The Lords of Salem: A Love Letter To A Lost Genre

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The Lords of Salem (2013)
Written & Directed by Rob Zombie
101 min.

Mild spoilers.

If there’s one movie trend I can totally get behind, it’s the “B Movie Love Letter”. It’s almost its own genre at this point. Recent examples include Neil Marshall’s Doomsday, Wright and Pegg’s Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (and their upcoming The World’s End), Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained (really his whole catalogue), Ti West’s House of the Devil, Lexi Alexander’s Punisher: War Zone, and Peter Travis’ Dredd. And Star Wars and Indiana Jones are some not so recent examples. These filmmakers mine their inspirations for their best aspects and transplant them into modern productions—which are almost inevitably better than the movies they pay homage to, as the ‘originals’ were often made quickly and on the cheap just to provide cheap thrills and make a buck or two. Dredd was much talked about last year, and I’m hoping The Lords of Salem gets similar attention this year, because it’s even more fun.
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This Is The End: Hopefully, Yes

theend

The entire movie looks this goddamn ugly, albeit higher resolution. (Sorry, this was the best image I could find online that represented the actual look of it and wasn’t just production stills or whatever.)

This Is The End (2013)
Written and Directed by Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogen
107 min.

This film doesn’t need to exist.

I don’t mean that in a hyperbolic, insulting way. It’s completely true. This is an entirely superfluous film. And I’m sure those involved would agree, and giggle at the thought (especially the giggle-prone Rogen) and take pride in the fact that they made such a useless movie. But I’m not smiling, or laughing, or giggling.
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