Full Review: House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

Principal Cast: Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie, and Karen Black
Director: Rob Zombie
Genre: Horror

The Basics: Horror Metal front man Rob Zombie (born Robert Cummings, by the way) wrote and directed this 70’s style horror film, which centers on four young, all-American coeds who, while working on a book about strange and interesting tourist attractions, come across the psychopathically twisted, yet somehow “lovable” Firefly family. On Halloween eve in 1977, the four tourists stop at a small Texas town attraction; Captain Spaulding’s (Haig) Murder Museum, Fried Chicken and Gasoline stand, where they learn the story of a local legend known as “Doctor Satan,” a former asylum doc who was lynched for experimenting on mental patients. In their search for the tree where the doctor was hanged, they come across Baby Firefly (Sheri Moon Zombie) as she hitchhikes her way home. She tells them she knows the tree and brings them home with her, after her brother shoots their car tire flat. “Sidetracked”, they instead partake in the Firefly family Halloween celebration for a little bit, but on their way out after the tire is fixed, the Fireflys attack and take the tourists hostage for a day full of torture, murder, mutilation and depravity.

Recommendation: I would recommend this film primarily for the horror enthusiast (maven, if you will). Shock and gore are elements that Rob Zombie is now known for in his films, and this one is an example, of such. As always, I’ll say, “I liked it, so go ahead and see it,” but it might be a little much to take for the casual movie fan in a non-Halloween time of year. Just being honest.

My Interpretation: Kind of like with Dee Snyder’s Strangeland, I went see this movie not only out of my love of horror films, but also because I am a fan of Rob Zombie’s music. Horror references are a-plenty in his solo work along with the two albums he did with White Zombie, so I could tell this is someone who gets the horror genre. For a first attempt at film making, this movie is pretty good.
*Spoiler Alert* It is definitely scary. Zombie does a good job of mixing the psychologically disturbing with copious amounts of blood and gore to create his atmosphere. For example, Baby and her brother Otis (Moseley) are filmed in several snippets of “home movie” footage expressing their world views using quotes inspired by the Manson family’s home video footage. Also, in the final scene where Denise and Jerry are lowered into Doctor Satan’s lair, a tape recorder is lowered in with them playing a clip of Aleister Crowley reading his poem “the Poet,” particularly the line “bury me in a nameless grave” which he speaks in a very sinister tone. The characters of the four travelers are pretty much your typical horror film clichés; a geek, an idiot, and their girlfriends, who just want to go home (which is always a good idea). The Firefly family may seem like a horror cliché from a distance, but once you get through the movie, you can see that Zombie put a good amount of creative energy in giving them life and depth of character. For example, the previously mentioned Manson family references, and scenes which the audience sees the way that the family interacts with each other. They are a close knit family unit who kill together, yet love and laugh. The characters of Otis and Baby are well rounded out individually while Mama (Black), Grandpa Hugo, Rufus, and Tiny (who is 7 foot 4), provide a good mix of comic relief and support to their tirade of carnage.
There are a good number of instances in the film that might be intended as homages to 70s style of horror, but just come off as cliché. For example, Otis makes a vest and mask out of the skin of Denise’s father, which is a reference to serial killer Ed Gein, who has been “copied” in horror movies all over the place including Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, and American Psycho.
There are also a few scenes that feel more like a rock video than a movie. For example, during the Halloween show, Zombie uses a split screen to show Jerry’s reaction to Baby’s lip synch of “I Wanna Be Loved By You.” This didn’t bother me, but I understand where some people could put off by this kind of film making. All in all not a bad movie in my opinion, especially for a debut film.

Statistics:

Cast Performance: Very good. Upon viewing, one can tell that the actors who play off of one another developed a natural rhythm and report with each other which added to their performance. I will say that this film made me a fan of Sid Haig.

Violence/Gore: Intense. A lot of blood, and scenes of mutilation.

Nudity: Moderate: It is there, but most of it is found in flashback/stock footage type scenes where the images are fleeting. There is one awesome scene of Sheri Moon walking to the liquor store in chaps and a thong.

Ambiance/Music: Very Good. Zombie does a good job of creating intensity through scene. An interesting scene of the movie takes place when Slim Whitmans “I Remember You” is played while two cops and Denise’s father are killed in slow motion by the Firefly’s.

Overall Rating: 3.75/5.0 on the Bob Kline scale.