House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
Directed by Rob Zombie
Written by Rob Zombie
Starring Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie, Karen Black
Release Date April 11th, 2003
Published April 10th, 2003
Horror fans have been buzzing for three years about rocker Rob Zombie's first foray into feature films, House of 1,000 Corpses. Based on Zombie's unique music videos and avowed love of classic horror films, fans of Fangoria have been foaming at the mouth in anticipation of what Zombie could produce. Now after three years of studio leapfrogging and MPAA kowtowing in an attempt to avoid the kiss of box office death NC 17 rating, House Of 1,000 Corpses is finally receiving a limited theatrical run. Was it worth the wait?
House begins as the story of four college kids in the late 1970's on the road writing a little travelog about kitschy roadside attractions. It stars a couple of unknowns alongside a couple of where-have-I-seen-that-guy-befores who make the mistake of picking up a hitchhiker on a dark rainy night. The hitchhiker is named Baby, a sexy looking blonde with a laugh like a kitten in a blender and personality to match. A flat tire leads the kids to Baby's house where her brother will supposedly use his tow truck to help them get it fixed. Unfortunately, Baby's family is completely insane and demonically obsessed with a dead serial killer known as Dr. Satan.
As the kids wait for the car to be fixed on the night before Halloween, the family, led by mom (horror staple Karen Black) and Otis, the family's top psycho, prepare to raise Dr. Satan from the grave.
Zombie brings his trademark visual style from his music videos and paints a unique horror canvas with poorly focused cameras and the occasional intercutting of black and white scenes from classic horror films so numerous you can't keep up with them. Zombie, long a fan of horror classics from the black and white era, seems to want to recreate the aura of those films but can't resist falling back on the horror cliches of the more modern era the 1970's. Indeed House Of 1,000 Corpses has much more in common with Texas Chainsaw Massacre than any of the black and white movies Zombie claims as inspiration.
There is nothing wrong with an homage to 70's horror movies but House Of 1,000 Corpses seems more rip-off than homage. Outside of Zombie's visuals, everything in the film seems a direct lift from Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
The film's most fatal flaw however is its lack of interesting characters. The characters we are supposed to sympathize with are one-note characters that are either whiny or obnoxious. The villains are over the top obnoxious and, rather than being frightening, they are simply annoying. Zombies fail to create a rooting interest on either the side of good or evil. A good horror film has to have a character to cheer for whether it's Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween or Freddy in Nightmare on Elm Street. House of 1,000 Corpses never provides that charismatic character that holds your interest beginning to end.
The lack of a rooting interest leaves the film to rely solely on the director’s skill with visuals and set pieces. As successful as Rob Zombie is with those elements, it's not enough to hold an audience's interest.
