Less inferno than slow burn, Rob Zombie’s retro witch thriller The Lords of Salem has plenty of portent but not much payoff. Likely to disappoint die-hard fans of The Devil’s Rejects and other Zombie atrocities, this milder brew still has ’70s-esque style to spare and sports a likable lead perf by Sheri Moon Zombie as a DJ seemingly spun by Satan’s spawn into the lower depths. Theatrical play will pale beside the pic’s ancillary afterlife, although “Lords” isn’t potent enough to rule in either realm. more »
What horror fan doesn't watch The Walking Dead? Musician and filmmaker Rob Zombie jokes it's because he needs to catch up on Cheers first, but the reality is he's a horror purist who takes the genre very seriously. That dedication led to Bob Weinstein handpicking him to relaunch the Halloween franchise back in 2007, and Paranormal Activity and Insidious producers Jason Blum and Oren Peli seeking out Zombie to direct an original horror flick. more »
I'm not sure what to expect from the The Lords of Salem after watching this clip. Director Rob Zombie appears to be having a Rodgers & Hammerstein moment as his wife, Sheri Moon Zombie, who plays a DJ, takes a very long walk in Day of the Dead make-up to meet one of the Lords in the title. more »
The first thing I thought when I saw this trailer for Rob Zombie's The Lords of Salem was, oh good, someone's finally made a movie about what it was like to live on Manhattan's Lower East Side in the late 1980s, before things got all handcrafted and artisanal. The second thing I thought was, this clip appears to have little to do with the synopsis for the movie that accompanied the trailer. more »
After rolling out its Galas and other spotlights last week, the Toronto International Film Festival unveiled a swarm of new films added to its lineup, including documentaries by Ken Burns, Alex Gibney and Julien Temple. TIFF also added its genre-heavy Midnight Madness section including new work from Oscar-winners Martin McDonagh and Barry Levinson as well as Don Coscarelli and Rob Zombie. The festival's Vanguard section includes international work that "defies convention" and includes work from North America, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Also joining the 2012 roster is TIFF's City to City lineup which this year will spotlight Mumbai; the TIFF Kids lineup including the new Finding Nemo 3-D animation and a collection of restored work. In all, the festival announced over 70 films Tuesday.
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Also in Tuesday's round up of news, the Academy taps a new Communications Managing Director, Phase 4 Films nabs a Billy Bob Thornton and Eva Longoria starrer. Former rocker turned filmmaker plans a film on a Philadelphia hockey team and some very early Disney sketches get animated.
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