BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
I’m a big fan of Rob Zombie. One of my first cassette tapes as a kid was a White Zombie album. I was starting high school when he went solo and I just kind of settled in and tagged along for the ride. I’ve taken in his albums and loved them. Some stuff is not as good as others, but as a whole Zombie is still one of my favorite rock musicians out there right now. This spreads over to the filmmaking as well. I enjoyed “House of a 1000 Corpses” but loved “The Devils Rejects”. I appreciated his first “Halloween” movie, but thought the sequel was crazy underrated and inspired. I even sat drunkenly confused through his animated feature. Like I said, I’m a big fan. I was looking forward to “The Lords of Salem” the second I knew it would exist. I remember reading Zombie was taking on “The Blob” at one point for his next movie. I’d have watched it, but I was hoping the next film would be an original concept. “The Lords of Salem” is an original concept for sure. It stars Sheri Moon Zombie as a local radio DJ as part of what seems like the coolest version of a “wacky morning radio crew” ever. All is well in DJ Heidi’s life. She’s having fun, breaking hearts, and doing her thing. All is well until a strange album shows up that plays a really creepy quasi-melody of what sounds like industrial decay. How does this tie into a coven of crazy ass old witches? I’d highly recommend watching to find out! I feel like the least you know about a movie like this the better. To “review” it you have to look at the outside aspects. The story flows nicely. I’ve read some bullshit criticisms of Rob casting his wife Sherri Moon as the lead. Why is it okay for Kevin Smith to cast his wife? Kurt Sutter to cast his? I avoided reviews before watching it so this actually blows my mind a little. As I watched it I was legitemently wondering why she’s not in MORE movies. She’s got a very enthralling presence, but it could also be that Rob pulls it out of her. You can tell she’s a muse for him so why be a prick and question his casting? Rob Zombie does not have to make films. He does so because he wants to and is inspired to do so. Watch his stuff or don’t, it’s still going to be bad ass and bad ass people are still going to appreciate it. He works with a core group of people that he seems to work well with. They get each other and it translates. I enjoyed the performances all around. Another thing that stood out was the maturity of the movie. When I think of Rob Zombie movies I think of gritty “grindhouse” fun. This movie was polished and felt like one of those creepy 1970’s horror movies that had more substance and depth than anything put out under the “drama” genre at the time. It’s slow, it’s brooding, and it leaves a mark. While a “Devils Rejects” grabs you by the neck and screams crazy hillbilly murder in your face, this movie holds you at a distance to linger over an edge. Oddly enough, I was trying to think of a comparison of his songs to his movies. I’d say 1000 Corpses and Rejects are probably like a “Dragula” or “Living Dead Girl”. They’re up tempo and are aggressive tracks. This movie would be, ironically enough (maybe not?) comparable to his “American Witch” or something from his “Educated Horses” album. I was a big fan of that album and I’m a big fan of this movie. I do want to watch it again and hopefully see an extended cut down the line. Do what you can to see this movie. If you like Rob Zombie, smart horror movies, great cinematography, underrated acting, and a few hours of creepy escapism then you won’t be disappointed you did. A-
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