Rob Zombie’s latest expedition into the horror genre, The Lords of Salem, is something to behold. Long gone is his use of brutal violence, his zany, wild and unpredictable characters who spout off colorful dialogue that most would struggle to say in front of their grandma. Uncle Bob dials it back a bit here and it’s by far the best film he’s made yet.

Sherri Moon Zombie (Uncle Bob’s real life wife) plays Heidi Hawthorne, a recovering drug addict who works the night shift on a radio show in Salem, Massachusetts. Heidi happens to live in one of those old, spooky horror movie apartments where there can only be so much light, otherwise it’s just not spooky enough. Heidi has one hell of a mysterious land lord, Lacy Doyle, played by Judy Geeson. Geeson is fantastic in this. Whenever she engages Heidi there always seems to be some kind of ulterior motive. Whether it’s said with her lips or with her eyes, something is never what it seems with her.

One night at work Heidi receives a record from a mysterious band called “The Lords”. Heidi ends up playing the record on the air that night. There exists a great scene in the film where people all over Salem listening to the radio, stop what they are doing because they are so put off by what they are hearing. Something about the collective dread being experienced by people all over town really hit home with me.

Heidi soon slowly falls under a mystifying spell and soon her life descends into hell. Zombie fills his film with some breathtaking set pieces that explode off the screen in vibrant fashion. In one instance, Heidi goes to a church for solace only to find herself being forced to perform oral sex on a priest that has been demonically possessed. In another Heidi happens into the wrong apartment in her building whose sole illumination is a bright neon cross with a massive Yeti-like monster standing behind her breathing portentously. Soon the spell Heidi is under becomes one that enraptures the audience.

I must reiterate how much better Zombie has gotten at filmmaking. He shows a real restraint here that is missing from his previous efforts. The Lords of Salem moves at a snail’s pace, but is never boring. Credit goes to Zombie for filling his film with fantastic sets and interesting characters. The pace of the film is also perfected by Zombie’s flawless atmosphere. Nearly every scene in the film is filled with dread and you never feel comfortable watching this movie.

While I do like The Lords of Salem a lot, the final 20 minutes of the film are insane (and mostly in a bad way). There is imagery in the finale that I will not ruin because you’ll be hard pressed to find a more outrageous ending than the one found here. There are parts of the finale that go a little too far. The pacing of the first hour and twenty minute are measured while everything that follows is escalated to fast cuts, silly animation and outrageous scenes of debauchery. The debauchery stuff doesn’t really bother me; it’s the way it’s presented. It feels more like a music video for White Zombie circa 1992, than an homage to Ken Russell and Alejandro Jodorowsky. This, however, is only a small complaint as most of the film worked for me. Rob Zombie can finally say he’s made the best horror film of the year. Well….so far.

For this monthly staff feature we came to the conclusion that because not everyone on the staff has been to the same festivals, thus having the opportunities to see the same films, that each writer from the staff would list their own individual Top 5 Films of 2013 (So Far). You can tell just by looking at our lists that there is a wide range of quality films that have been released at the halfway mark of 2013. While we wait to see what upcoming gems 2013 will bring us, here are the best films of the year so far.

Blake’s Top 5

2013, what a year you’ve been so far for us film going folk. You’ve made me cry (A Haunted House, Aftershock), you’ve made me laugh (Warm Bodies in a good way, A Good Day to Die Hard in a bad way) and you’ve had me cheering from the rafters (Gareth Evan’s Safe Haven, Fast and Furious 6). You were better than the first half of 2012 so keep up the good work. Picking my favorite 5 films of the year so far has proven to be a malicious act. I’ve seen some great films. There are easily more than five and since I can only have that amount, I shall list what barely misses here. These are my, as Roger Ebert would call them, Special Jury winners: Graceland, The Silence, The Act of Killing, The Place Beyond the Pines, and Side Effects.

