We got word today via Zombie’s Facebook page about an exit, a replacement, and a new entry. First, the exit: Bruce Dern was apparently double booked being crazy for someone else and bailed on the role he signed up for. Next, the replacement:

Here is the word from Zombie on Dern and Bruce Davidsion: “I got some good news and I got some bad news. The bad news is that Bruce Dern has fallen out of THE LORDS OF SALEM due to a scheduling conflict. But fear not! We have some great news.. BRUCE DAVIDSON has jumped in to save the day and we all couldn’t be more thrilled!

Bruce is known to movie goers from his many appearances in everything from blockbuster’s like X-Men to Robert Altman’s Short Cuts and of course his rat-loving turn in the horror classic Willard. I personally first remember seeing Bruce on TV as Dean Torrence in the Jan and Dean bio pic Deadman’s Curve.”

I dig Davidson as an actor and he is obviously more capable than Dern but you can never replace the bug-eyed, nut-job intensity of a Dern performance. I was psyched to see what Zombie could do with that.

And now, the new addition which isn’t sitting well with me:

Zombie’s Facebook page: “Pork chops and applesauce head to Salem! What the fuck does that mean? Of course it means Christopher Knight has joined our group. Chris plays Keith Williams aka Lobster Joe the host of Lobster Joe’s Fishy Fun Show a staple of local Salem television.

Chris has appeared in everything from Happy Days and Gunsmoke to The Bionic Woman and Chips. But we all know Chris best as Peter Brady from the legendary show THE BRADY BUNCH.”

Now, Zombie doesn’t have a perfect track record. HOUSE OF A 1000 CORPSES was a lot of tossing up ideas to see what stuck and not a lot of things in that film worked. DEVIL’S REJECTS however is an incredibly well done, tried and true, gritty as fuck horror film with a 70’s vibe that belongs right at home in Grindhouse USA. It showed what he can do as a Director when he has control of a film. As for the HALLOWEEN films, I thought the first one sucked but the second one was actually better than the original HALLOWEEN II.

The casting so far on LORDS OF SALEM has had me geeked from the jump. Billy Drago, Lisa Marie, Dee Wallace, Ken Foree, Sid Haig, Maria Conchita Alonso, Barbara Crampton, this is pitch perfect casting. Nearly every name on that list has history for people, a history associated with some of cinema’s classic titles. Then we have Chris Knight aka Peter Brady. The dude has barely acted since The Brady Bunch, he is probably just as famous now for hooking up with Adrianne Curry (which we admit we are jealous about) as he is for the role that got him that piece of ass in the first place.

This casting has nothing to do with horror though. It has nothing to do with making a film better. It’s cute casting and that blows. Zombie is not about cute casting and you can’t convince me someone was sitting in the office thinking you know what this role needs? Some Chris Knight. Having said that, if they were having that thought, they should be fucking fired.

SEE YOU ON FORTY DEUCE,

G

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Jon Abrams

Editor-In-Chief at Daily Grindhouse

Jon Abrams is a New York-based writer, cartoonist, and committed cinemaniac whose complete work and credits can be found at his site, Demon’s Resume. You can contact him on Twitter as @JonZilla___.