Rob Zombie talks Lords of Salem
The Lords of Salem is based on a song from Rob Zombie's 2006 album Educated Horses, and it chronicles four witches from the 1692 Salem witch trial who are secretly burned at the stake, later arriving in present day Massachusetts to seek their revenge.
Rob Zombie was originally going to make the grim biker exploitation drama Rob Zombie's Tyrannosaurus Rex as his next feature after Halloween II. He then toyed around with making a second The Blob remake. But he put both of those on hold for The Lords of Salem.
Rob Zombie recently spoke about all three projects, offering new details on his plans for The Lords of Salem, how he hopes to make Rob Zombie's Tyrannosaurus Rex directly following it, and why he gave up on reinventing The Blob for a third generation.
About where the original idea for The Lords of Salem came from, Rob Zombie said the following.
"Like a lot of my ideas, I had this one a long time ago. But it was never the right time to make it. Eventually it spun off into a song, but there were still no plans to turn it into a movie until the Paranormal Activity guys approached me and wanted to do something. I didn't have any specific plans, but I mentioned The Lords of Salem and they really latched onto it."
Rob Zombie also offered new plot details on The Lords of Salem.
"There were twenty people that everyone knows about - obviously all innocent - executed as witches in Salem. The basic premise of the film is that there were a further four who actually were witches, who were killed secretly, and vowed one day to return to wreak havoc on Salem's descendants. That's when the movie jumps ahead to the present day and things start to go wrong... The Lords of Salem is probably the bleakest of all my films. It's only gonna get worse!"
Rob Zombie then spoke out on why he ditched his plans for The Blob.
"I didn't want to do another remake. You just can't win. If it's too similar to the original, everybody wonders what the point was, but if it's too different, everybody complains that it's... too different! I found especially with Halloween II that everyone talked about what it wasn't and not what it was: 'you can't do that with Michael Myers; you can't do that with Loomis...'It's like people have a set of rules in their minds about how these things should function, and you can't work like that."
About continuing work on Rob Zombie's Tyrannosaurus Rex, the director said the following.
"I'd love to make a Western too, but the trouble is that films are expensive. When you find people like the Paranormal Activity guys who are super-enthusiastic and super-cool and ready to put up the money for something, you'd be out of your mind to turn them down."
You can check out Rob Zombie's original animated music video upon which the upcoming The Lords of Salem will be based on, in the clip below.
Lords of Salem Music Video
The Lords of Salem comes to theaters September 2012 and stars Lisa Marie, Richard Lynch, Billy Drago, Dee Wallace, Bruce Dern, Torsten Voges, Jeffrey Daniel Phillips, Sheri Moon Zombie. The film is directed by Rob Zombie.
Paranormal Activity was released September 25th, 2009 and stars Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Amber Armstrong, Ashley Palmer, Crystal Cartwright, Randy McDowell, James Piper. The film is directed by Oren Peli.
Rob Zombie's Tyrannosaurus Rex was released in 2009 and stars Sheri Moon Zombie. The film is directed by Rob Zombie.
The Blob was released in 2011.
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Dan
@skywise Likewise, sir.
1 year agoby @dan1Flag
skywise
@highcaliberinc I am absolutly in the crowd that supports his further ventures into horror. He has a few movies under his wings and some of those are very focused. I did not like the Mother/Horse thing in H2 either but further more (just like the original H2) its boring to watch Michael walk....walk.....cut to kids doing something....walk.....walk....kill....walk...cut to kids....walk....know what i mean? However, the production value had his hand prints all over it and so for that it was unique.
So he made a bad movie...so long as he can continue to craft his unique visions and maintain a sense of originality i will be in theaters to see them.
1 year agoby @skywiseFlag
Andrew Thompson
WELL AT LEAST ITS NOT ANOTER TORTURE/PORN SLASHER OR ZOMBIE FLICK WITCHES WOULD BE KINDA COOL....
1 year agoby @andrew-thompsonFlag
Daveactor7
Yeah this is going to be a flop. All of Zombies films have disappointed me.