#1  Spring Breakers

#2  Reality

#3  The Hunt

#4  Upstream Color

#5  The Lords of Salem

Bernard’s Top 5

My top two films of the year so far are interchangeable, as they’re both brilliant, but in different ways. Before Midnight is nearly flawless—I was floored by every facet of it. Sarah Polley’s documentary/family-drama/soap-opera/whodunit, Stories We Tell, is a Frankenstein’s monster of personal filmmaking goodness that exists outside any genre. These two films are absolute beasts, and there are miles between them and the rest of the movies I saw this year. That said, it would be amazing if a film in the last half of 2013 can top them somehow. Fingers crossed!

#1  Before Midnight

#2  Stories We Tell

#3  Simon Killer

#4  You’re Next

#5  Like Someone In Love

Amy’s Top 5

I had the opportunity to see so many great films at this year’s Sundance London Film Festival, but only a few have so far have had confirmed releases, In a World will be heading to the UK this September. It was a tremendous comedy written, directed and performed by Lake Bell – I would recommend anyone to go see it when it hits cinemas! I also had the chance to see Mud at the festival and loved every minute of it. Stoker, (directed by Chan-wook Park, Oldboy) was a phenomenal film – its stunning visuals and intense storyline had me utterly gripped throughout, sincerely recommend for those who like Park’s style. Warm Bodies was a great film that turned our expectations of a zombie film upside down, making the dead come alive and love again. I really did not think I would take to Sightseers as much as I did, most of the film I was thinking – “what the hell is going on” – but the last few scenes had me in stitches. Looking forward to seeing: This is the End, The East, and Before Midnight.

#1  In a World

#2  Mud

#3  Stoker

#4  Warm Bodies

#5  Sightseers

CJ’s Top 5

I’ve never seen a year where my two favourite films (at this time) are documentaries, let alone ones that push the capabilities of documentary filmmaking and cinema itself into new directions. I had an internal debate about my placement of both films on this list. Do I give the #1 spot to the film with the most societal and moral impact, or the film with the most cinematic impact? In the end I couldn’t choose, so I let them both share the top spot. The other three are all terrific, and Bernard has explained enough why Before Midnight is great, but these first two shook me to the core. Other films that barely made the cut: Spring Breakers, Side Effects, The Place Beyond The Pines, Valentine Road.

#1 (tie)  Leviathan and The Act of Killing

#3  Before Midnight

#4  Beyond The Hills

#5  Hors Satan

Ananda’s Top 5

Perhaps it’s the celebration of the end of a long recession, but of 2013’s film offerings thus far, the ones that have seemed strongest to me are all of a lighter fare. Granted I haven’t seen A Hijacking, Mud, or The Stories We Tell (which would probably make this list because I have a huge girl-crush on Sarah Polley). I can wait for the fall to indulge in the heavier stuff, including all those festival films not yet released (Blue is the Warmest Color, holler). But sometimes lighter is better. From the bottom, This is the End is the best buddies-in-a-crises film I’ve seen since Shaun of the Dead and had my abs hurting for days. A three-quel on my list? I’m just as shocked, but when Hollywood’s wittiest writer, Shane Black, unites with the world’s wittiest superhero, Iron Man (played by the man Black was born to write for, Robert Downey Jr.) it’s a match made in Marvel heaven. Upstream Color isn’t easier to follow than Shane Carruth’s first film Primer, but was much easier to accept and had a lovely hum to it. It’s no secret I’m a sucker for films of the dark and twisty variety, and Stoker manages to be elegant with its seductive spookiness. Frances Ha, at the top of my list, stroke some realistic chords with this urban-dwelling 20-something, and Greta Gerwig shines as she makes what could be an aimless hipster, a relatable heroine. All in all, 2013 has me feeling rather positive thus far. Honorable Mentions: Side Effects (The twists and pacing of Ocean’s 11 with the gravitas of Contagion) and since we’re keeping it light with my list Warm Bodies successfully paired young love and zombies to my great delight.

