This week I was able to attend two very special screenings of two upcoming horror movies. The first being Blair Witch (2016) and then Rob Zombie's '31' (2016). Both of these movies are highly anticipated in the horror genre and while I was able to get free admission to 'Blair Witch', I did purchase a ticket for a one-night special sneak preview screening of '31'.
Blair Witch is essentially a remake/reboot, which are usually hit and miss within the realm of horror movies. Set in 2014, it references the events in the original The Blair Witch Project (1999) when the character James (James Allen McCune) has been searching for his missing sister Heather since the original tape was found almost 17 years ago. When coming across found footage on the Internet, supposedly of his sister, he and his friends confront Lane, the one who found it and convince him and his girlfriend to lead back them into the Black Hills Forest to find Heather. Obviously unaware of how really bad an idea this is, and equipped with a handheld Digital HD camera, this group of young people ventures into the woods anyway. As you can expect, they get lost, despite the availability of a GPS device and even a remote control drone equipped with a web-cam. One by one, James' friends are separated along with Lane and his girlfriend Talia encountering supposed supernatural sounds and voices and various warnings from the ever-present wooden figures tied to the trees.
This more modern incarnation of Blair Witch Project depends mostly on the fame and mystique created by the original film which became such a groundbreaking horror film 20 years ago. Although panned by critics for it's amateur production and vomit-inducing shaky camera it nevertheless began the new sub-genre of horror/suspense in the "found-footage" film, which has become prevalent in many recent movies such as the Paranormal Activity franchise and Cloverfield (2008). While the premise of Blair Witch in that how does James expect to find evidence of his sister still in the woods after 17 years is somewhat far fetched, the movie does have some significantly frightening moments. While the inclusion of 21st century technology really doesn't add much to the story except as shallow plot points and instead replacing a lost map with a lost GPS signal.The drone shots make for some interesting shots as we see just how huge this forest really is and adds to the overall theme of isolation. Without really giving away any spoilers I will say that the few glimpses of what we can only assume is in fact the Blair Witch are truly terrifying. All in all, this is an interesting movie but not as original, yet it lets us forget the total train-wreck of a movie that was Book of Shadows: Blair With 2 (2000). On a side note the special screening I attended at the Angelika in Dallas was a wonderfully interactive experience with help from costumed performers from Dark House Haunted House in Plano complete with fog machines and creepy red lighting to add a little ambiance to the show.
I have been a big fan of Rob Zombie since first hearing White Zombie's "Astro Creep: 2000" (1995) in high school. Then having followed his solo music career since the release of Hellbilly Deluxe (1998) and his promising film career beginning with his first horror movie House of 1,000 Corpses (2003). Burgeoning out of his experience in directing his own music videos, he developed a style all his own, which to his fans has only increased his popularity but critically he has met with box-office failures and commercial setbacks. After his two remakes of the Halloween horror movie franchise (Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009), his last film Lords of Salem (2012) was a major flop with both audiences and fans (read my review). His latest venture into the extreme-horror genre comes the most brutally, ultra-violent, exploitative horror movie I have ever seen! This is Rob Zombie's '31'.
Set on Halloween, 1976, while on a rural Texas road, a group of five carnies are kidnapped and forced to play a sadistic game of cat-and-mouse in a so-called "Murderworld" where they must survive for 12 hours. The ringleaders of this psycho-circus is known only as Father Murder (Malcolm McDowell) and his two female companions, Sister Dragon and Serpent, dressed in gaudy French aristocratic costumes straight out of Versailles. Among the murderous-maniacs are a group of six lazily-named, psychopathic, killer clowns. The first being a vulgar, Spanish-speaking, Neo-Nazi, knife-wielding, midget (no joke!) named Sick-Head (Pancho Moler), who then proceeds to kill them off one-one until there is only one survivor. The final adversary is a pretentious, white-faced, masochist named Doom-Head (Richard Brake) with a unusually sick-sense of fair-play.
