Rob Zombie says Lords of Salem is a psychological slow burn

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Rob Zombie was at San Diego Comic Con this past weekend, braving the masses and geek-sweat like so many of us. At one point or another he made the acquaintance of the folks from Artist Direct, who interviewed the rocker/director about his forthcoming album Mondo Sex Head, which he was promoting at the Con. Of course, talk ultimately turned to his film LORDS OF SALEM.

Aren’t yo glad this isn’t another “here’s another vague picture from the LORDS OF SALEM set” article?!

When asked where he is with the film, Zombie replied:

“I’m in the final stages of finishing the film. By the end of August, we’ll be done. The sound designers are still creating some of the sound effects for the movie. Once they’re done, I’ll go into the mix stage in August and mix the final sound for the movie. Then, I’ll be done.”

He then added this, which should clue you in on the tone he’s going for:

“This movie is definitely a slow psychological burn. Not a lot of people have seen the movie, but I have had some screenings for people. It’s a weird movie, and it affects me the same way. When you watch it, it seems like there’s not a lot happening for a while. However, what’s happening is you’re starting to get sucked into the pace of the movie though. I’ve noticed movies that fuck with you dictate the pace you watch them at. A lot of modern movies are cut exactly how the audience wants to watch them, but if you watch a movie like The Shining, it moves at a very strange pace. It starts controlling you as you’re watching. There will be a simple scene in The Shining that’ll take forever to complete itself, but that weird rhythm starts fucking with you as you’re watching the movie. That’s kind of how this movie functions. It wasn’t one particular thing like, “Oh my God, that’s so scary”. It’s a long slow mindfuck. When it ended, several people sat there stunned, didn’t say anything, and left. I thought, “Fuck, they hate the movie”. Then, they called me the next day and said, “Sorry I left. I didn’t know what to say. I had to go home and digest that. That thing fucking freaked me out”. Then, they would call me the next day and talk for a while. It’s a very strange movie. I wanted to go against a lot of the conventions that I’ve seen in what are considered horror movies. There are certain things that always happen. I wanted to break away from them. It’s a more psychological movie.”

And finally:

“Lots of little crazy things happen all the way through it. There’s not one particular thing where you’re flying out of your seat. The way it unfolds is like Chinese water torture dripping on you.”

To read the entire interview, head over to Artist Direct. LORDS OF SALEM comes out… who knows when.