The Lords of Salem (2012)

Director: Rob Zombie

Writer: Rob Zombie

Composers: Griffin Boice, John 5

Starring: Sheri Moon Zombie, Bruce Davison, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Judy Geeson, Meg Foster, Patricia Quinn, Ken Foree, Dee Wallace, Maria Conchita Alonso, Richard Fancy, Andrew Prine, Michael Berryman, Sid Haig, Lisa Marie

More info: IMDb

Tagline: We've been waiting ... we've always been waiting.

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?

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

Minutes after finishing I was ready to watch it again.  That's very rare.  I was mesmerized.  This is Zombie's most mature film yet.  It's visually stunning.  You can tell that a lot of time and thought went into much of the scenes and I get the impression that Zombie asked himself a lot, "What would Stanley Kubrick do?".  It was a little distracting at times seeing the Kubrick influences because they were plain as day, so much so that my friends and I were blurting out which of Kubrick's films he was paying homage to.  The music score is the best he's had so far.  It's perfectly moody and atmospheric.  The marriage of sound to visual was gorgeous.  You also have to pay attention although you might find just going with the flow and letting the film take you on a journey a better way to go.  Has anyone seen this wasted?  I'm not one for that but it felt like it could play well to being in an altered state.  The performances are great and I particularly loved Davison.  Sheri was very good here and it's her best work I've seen so far.  She's not a seasoned actor and because of that she usually gets on my nerves but not here.  She nailed it.  Are there boobs?  Damn straight!!!

Soak in those leather saddlebags!  Actually, there's a lot of nudity and its not all meant to be erotic (although I'm sure there's someone out there who just deposited the above picture into their spank bank).  The Blu-ray image looks fantastic and it's a definite improvement over the DVD.  The Anchor Bay release has only one extra and that's a commentary track with Rob Zombie.  Really?  That's it?  I expected more from AB & RZ as something like this would usually get a lot more love.  Unfortunately the internet has chosen to hate on this guy and he gets a lot of undue criticism.  I dig this guy's work and I think he's got a fresh voice with one foot in the past.  He's a true fan of horror cinema and he's in the enviable position to take it to he next level.