The Lords of Salem Tie-In Novel Fixes Rob Zombies Movie – Heres How – Screen Rant

The Lords of Salem is one of director Rob Zombie's best films, but its novelization is even better, and fixes most of the movie's faults. Over the course of his nearly 20 years as a filmmaker, Zombie has carved out a niche for himself of brutal, violent, realistic horror stories often starring redneck or "white trash" characters. It's certainly worked pretty well for him, but standing alone among his filmography is 2013's The Lords of Salem, a nightmarish supernatural story of witchcraft and the corruption of a soul.

While The Lords of Salem was a box office dud, its reviews from critics were more favorable than usual for Zombie, and many fans of the director were left wowed by seeing a side of his creative mind that he hadn't shown off before. One can imagine legendary Italian horror directors like Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci watching The Lords of Salem and nodding in approval at the surreal, dream-like terror tale Zombie had crafted.

Related: The Lords Of Salem Might Be A Prequel To Rob Zombies Halloween Movies

That said, The Lords of Salem is a really good horror film, but it isn't perfect. Surprisingly enough though, Zombie himself penned a novelization that actually improves on it in a number of ways.

Written by Rob Zombie and author B.K. Evenson, The Lords of Salem novelization hit shelves on March 12, 2013, about a month before the film released in theaters. Zombie said that he decided to write the book for two reasons, the first being his childhood fondness for movie novelizations, and the second being that it allowed him to explore the story in more detail. However, the novel was actually based on Zombie's original script for The Lords of Salem, which ended up being significantly different that what was eventually shot, as a tight schedule and budget limitations had prevented Zombie from realizing his full original vision.

One of the biggest changes is the beginning of The Lords of Salem's story, which in the film introduces the audience to Sheri Moon Zombie's lead character Heidi pretty much right away. In the book though, a lengthy prologue fills in the movie's gaps concerning the Hawthorne family and its deadly dispute with a coven of witches led by Margaret Morgan, which leads to the events of the film as Heidi is a Hawthorne descendant. The basics of this are explained in the film via quick flashbacks, but much more detail is provided on the page. There's also much more of Sid Haig's character, who was almost entirely cut from the finished film.

The book also includes additional kill scenes, as the women of Salem who are in drawn in for the ending ritual when they hear the movie's malevolent song are also compelled to murder their male significant others, something not shown in the film. Speaking of the ending, which isn't really comprehensible on any normal level in the film, although it's full of cool, creepy imagery and sounds, is even crazier in some ways in the book, and also much gorier. Herman (Ken Foree) is also killed trying to save Heidi in the book, whereas in the film he just fades from the narrative. Overall, The Lords of Salem as presented in Zombie's novelization is better fleshed out, has more action, and makes a good deal more sense.

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Michael Kennedy is an avid movie and TV fan that's been working for Screen Rant in various capacities since 2014. In that time, Michael has written over 2000 articles for the site, first working solely as a news writer, then later as a senior writer and associate news editor. Most recently, Michael helped launch Screen Rant's new horror section, and is now the lead staff writer when it comes to all things frightening. A FL native, Michael is passionate about pop culture, and earned an AS degree in film production in 2012. He also loves both Marvel and DC movies, and wishes every superhero fan could just get along. When not writing, Michael enjoys going to concerts, taking in live professional wrestling, and debating pop culture. A long-term member of the Screen Rant family, Michael looks forward to continuing on creating new content for the site for many more years to come.

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The Lords of Salem Tie-In Novel Fixes Rob Zombies Movie - Heres How - Screen Rant

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero