Editor’s note: My review originally ran during SXSW earlier this year, but we’re posting it again as the film hits theaters this weekend. Some filmmakers, no matter how hard they may try to appeal to the masses, can never escape the label of acquired taste. Others don’t even try though instead preferring to speak to a smaller and more receptive core audience. Kevin Smith is a good example of the former. Rob Zombie is a better example of the latter. Zombie makes movies for himself, and he’ll be the first to tell you that not only will the majority of viewers hate his films but that he simply doesn’t care. That’s more than evident in his four previous features as they presented worlds filled with ugly and foul violence while being devoid of humor and joy. His new film, The Lords of Salem, continues that trend of not giving a damn, but something is visibly and unexpectedly amiss. Rob Zombie has discovered how to have fun…even if some of it is unintentional.

“50% of you are going to love this movie, while the other 50% of you are going to hate it,” writer-director Rob Zombie said to the SXSW crowd at the midnight screening of his newest film, The Lords of Salem. That’s not something we often hear filmmakers while they intro their film, and the same goes for most of what we heard at his highly entertaining Q&A. Zombie, who wore splashy blue pants and what looked like over-sized crocs to the event, was correct when it came to the reaction. For the 50% of the people who hated it, he doesn’t care too much. Zombie knows his work isn’t for everyone, and the idea that he can get half of an audience onboard with his films or music sits well with him. According to Zombie (and David Bowie), getting a reaction is all that matters. We discussed that reaction, as well as how the film’s producers were only interested in lunch and more, with a candid and relaxed Mr. Zombie.

Rob Zombie‘s four previous features have left audiences divided between those who find them dull in their barrage of uninteresting, poorly acted, white trash characters meeting bloody and blunt endings and those who, well, are wrong. I kid! His latest film, The Lords of Salem, hits theaters in April and was just announced today as one of the Midnighters premiering at next month’s SXSW film fest. The story follows a woman (Sheri Moon Zombie) with bad hair and worse fashion sense who gets caught up in supernatural events occurring in modern-day Salem, MA. Ghosts, demons, cults and more slowly envelope her world until only darkness remains. Check out the trailer after the break.

If you have ever grabbed your arm rest in fright while watching the recent Halloween remake or buried your face in your scarf (as I often do during the scary parts of movies) when a particular stanza in the Dawn of the Dead score made you jump, you are already familiar with composer Tyler Bates‘ work. With Halloween upon us, I thought it only appropriate to sit down with Bates to pick his brain about all things horror from his favorite scary movies to what he loves about composing for them to his favorite Halloween memories (and costumes.) Read on to hear about his experience working with directors Rob Zombie and Neil Marshall, how his early exposure to horror films may have set his current career in motion, and what may happen when you attend a wedding on Halloween.

There’s nothing about the new teaser trailer for Rob Zombie‘s The Lords of Salem that hints at the story. Mostly it’s a parade of production, costume and make-up design in service of odd religious symbols and the prospect of a Satanic baby being born. According to the official synopsis, the story focuses on Heidi (Sheri Moon Zombie), who DJs at a local radio station and receives a strange wooden box with a record in it. As the song becomes a hit, the alcoholic Heidi is driven further into despair, and further boxes from the band promise a return from The Lords of Salem. Early reviews, like this one from Arrow in the Head, call it Zombie’s most ambitious film, noting that it’s less of a grindhouse splatterfest and more of an art house flick that gets bizarre. Which seems sort of obvious now that a teaser is out (via Deadline Hollywood). Check it out for yourself:

The Devil Inside is the talk of the town for two reasons: number one, it made around $35 million in its opening weekend, which is big no matter what qualifier you tack on, but when that qualifier is a reported $1 million acquisition cost, it’s gigantic. Number two (heheh), it sucks. It sucks bad. That’s nothing new, really, as everything about The Devil Inside screams shitty movie. First of all, it’s from the team that brought you Stay Alive. Second, it’s found footage. Third, it’s an exorcism movie. I’m surprised that people went to see it, because you list those three qualities and I am about as far from interested as possible. But rather than just throw another voice on the “what the fuck” bonfire, I wanted to take a few minutes and examine what we can learn from this situation.

“What the f**k is Wayne Toth working on now? More nasty business for Lords. And to answer your questions… YES! There will be a lot of tits in the film as seen in the pics below.” That’s Rob Zombie, teasing more of Wayne Toth’s work for all the special effects geeks and for fans of movie magic in general. Toth is building a lot of creature effects for the satanic Lords of Salem, and the most recently revealed by Zombie’s blog (via the ever-vigilent Fangoria) is a full frontal shot of the many nipples blotching the torso of something wicked. Something wicked that definitely hasn’t been using the ab roller she bought last year.

