Rob Zombie’s The Lords of Salem gets a creepy new trailer

Love or hate him, Rob Zombie is a hell of a showman. Not many musicians can make the transition from singer to actor, but to go from singer to director is a unique feat. While I despised HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES, I did love THE DEVIL’S REJECTS. HALLOWEEN was serviceable, but THE LORDS OF SALEM looks like a return to form for Zombie.

THE LORDS OF SALEM was picked up for distribution at the recent Toronto Film Festival. Our own Chris Bumbray gave it a pretty good review and now we get a chance to see some of the footage for ourselves.

Plot: Heidi, a blonde rock chick, DJs at a local radio station and, together with the two Hermans (Whitey and Munster), forms part of the “Big H Radio Team”. A mysterious wooden box containing a vinyl record arrives for Heidi, “a gift from the Lords”. She assumes it’s a rock band on a mission to spread their word. As Heidi and Whitey play the Lords’ record, it starts to play backwards, and Heidi experiences a flashback to a past trauma. Later Whitey plays the Lords’ record, dubbing them the Lords of Salem, and to his surprise, the record plays normally and is a massive hit with listeners.The arrival of another wooden box from the Lords presents the Big H Team with free tickets, posters and records to host a gig in Salem. Soon Heidi and her cohorts find that the gig is far from the rock spectacle they’re expecting: The original Lords of Salem are returning, and they’re out for BLOOD.

THE LORDS OF SALEM is unique amongst Zombie’s films. It looks more fleshed out than any of his prior films. The musical choices in this trailer are the complete opposite of what I was expecting. This looks like one of the more original horror films we have seen in years.

Alongside Sheri Moon Zombie and Judy Geerson, THE LORDS OF SALEM also stars Bruce Davison, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Ken Foree, Patricia Quinn, and Dee Wallace. It is currently set for a 2013 release.