The Lords of Salem

The Lords of Salem
Starring Sheri Moon Zombie, Bruce Davison, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Judy Geeson

Directed by Rob Zombie

During the time of the Salem witch trials, Margaret Morgan (Meg Foster) and her coven were trying to give birth to the antichrist, but to no avail.  They ended up captured and burned at the stake, but not before placing a curse on the women of Salem.

Decades later, disc jockey Heidi Hawthorne (Sheri Moon Zombie) receives an odd record at the studio with no return address, saying it was from the Lords of Salem.  She plays the music and the men in the town are unaffected, but the women fall into an odd trance-like state, including Heidi. 

Shortly after, Heidi starts receiving odd visions and terrible apparitions, and it seems that she unwittingly unleashed a new kind of hell into Salem, and the spirit of Margaret Morgan is still wishing to bring the antichrist to life - this time through Heidi.

Rob Zombie is well known for his eccentric and offbeat films, those that sit in the bowels of your soul and refuse to leave.  Films such as "House of 1000 Corpses," the re-imagining of "Halloween" and especially "The Devil's Rejects" show how Zombie can completely unnerve even the hardened of hearts.

"The Lords of Salem" falls in that realm of uneasiness.  The visions produced are extremely graphic and unnerving, and the story is downright terrifying and full of hopelessness.  The entire atmosphere of the film is supposed to leave you feeling uncomfortable, and to that end it truly succeeds.

The acting wasn't that great, but Zombie isn't known for producing Oscar-worthy performances.  Rather we get flawed actors who give decent performances, which helps you draw yourself into the story and feel like you're a part of it, even if you don't want to be.

My Rating: B+