Review of The Lords of Salem (2013) by Ashley M — 30 Jul 2013

Okay, so upon deciding to watch this film through the pure two combined factors of boredom and it's a Rob Zombie flick, I have come to the conclusion that this film, is what you expect, an interesting but not overly horrific film.

I really enjoyed the theme of Salem witches, as it took me back to the nostalgic past of GCSE English and the days of 'The Crucible' by Arthur Miller. I thought that psychological and atmospheric endurance's that the main character (Heidi) suffers, are rather enjoyable; as the cinematography is well done and there is a clear theme throughout.

However I will say that, although I liked the psychological twist, given to us at the beginning the rest seemed somewhat forced. It was as if, Rob was trying to squeeze so much into so little time. Don't misunderstand me, some if not most the traumatic sequences, were terrifically executed and did resonate the classic "WTF did I just watch" reaction, however this film seemed somewhat held back.

Rob could have gone a lot further with this, the absence of a properly structured story was sorely felt. Now I don't mean this in cruel way, it just felt as though the story came second and the lavish, demonic, scenery first.

Quite a few jumps scares to keep the viewer interested, that combined with creative, yet disturbed imagery allows for an interesting 90 minutes; but leaves the viewer wondering "Why in the world did I decide to watch this?" Me being a prime example.