#1  Frances Ha

#2  Stoker

#3  Upstream Color

#4  Iron Man 3

#5  This is the End

Dustin’s Top 5

It is not all that surprising that three of the top five films I have seen so far in 2013 had played at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. But only one of those (Nebraska) is allowed to be on this list as the other two (Like Father, Like Son and The Great Beauty) do not meet our prerequisite of having a hard 2013 U.S. release date yet. But because 2013 has been a solid year for films so far, it was not difficult to find two other films to take their place. And it will only get better during the fall festival circuit and awards season. Though I saw Ulrich Seidl’s hard-to-watch yet stimulating Paradise: Love last year, it is still the top film for me with a 2013 release date. A few films that just missed the cut for me were: To The Wonder, 28 Hotel Rooms, and The Act of Killing. I should also include a few films that I have not seen yet: Mud, Fruitvale Station, Before Midnight, and Post Tenebras Lux.

#1  Paradise: Love

#2  The Place Beyond the Pines

#3  Upstream Color

#4  Frances Ha

#5  Nebraska

Everyone knows Rob Zombie from his music days with his band White Zombie and of course with his solo career as well. But for the past few years he’s been carving his name in the Horror film echelon. His output has been pretty split in terms of quality. His first two films House of 1,000 Corpses and its sequel The Devil’s Rejects were inspired pieces of work. Corpses being an obvious homage to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, while Rejects was a highly inspired semi road film with spectacularly inspired violence and brutality.

His next two films were the Halloween remakes. I personally didn’t care for the first film, but you cannot deny some of the power its sequel has. The film is hands down one of the most violent I’ve ever seen. My point is that Zombie has a love of anything and everything Horror and actually has talent to showcase. He’s more than capable of putting together frightening images that shock his audiences.

My major grip with Zombie’s films is the persistent casting of his real life wife (the ever so aptly named) Sherry Moon Zombie. She’s a terrible actress. She’s not only terrible, but ghastly annoying. I’m sure she’s a really nice person, but please stop casting her. Please.

All of this leads me to my point. Uncle Bob is back with another tale of American gothic Horror. It’s titled The Lords of Salem and it has a new trailer. The film is about a radio DJ who accidentally summons a coven of witches in the town of (you guessed it) Salem, Massachusetts. Images of the film surfaced almost 2 months ago when the film was announced for the Midnight Madness program at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Reviews were pretty mixed but now we have a trailer and boy is it a good one. I’m not even going to talk about it, I’ll just let you guys watch and decide. I will say however that it looks like it could be a very creepy experience.

Watch the official trailer for The Lords of Salem:

The Toronto International Film Festival has announced more titles today in six of their programmes. After last week’s announcement of Galas and Special Presentations, TIFF has revealed the line-ups for TIFF Docs, City to City, Midnight Madness, TIFF Kids, TIFF Cinematheque, and Vanguard today.

The Midnight Madness programme is dedicated to showing off some of the world’s wildest new films. This year’s selections include opening film Dredd 3D starring Karl Urban, Seven Psychopaths starring Colin Farrell and The ABCs of Death, the anthology horror film with 26 directors each making a short about a letter of the alphabet. This is also the first year Midnight Madness will have at least one of their films in 3D.

The City to City program was created in 2009 to profile cities around the world with new, exciting filmmakers. This year’s selection is Mumbai which joins the list of other cities chosen for the program including Tel Aviv, Istanbul and Buenos Aires.

TIFF Docs, formerly caled Real to Reel, focuses on documentaries from around the world. Plenty of major documentaries have premiered at TIFF including last year’s Best Documentary winner Undefeated. This year some of the documentaries playing include new works by Ken Burns and Alex Gibney. The festival also revealed documentaries that will be playing in their Wavelengths and Masters programmes.

The Vanguard programme focuses on new, original, provocative and boundary-pushing films. Some titles included in the Vanguard line-up this year include the remake of Nicolas Winding Refn`s Pusher and Sightseers, director Ben Wheatley`s (Kill List, Down Terrace) new film.

TIFF Kids is dedicated to programming children`s films at the festival. Two of the more high-profile titles playing this year are Finding Nemo 3D and Hotel Transylvania.

TIFF Cinematheque is a new programme this year that shows classic films restores. Titles this year include Alfred Hitchcock`s Dial M for Murder and a new 4K restoration of Roman Polanski`s Tess.