The movie features much of the similar music-video style of visuals Rob Zombie has been known for. With a survival-horror theme similar to the Saw series, the story has somewhat of a slow start with a bizarre monologue from the character of Doom-Head as he is about to mutilate his latest victim before we are even aware of what's going on, which presents a very disturbing, albeit apologetic, first-hand view of his twisted philosophy as if we were the one about to be brutally killed. Although effective, it is both confusing and presumptive. The one major flaw in all of Rob Zombie's films (and most music videos) is his inclusion of his wife, former model and dancer Sheri Moon-Zombie, While Sheri has often been featured prominently in many of his works first as the maniacal 'Baby' in House of 1,000 Corpses, Sheri has gone on to appear in every one of his films becoming more and more of a central character including her part as Deborah Myers, Michael Myers' mom, in both Halloween and Halloween II. As the main character of Heidi Hawthorne in Lords of Salem, most audiences and critics agree that Sheri is not leading lady material however this doesn't stop Zombie from casting her in more and bigger parts like he's Roman Polanski or Luc Besson. Also his tendency to cast has-been (but still classy) actor Malcolm McDowell in everything as well. It would be a surprise if Zombie didn't feature both actors in his next project.
While '31' is a fast-paced, gut-wrenching murder-fest, there is little substance or story to speak of. There is very little information regarding why or even how these people continue to wage their little Halloween game of death every year as there is obviously not much chance at survival for any of them. There is even a debate between the Father and Sisters waging on the incredible odds of survival so far as 1,000,000 to 1 for one of them! It's like if C-3PO was a serial-killer instead of a droid telling us the odds of survival! It is curious that Zombie seems to be deviating from his originality again by embracing the trends with recent killer-clown movies such as John Watt's Clown and the upcoming remake of Stephen King's IT.v With it's strange, abrupt ending, this movie left me drained and confused and concern for the future of Rob Zombie's films.
ROB ZOMBIE: artist, writer, musician, filmmaker, icon! Since his humble beginnings as the frontman for the alternative heavy metal band White Zombie in the mid-1980's, he has grown respectively into a fully-fledged media mogul, expanding his vision into various mediums such as film, TV, video games and even animation. Since embarking on a successful solo career in 1998, Rob has released four studio albums and has directed four feature films along with being involved in a number of projects including animation voice-over work and also directing an episode of CSI: Miami. Although he remains certainly the busiest personality in entertainment, he still finds time to release new music and concert tours with fellow shock rockers Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper. 2013 is another busy year for Rob Zombie, especially this month which saw the release of his new horror film: The Lords of Salem, along with the release of his fifth studio album entitled: Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor. This special blog entry will be a "Rob Zombie Double-Feature!" which includes a review of Zombie's latest horror film and music album.
Since completing his first two cult films House of 1,000 Corpses (2003) and The Devil's Rejects (2005) which focused on the murderous Firefly family and the reboot of the Halloween franchise with Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009), Rob Zombie has ventured into the realm of supernatural suspense with The Lords of Salem. Heidi 'LaRoc' (Sheri Moon Zombie) is a popular, local radio DJ in Salem, Massachusetts. A recovering drug-addict, she lives alone with her beloved dog Troy in an old apartment building in Salem. When she receives a mysterious recording from a band known only as The Lords (of Salem), playing it on her show starts a dark chain reaction which affects the women of the city and gives rise to the return of witchcraft in Salem. Heidi is the tragic victim of circumstance and ancestry as she is plagued by violent and disturbing dreams and hallucinations, she slowly succumbs to the devilish influence of the real witches of Salem, acolytes of Margaret Morgan (Meg Foster) who in 1696, was sentenced to death by Rev. Jonathan Hawthorne (Andrew Pine).
This is Zombie's return to a more original style of filmmaking since his remakes of the Halloween franchise. Lords of Salem stars Rob's wife and long-time model/girlfriend Sheri Moon Zombie, who has appeared in every film of Rob's since House of 1,000 Corpses when she played the manic 'Baby' and in his Halloween movies as Michael Myer's mother, Deborah Myers. While Sheri has previously appeared as more of a support role in Zombie's movies, this is her first appearance in a leading role. While most fans loved her as the giggly 'Baby', her role as Deborah Myers featured a much more subdued character. As with Lords of Salem, her character is just as mellow, if not on the verge of catatonic in the third act of the film. Despite her outrageous appearance, bizarre wardrobe and weirdly decorated apartment, her personality comes across as almost bland. As for the rest of the cast, the movie features a balanced male/female cast with her co-DJs: 'Whitey' (Jeff Daniel Phillips) and Herman (Ken Foree), then there is the author Francis Matthias (Bruce Davison), a local witch trials researcher. As the story references the actual events of the Salem witch trials (1692), the film makes very little mention of the actual events or people involved, even changing the name of Judge John Hathorne to Reverend Hawthorne, while also a nod to the real-life ancestor of author Nathaniel Hawthorne. There are a few other film veterans in this film particularly the three sisters including Heidi's landlord Lacy (Judy Geeson) and her sisters Megan (Patricia Quinn) and Sonny (Dee Wallace).