Despite the fact that their plates are pretty full already, director Patrick Lussier and his co-writer Todd Farmer are chomping at the bit to get the opportunity to make Halloween 3. In a chat with MTV, the duo have said that once their insane dive into 3D with Nic Cage, Drive Angry 3D, gets it’s home release, and they get through work on a reboot of the Hellraiser franchise, a continuation of the new Halloween franchise that director Rob Zombie started is next on their wish list. “We would love it to go through,” Lussier said. “We would make that the second somebody said, ‘Yes, go make it,’ because it’s a script that we love and a script we’re really passionate about and it’s an amazing character and an incredible franchise, and it would just be a great experience for us to go back to the roots.”

Rob Zombie is stepping into the world of original horror filmmaking with Lords of Salem, and it’s probably hip to mock it, but there’s something great about Satanic messages in vinyl records that spin mysteriously backward – even if that idea itself isn’t all that original. Fortunately for those genuinely interested (and those interested in more fodder for their mockery), Zombie has unleashed a ton of information about the film including a synopsis, some location scouting photographs, a few shots of a creepy mask being made by Wayne Toth (for all you special make-up effects nerds out there), and a long-form Q&A about the project. CHUD has gathered all of this together in one handy post, and here’s the synopsis (originally via Shock Til You Drop):

It’s unclear what version of the word “bleakest” Rob Zombie is using to describe his new project Lords of Salem. On the one hand, it could refer to the tone of the piece. On the other, it could refer to the level of skill involved in the execution. If it’s that second, he’s going to have a tough job topping Halloween 2. However, no matter what he did to that beloved franchise, it’s difficult not to love a filmmaker who will start filming a new project in April, go on a rock tour in the Summer, and then edit the footage into a film in the Fall. Taking breaks to rock out is always encourage (Steven Spielberg did it when he was still in KISS). Lords of Salem follows the modern day town as witches who were killed in secret during the witch trials return to take their revenge. Normally this would sound like a Disney channel-sponsored effort starring Bette Midler and Omri Katz, but Zombie is at the helm, and with the promise of bleak material, it’s probably not something that grandma will want to go watch with you. She’ll want to go with her pinochle club, because they all love that kind of shit. Will the movie be ready for an October release? It might. It depends solely on how quickly Zombie can wipe the sweat and groupie panties from his brow and hash out a first cut. Otherwise, it might have to wait for a January horror

In a video that should make horror fans throw up, cry, laugh, and rejoice all at once, the star of the rebooted Halloween flicks gives some info of how they want to make the third. Hint: without a script or director.

Rob Zombie had plenty of chances to get his sequel to his Halloween reboot in front of audiences, first in August and then with a fizzled re-release on Halloween this past October. Now, you have a chance to watch it again. And this time, you should really be drinking.

This Indonesian horror flick/gorefest stays reliably within the comfortable realm of predictability, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

From the man that brought you gimmicky mining tools flying at your face comes gimmicky kitchen knives stabbed at your face. It might sound lame, but you don’t see the words “Rob Zombie” anywhere near this do you?

This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, we invite Fat Guy Kevin Carr to give his opinion on a truly horrific weekend of bad releases. Also, we talk about the movies that came out.

Kevin Carr looks ahead to this week’s movie releases, effectively shredding The Final Destination, urging you to stay clear of Halloween 2 and Taking Woodstock to task.

Rob Zombie’s newest abortion horror film, Halloween 2, hits theaters today but he’s already deciding what to screw with next. A third Halloween perhaps? An original horror film? A movie with real characters instead of white-trash caricatures? What’s a shtick-rocker turned shit-director to do?

Neil staggers into the Magical Studio in the Sky after pulling an all-nighter and seeing more movies than Kevin has. The two commisserate about how the studios have refused to show them either of the horror movies opening this week, despite the fact that Kevin would love to see another 3D slasher.

A little less than a year ago Brea Grant was still relatively under the radar, making her debut on Heroes as the speedy Daphne Middlebrook. How the times have changed.

The fine, bloodthirsty gentlemen over at Bloody-Disgusting have unveiled a brand new, unused trailer for the upcoming Rob Zombie directed horror film Halloween II this evening, and it’s got me wondering about the nature of this film — is it supposed to be funny? Because I seem to be laughing.