Lords of Salem sparks bidding war, with Anchor Bay near the top

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Even though the notices at the Toronto Film Festival for Rob Zombie’s latest, THE LORDS OF SALEM, have been mixed (but not overtly negative, as far as I can tell), it would appear as though distributors are convinced it has got the goods. According to Deadline.com, Anchor Bay Films is close to buying the flick for a sum of $1.5 million – but it isn’t the only suitor.

It looks like a deal is in place, but Deadline notes that it was made “with the provision that if a studio came along with a pre-negotiated bigger offer at a higher price point, the film’s brokers could take it.” Open Road and Lionsgate are among the possible players, while Image and Millennium Entertainment were also in the mix until being beat out by Anchor Bay. The winner won’t be crowned definitively until Friday, so we should have an update then.

All this is just another way of saying that the flick, which is said to be a surreal slow-burn, worked well for buyers at the fest. Good to know, because nothing spells trouble more than a flick that doesn’t generate a little behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing.

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.