, but it is definitely something I won't watch again. I like Zombie and he is a great filmmaker. I am a huge fan of House of 1000 Corpses and the Devil's Rejects.


Sheri Moon Zombie did a good job I thought in the roll. She is still as hot as ever. oh my, i just had a flashback of "backless" pants in 1000 corpses. :)

Re: "The Lords of Salem" Reviews/Discussion - 2013 Horror Challenge: Day 6
 

That's about my thinking, too. I've never seen any of his films, but from what I've read I was a little worried going into this. But it stayed reasonably creepy without being nasty for most of the runtime. It didn't really go anywhere, but it was creepy and worked reasonably well. Not bad.

Re: "The Lords of Salem" Reviews/Discussion - 2013 Horror Challenge: Day 6
 

Hn. Must have looked away for a bit, I don't remember that at all...

:D Quite! I wonder if that could sustain a spoof - or if it already has..?

Re: "The Lords of Salem" Reviews/Discussion - 2013 Horror Challenge: Day 6
 

What book was this based on?

Re: "The Lords of Salem" Reviews/Discussion - 2013 Horror Challenge: Day 6
 

I saw this in theatres and didn't like it... watched it again for the challenge and didn't hate it as much. If they did without the midget devil and the priests jacking off it would be a better film. Bonus points for her sleeping on the bed in the beginning

Re: "The Lords of Salem" Reviews/Discussion - 2013 Horror Challenge: Day 6
 

Trying not to get too graphic...



I'd advise just leaving it as something that never happened if you missed it.

Re: "The Lords of Salem" Reviews/Discussion - 2013 Horror Challenge: Day 6
 

Yes, but

Re: "The Lords of Salem" Reviews/Discussion - 2013 Horror Challenge: Day 6
 

Still not an image I wanted. More than anything it broke the one rule of cinema that every film editor should heed... Don't distract unnecessarily from the plot. That scene had/has me thinking more about the action than the story. It just removes me from the moment and I don’t like it when the story goes on without me. I have to get past the distraction and catch back up with the story.

Re: "The Lords of Salem" Reviews/Discussion - 2013 Horror Challenge: Day 6
 

I went into this with an open mind. I had hoped that after making four films Rob Zombie had matured as a filmmaker, and I think he has. This movie didn't have the film school amateur self-indulgence that House of 1000 Corpses had, but it was still largely a waste of time. The performances were weak, the cinematography was bland, and the narrative lacked coherence. Sheri Moon is cute, but she's not a good enough actor to carry a movie. The only bright spot of the acting was seeing Ken Foree, who is the only character who had proper screen presence. The witches were over-the-top and the other DJ was bland.

Rob Zombie is not a good filmmaker, he is somebody who watches a lot of horror movies but doesn't understand what makes them so effective. So he imitates what he sees, but never makes a film that invests the viewer in the characters or story. The mise-en-scene lacks artistry, scenes happen but never feel like they're building to a greater whole. The movie deals with dark themes but there is never any suspense, the main character stumbles through plot contrivances in a drugged stupor, completely passive and unengaged. I am amazed that Rob Zombie the director has so many fans, because he clearly lacks the skill and knowledge to make a good movie. I'd rather watch Shakma hump doors for another 90 minutes because the director of that movie understands he's making a cheesy B movie. Zombie takes this movie seriously, but lacks the skill to pull it off.

I'll say some things that I did like about it:

1) The soundtrack: as much as I dislike Rob Zombie as a filmmaker, I've never had a problem with his music, I have enjoyed several of his songs over the years. I thought the music served the movie well. It fit the scenes and helped set the mood, from the background music to the ominous "witch theme" I think it was a highlight of the movie.

2) Non-traditional nudity: 90% of all nudity in movies features a young, beautiful woman in great shape. Most people are not young, beautiful women with great bodies, I always appreciate when a movie breaks this trend and shows male nudity or average bodies. Alexander Payne does this a lot with movies like About Schmidt and Sideways, props to Kathy Bates for doing full frontal nudity in one of the funniest scenes I've seen in years. This movie opens up with a group of witches disrobing, and I wouldn't have been able to take the movie seriously if they were all slender young supermodels.

3) The weird devil creature: I know it got some criticism here, but I actually loved this little guy. The only moment that I found creepy in this movie was when he entered the frame out of nowhere and approached Sheri Moon as she slept. We've all seen the big red devil with horns, but that cliche is so tired that it's not even scary anymore. I really liked Zombie's decision to portray it as a twisted little creature.

So yeah, I apologize for anything that came across as hyperbole, but I did not care for this one.