Tuesday 23 April 2013

Film: The Lords of Salem


Musician turned director Rob Zombie casts his wife, Sheri Moon Zombie, as a late night radio host who unwittingly summons a coven of witches in this shocker.

A parcel arrives at the radio station containing a vinyl record by a band called The Lords. This strange recording has a weird effect on the host and many female members of the audience resulting in countless acts of violence and murder.

The heavy metal soundtrack and the grating resonance of the strange record immediately made me reach for the volume control, I get that this was meant to be unsettling but the feeling created was just one of annoyance.

There is also a constant stream of devil-worshipping type images that includes goats, big hairy monsters, silly guys with masks and naked old ladies. This is often unintentionally hilarious and miserably fails to provoke the intended reaction.

A brilliant straight-to-video cast is largely wasted here. Bruce Davison (V, The X Men), Dee Wallace (E.T), Meg Foster (They Live) and Ken Foree (Dawn Of The Dead) all appear, as does Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes) but unfortunately he is hidden behind a mask.

With The Lords Of Salem Rob Zombie has attempted to move (albeit sideways) away from his previous efforts which include the Halloween remake and the brilliant The Devil’s Rejects. Unfortunately it just doesn’t work.

The Lords Of Salem is available on DVD in the UK now.

Ric’s Rating: Poor.      


1 comment:

  1. I hate to say it, but I've not enjoyed any of Zombie's films.

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