The list of all the titles announced today are below. Way Too Indie will be covering the Toronto International Film Festival this year which runs from September 6 – 16th. To find out more information about the festival go to www.tiff.net/thefestival

Midnight Madness:
Dredd 3D – (Pete Travis) (Opening Film)
Seven Psychopaths – (Martin McDonagh)
No One Lives – (Ryuhei Kitamura)
Hellbenders 3D – (JT Petty)
The Lords of Salem – (Rob Zombie)
Aftershock – (Nicolas Lopez)
The Bay – (Barry Levinson)
Come Out and Play – (Makinov)
The ABCs of Death – (Various)
John Dies at the End – (Don Coscarelli)

City to City:
The Bright Day – (Mohit Takalkar)
Gangs of Wasseypur – Part One – (Anurag Kashyap)
Gangs of Wasseypur – Part Two – (Anurag Kashyap)
Ishaqzaade – (Habib Faisal)
Miss Lovely – (Ashim Ahluwalia)
Mumbai’s King – (Manjeet Singh)
Peddlers – (Vasan Bala)
Shahid – (Hansal Mehta)
Shanghai – (Dibakar Banerjee)
Ship of Theseus – (Anand Gandhi)

TIFF Documentaries:
9.79* – (Daniel Gordon)
Artifact – (Bartholomew Cubbins)
A World Not Ours – (Mahdi Fleifel)
The Act of Killing – (Joshua Oppenheimer)
As if We Were Catching a Cobra – (Hala Alabdalla)
Camp 14 — Total Control Zone – (Marc Wiese)
The Central Park Five – (Ken Burns, David McMahon and Sarah Burns)
Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story – (Brad Bernstein)
Fidaï – (Damien Ounouri)
First Comes Love – (Nina Davenport)
The Gatekeepers – (Dror Moreh)
The Girl from the South – (José Luis García)
How to Make Money Selling Drugs – (Matthew Cooke)
Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp – (Jorge Hinojosa)
London – The Modern Babylon – (Julien Temple)
Lunarcy! – (Simon Ennis)
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God – (Alex Gibney)
Men At Lunch – (Seán Ó Cualáin)
More Than Honey – (Markus Imhoof)
No Place on Earth – (Janet Tobias)
Reincarnated – (Andrew Capper)
Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out – (Marina Zenovich)
The Secret Disco Revolution – (Jamie Kastner)
Shepard & Dark – (Treva Wurmfeld)
Show Stopper: The Theatrical Life of Garth Drabinsky – (Barry Avrich)
State 194 – (Dan Setton)
Storm Surfers 3D – (Christopher Nelius and Justin McMillan)
The Walls of Dakar – (Abdoul Aziz Cissé)

Wavelengths:
Bestiaire – (Denis Côté)

Masters:
The End of Time – (Peter Mettler)

TIFF Kids:
Ernest & Célestine – (Benjamin Renner, Vincent Patar, Stéphane Aubier)
Finding Nemo 3D – (Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich)
Hotel Transylvania – (Genndy Tartakovsky)
Igor & the Cranes’ Journey – (Evgeny Ruman)

TIFF Cinematheque:
The Bitter Ash – (Larry Kentz)
The Cloud Capped Star – (Ritwik Ghatak)
Dial M for Murder – (Alfred Hitchcock)
Loin du Viêtnam – (Joris Ivens, William Klein, Claude Lelouch, Agnès Varda, Jean-Luc Godard, Chris Marker, Alain Resnais)
Stromboli – (Roberto Rossellini)
Tess – (Roman Polanski)

TIFF Vanguard:
90 Minutes – (Eva Sørhaug)
Beijing Flickers – (Zhang Yuan)
Berberian Sound Studio – (Peter Strickland)
Blondie – (Jesper Ganslandt)
Here Comes the Devil – (Adrian Garcia Bogliano)
iLL Manors – (Ben Drew)
Motorway – (Soi Cheang)
Painless – (Juan Carlos Medina)
Peaches Does Herself – (Peaches)
Pusher – (Luis Prieto)
Room 237 – (Rodney Ascher)
Sightseers – (Ben Wheatley)
Thale – (Aleksander Nordaas)
The We and the I – (Michel Gondry)