As I sat in dimly lit theater watching the end credits to Rob Zombie’s Lords of Salem, trying to wrap my head around the psychological horror show I had just witnessed, I couldn’t help but overhear the first words uttered by two girls sitting next to me. It went something like this:
Girl One: “Soooo… wanna go see House of 1,000 Corpses?”
Girl Two: *giggle* “Totally.”
This simple exchange goes a long way to explain the main misconception that has plagued Lords of Salem. Mainly that it’s not a horror film meant to entertain… at least not in the sense that many Zombie fans may expect. Indeed, Lords of Salem is straight up psychological horror that aspires to the level of Rosemary’s Baby, Black Sunday, Suspiria or Eraserhead. Though the film does not quite reach that pantheon, it does much to stand out from Zombie’s earlier works as a slightly more cerebral experience where both the audio and visuals elements play a large role in shaping the movie’s atmosphere.
That’s not to take any credit away from Zombie, who handles the cinematography of the film a little more skillfully than the story itself. While the movie’s core narrative remains intact, radio DJ Heidi (Sherri Moon Zombie) is driven to madness by a coven of witches who want her to become the vessel for Satan’s spawn, the more intimate plot points – Heidi’s drug addiction, her relationship with Herman (Jeffrey Daniel Phillips) and even the witches – are generally left unexplored. These omissions are what transform Lords of Salem from entertainment to art.
And, ultimately, that’s exactly what the film is: a work of art. Even I admit not all it makes sense. Many of the artistic visuals, which some critics have dismissed as incomprehensible, will assuredly require multiple viewings to explore. Some, like the goat imagery, are fairly evident while others, the repeated used of the number 5, go a bit deeper. According to some, 555 is said to be a witch’s sacred number while a pentagram also has 5 points!
Not every viewer will be up to the task of searching for this subtext, but those that do will no doubt be rewarded with a more open understanding of the film. This is exactly the type of subtext that horror fans seeking something deeper than wholesale remakes (Texas Chainsaw 3D, Evil Dead) should be celebrating. I, for one, am already looking forward to my next trip into Salem’s shadowy past.