The Lords of Salem is a 2012 American indie horror film written, produced and directed by Rob Zombie.

The movie tells the tale of Heidi (Sheri Moon Zombie), a radio station DJ living in Salem, Massachusetts, who receives a strange wooden box containing a record, a “gift from the Lords”. Heidi listens and the bizarre sounds within the grooves immediately trigger flashbacks of the town’s violent past. Is Heidi going mad, or are the “Lords of Salem” returning for revenge on modern-day Salem?..

The Lords of Salem Movie Review

"Rob Zombie has largely worked in the realm of pastiche. His music is famous for its mix of dialogue samples, metal riffs, and industrial clank. When he started to make movies, he immediately went for House of 1000 Corpses, which is like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on acid. The Devil's Rejects kept up appearances by working through darker, more Southern-fried influences before Zombie jumped on the remake train with Halloween and Halloween II. What unites all these disparate films is that Zombie's sources are mostly on the seedier side of the movie rental aisle. With Lords of Salem, Zombie looks to be turning that around a bit. Though he doesn't abandon his love for low-class culture, he's added the influence of some decidedly bigger names (Roman Polanksi, David Lynch) to his cinematic stew. The result is a visually brilliant journey through Zombie's headspace, though viewers looking for character development or a fast-paced plot will be disappointed.

Heidi (Sheri Moon Zombie, The Devil's Rejects) is a radio DJ in Salem, Massachusetts. One day she receives a package that contains a record. When she plays it on her radio show, it has dire consequences. Heidi starts hallucinating, having strange dreams, and it seems like something from Salem's witch-y past might come back…The Lords of Salem doesn't offer conventional scares—there are no jumping cats, no nightmare monsters—but instead offers viewers 101 minutes in Rob Zombie's headspace. That's not terribly different from his other films; House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects are both Zombie films to the core, and even the Halloween remakes feel uniquely his. However, Zombie's previous films feel beholden to genre and reference in a way that Lords of Salem does not…As for the film itself, it seriously divided audiences. It's a slow burn kind of film that hopes to slowly build up dread and confusion for 90 minutes before unleashing 10 minutes of insanity on you. That means it's doesn't come together in a nice, neat plot package where every mystery is solved and everyone can go home happy. There are still some Zombie signatures—gore, neon, nudity—those looking for his cowboy persona and devil-may-care quickness will be left disappointed.

The Lords of Salem is a must-watch for Rob Zombie fans, even if half them will hate it. The film shows that he has a lot of resources to draw on and will continue to be an interesting voice in horror filmmaking.' DVD Verdict