As the celebration of spirits and ghouls draws near, we flashback to a modern horror film that got under our skin. This week’s scary movie, keeping with our Shocktober theme, is Rob Zombie’s Lords of Salem. Dustin chose this as a host pick to dive into our subconscious and spook us real good. Dustin, Alex and Dalton have an enlightening conversation as they delve into what the film is saying. And don’t worry, this episode doesn’t go quite as crazy at the end as Lords of Salem does. Prepare yourself nonetheless for an eerily good time.
We tune in to the Lords of Salem
For newer listeners, things may feel unfamiliar as the earlier format of the show was a bit different. We start with our synopsis and reviews as always, and then move straight to our film analysis. Dalton focuses on systems of power and how the film makes them inaccessible to the main character. He then talks about the abuse of these systems that should be helping the people rather than hurting. Next, Alex looks at societal guilt and the repression of that guilt. She focuses in on the witch hunts of Salem, and how many innocent people were murdered due to mass hysteria. Finally, Dustin reads the film as a hallucinatory fever dream by the main character. Dustin argues that she is falling back into addiction. He then outlines examples within the film where the protagonist seems to be projecting her thoughts and fears on to different people and places.
The film analysis is strong with this one. The conversation about Lords of Salem is riveting and fascinating. But, that’s not all we have this week. We also play a game in which we discuss our Favorite Pandora’s Boxes. Then, as we always do, we talk about what had us Fired Up in Pop Culture at the time.
Now, the needle is dropping and the record is spinning. What’s that behind the curtain, dear listener? Is it just a shadow, or is it something more sinister? When you find out, let us know!
Lords of Salem Timestamps
02:37 – Welcome and Introductions
04:44 – Synopsis and Reviews
15:38 – Analysis
46:00 – Shelf or Trash/Else or Instead
55:22 – Social Media
1:05:33 – The Game – Favorite Pandora’s Boxes
1:12:00 – Fired Up in Pop Culture
1:24:25 – Wrap Up
Arthur is a creator of content, lover of movies, and father of dogs. If you want to keep the conversation going, then click here to follow Arthur on Twitter. If you would like to keep up with what Arthur is watching, then head over to Letterboxd and give him a follow!