The film features a number of highly disturbing and brutal scenes often featuring intense images of death, torture, sex, full-frontal nudity, Satanic imagery, and not to mention explicit gore and violence! The movie also has several scenes depicting a witches Sabbath which hearkens back to early films like Häxan. It's surprising that the movie got away with it's R-rating and not labeled NC-17, but it has been a recent trend for horror movies (like the remake of Evil Dead) to push the boundaries of the R-rating. Zombie utilizes his trademark brand of surrealistic, music-video style of directing with quick-cuts and flashing images, common with most of his films. His unique visual aesthetic is especially prevalent in the final disturbing climax. The music in Lords of Salem is very eclectic, while most of the score was written by Zombie's musical collaborator John 5, the film also features a wide variety of music by Rick James, Rush, The Velvet Underground and even includes Mozart's "Requiem". The soundtrack also features a song "Crushing the Ritual" from a "fake" black metal band called Leviathan The Fleeing Serpent which is also featured in a clip on Heidi's radio show. The inspiration for the name of this film came from Rob Zombie's song "The Lords of Salem" from the 2006 album Educated Horses. The Lords of Salem is mind-blowing, extreme, horror! The easiest way to describe the film is comparing it to Rosemary's Baby (1968) and the films of Mario Bava (i.e. Black Sunday (1960), combined with the vision of Rob Zombie. Zombie teamed up with the producers of Paranormal Activity (2007) and Insidious(2010) Jason Blum and Steven Schneider to bring this original and yet highly unsettling vision of horror. It is interesting to note that this film is one of the few horror movies that has actually released a novelization written by Rob Zombie and B.K. Stevenson. With an estimated budget of only $2,500,000, sadly, Lords of Salem has so far been a box-office bomb bring in less than $650,000. While highly original, this movie may be too much for the average horror-movie viewing public and only the very hardcore fans of extreme horror and Rob Zombie's work will appreciate it. It's true as a fan of horror and of Rob Zombie since his days in White Zombie, that this film seems like his masterpiece, but may also be seen as a failure. If you are up to the task, you be the judge.
Rob Zombie's latest album, Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor is the first release on his new label, Zodiac Swan, through T-Boy Records/UMe since leaving Roadrunner. Featuring guitars by recent collaborator and guitar virtuoso John 5, since his joining the band in 2006 with the album Educated Horses, the style of Zombie's music has changed significantly. Gone are the heavier more industrial sound of the Hellbilly Deluxe era in favor of a more alternative heavy metal/rock sound. This is a very interesting album featuring groove/Nosferatu Pussy" is supposed to be what Rob Zombie calls an "uplifting anthem...for the youth of America", but it remains a very slow, drudging song with a similar lyric referencing his White Zombie song "Electric Head" with repeating the lyrics in the refrain of "Turn it on". The first single and music video (directed by Rob Zombie) on this new album is "Dead City Radio and The New Gods of Supertown", which is an homage to classic rock radio. Other songs included are "Revelation Revolution", "Theme for the Rat Vendor", "Rock and Roll (In A Black Hole)", "Behold, The Pretty Filthy Creatures", "White Trash Freaks", "Lucifer Rising", "The Girl Who Loved The Monsters", and "Trade In Your Guns for a Coffin". One of the oddest songs on the album has to be "Ging Gang Gong De Do Gong De Laga Raga" which is complete nonsense! The album also features a curious cover of Grand Funk Railroad's "We're An American Band" with a little Rob Zombie twist to it. Although Zombie is not known for recording covers, he has recorded a version of Black Sabbath's "Children of the Grave" for the 1994 compilation album Nativity In Black and a cover of the Commodore's "Brick House" on the House of 1,000 Corpses (2003) movie soundtrack. This album features several experimental songs along with a few general songs just for fun. Rob Zombie's artistic vision and musical style continues to grow and evolve over the years and with every new album. With every new album Zombie consistently improvises his musical style utilizing various styles from his musical influences. This will unfortunately remain a somewhat mediocre album for Rob Zombie as he has yet to surpass the success of Hellbilly Deluxe even after releasing Hellbilly Deluxe 2 in 2010.
Watch this Best Buy Exclusive interview with Rob Zombie for a track by track breakdown of the new album!