1 year agoby @daveactor7Flag
Dan
@highcaliberinc If it does, I'm happy to be in the minority on this subject. I'm a hard critic of horror, it tends to be overly predictable, cheesy, but every so often we're treated to something really good. When the original Saw came out, I was a fanatic about it, because it felt fresh at the time. It's been railroaded into the ground now to the point of me despising the series for all the milking it's done, but I still respect the original vision (I hold it in the same light as the original Nightmare on Elm Street, great movie). Zombie's remake of Halloween was highly enjoyable in my eyes, and showed what he could accomplish in the future as well. Here's hoping Lords of Salem reaches that same level and exceeds it.
1 year agoby @dan1Flag
HighCaliberINC
@dan1 -with the exception of how we feel about Halloween2, we pretty much are on the same page about this dude. In case you weren't aware however, your last comment about supporting his horror attempts definitely lands you in the minority. I get the sense that most people despise his vision what a horror movie should be. I personally cannot wait to see what he does with this project. cheers.
1 year agoby @highcaliberincFlag
Dan
@highcaliberinc I like Rob Zombie, I've been listening to his music for years and enjoy it, and I think he honestly loves the horror genre and means to do it justice. That's why I'm supportive of him continuing to make them, I feel with time he'll hit his stride and do something great with it.
1 year agoby @dan1Flag
HighCaliberINC
@dan1 -fair enough. Ive just been confused why such a backlash about that movie with such little explanation. ..and that horse stuff made me feel like Zombie was reaching a little. That was actually the only thing I really didn't like about the second one.
1 year agoby @highcaliberincFlag
Dan
@highcaliberinc I didn't like the 2nd part because it felt like it was gratuitous for no reason (the 1st one is guilty of that to some degree, but it made up for it with the origins story with Michael in the asylum as a child), the girl was annoying as hell instead of cute and likable, and the whole "mother and horse" thing was just... weird.
1 year agoby @dan1Flag
HighCaliberINC
..I always hear people say how much they hated Halloween2. But Ive yet to come across anyone who goes into any depth on why. It just seams like that movie turned into one where it was fashionable to join the crowd and blindly say they didnt like it. I guess I'm in the super minority in liking that movie and thinking it was made as well as the first.
1 year agoby @highcaliberincFlag
Furankisan
He's right. You can't win with sequels. Man HW2 sucked big time. But he is good with originals. Gotta love that ending in Devils Rejects with L.S. Freebird song in the background.
1 year agoby @frank-ballFlag
Dan
I'll see it. I liked his remake of Halloween (but not Halloween II...).
1 year agoby @dan1Flag
The Dark Knight
ahhh! No dont let him remake the Blob again let me I know how to do it right
1 year agoby @thedarkknight23Flag
LuxoIII
At least SOMEONE understands the Great Mistake that is the Remake!
1 year agoby @brady1138Flag
skywise
I have really enjoyed Rob's original ideas but but found his original Halloween to be his most focused film so i am happy that he is using original material and i loved the 80's Blob movie (had a huge crush on Shawnee Smith when i was a kid) and am loking forward to his take on the movie. The original Blob is awful but my mother says it was sooo scary when it came out. Its a classic so of course i have some reservations about this project and honestly i dont think he his right for the project but if its happening then i will have to wait and see. Crosses fingers.
1 year agoby @skywiseFlag
Mutant
I didn't mind his Halloween, it's just he is a hit and miss sometimes. I think most people hated H2, even me. I do enjoy his films so I'll be watching these films.
1 year agoby @zenderFlag
Messenger
I liked the ppl behind P.A. and I love R.Z. (yeah, H2 was pretty bad) but all and all I like what he does. So needless to say, I'm down.
1 year agoby @messengerFlag
TheDude1
Some of his movies really good but then of course he has his stinkers like Halloween 2.
1 year agoby @thedude1Flag
The Narrator: The Better Man
Nice one @ejk1. I agree, and this idea, while it may feature hot girls, sounds kinda uninteresting.
1 year agoby @narratorFlag
ejk1
I'd rather he be in a music studio than a movie studio.
1 year agoby @ejk1Flag
bud2fresh
Haven't been much of a fan of his movies so i'll prob. pass.
1 year agoby @bud2freshFlag