I just got through watching “House of 1,000 Corpses” by writer/director Rob Zombie. I must tell you that I am absolutely speechless. Fortunately, being speechless doesn’t stop me from writing down some of my thoughts about the film. However, I hardly know where to start, so I’ll try to work everything in from the beginning. The DVD release of “House of 1,000 Corpses” was preceded by more than a year of studio hopping of this independently produced feature. Rock singer Rob Zombie, tired of all the lousy studio produced horror films that have been glutting the market, decided that he would have a go at creating one himself. With the promise of a major studio backing him as far as releasing it, he set off to do so. Once the film was finished, Zombie suddenly found the major studio wanted out of the deal, and so the search was on to find a new distributor.

It seemed that no one wanted to touch the film, and Zombie fans got into an uproar because they wanted to see the movie. Shopping around from studio to studio, Zombie finally found some support from Lion’s Gate, who showed some backbone and was willing to distribute the film in theatres and on DVD. Of course, all this media attention certainly helped to sell the film to audiences even before the anticipation of its eventual release set in.

I can’t speak for the box office for “House of 1,000 Corpses” once it hit theatres. I intended to go and see it, but the opportunity didn’t present itself, so I missed it. But I knew once it hit DVD, I’d have to see it. Admittedly, I’ve never been a big Rob Zombie fan as far as his music goes, but I knew if anyone could put together a ‘different’ kind of horror flick, it would be him.

“House of 1,000 Corpses” is one of the most twisted and disturbing horror movies I think I’ve ever seen. Is it a great horror movie that will go over well with mainstream audiences? Not a chance. It’s bloody, raunchy and morbidly funny with performances by its lead actors that leave over-the-top in the dust. I think the closest movie I can compare it to is “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” as it re-visits the concept of a ‘dysfunctional’ family living far off the beaten path, and their neighborly interaction with visitors. That is, if you consider neighborly to mean torture, dismemberment and cannibalism. Having you over for dinner has a whole new meaning for this family.

The film starts out innocently enough with a visit by two young couples traveling cross-country who stop at Captain Spaulding’s Murder Museum (a strange little roadside attraction where you can also get gas and fried chicken). Here they learn from the clown-faced owner all about the legend of Dr. Satan, a local murderer of note. Curious to learn more, they get a map and set out to find the tree where he was hanged. Along the way they pick up a hitchhiker, have a flat and end up in the household from hell. That’s it in a nutshell as far as the synopsis.

The first thing that caught my eye was Zombie’s way of telling the tale. The film plays out like a schizophrenic nightmare from start to finish. Though the storyline is fairly linear, it is made up of a continuous barrage of quick edits and images. Zombie is a huge fan of classic horror movies and it shows in this film. Scenes from older black and white movies are inter-cut within the story, as well as newly produced scenes, which serve to illustrate what certain characters are talking about at the time. It’s very similar to “Natural Born Killers” in style. What this quick editing physically does is put the viewer in a constant state of disorientation. You feel like you’re actually stuck in the aforementioned schizophrenic nightmare.

Zombie has a really keen eye for what to show you and what not to show you. There is a fair amount of gore, and though it wasn’t as bad as I anticipated, it’s not for the squeamish. I was also really impressed with how parts of the film played out. There were some truly frightening moments as the story went from bad to worse, but the anticipation of a gruesome act often was what made the film great. One scene in particular stands out for me as delivering the epitome of suspense, as I held my breath during the impending death of a character. It is a still moment, nothing is moving but you know the character is going to die. The camera pulls away slowly, further and further and then stops. The wait is unbearable and one of the most brilliant pieces of filmmaking in the movie.

I mentioned before that “House of 1,000 Corpses” would probably not go over well with mainstream audiences and I still stick by that comment, in part due to the film’s style, but also because of the seemingly excessive gore. However, as my tastes can run into the most extreme of the macabre, I loved it. A lot.

The Lion’s Gate DVD release is as schizophrenic as the movie itself. The menus have mini movies where some of the characters come out and tell you to pick something, anything. The main menu features Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) in the lobby of his store, and it is absolutely hysterical. The film goes on for quite awhile, and he gets increasingly belligerent the longer you wait to choose something. At one point, he pulls out a girlie magazine and starts commenting on the girlie’s… uhhh attributes.

There’s also a bunch of extras on the disc, some are pretty cool while others are throwaway. These are hosted by the blonde hitchhiker, Baby (Sherri Moon), and let me warn you that if you got quite enough of her ‘nails on a chalkboard’ laugh in the film, you want to hurry up and pick an extra.

The best extra on the disc is the commentary by director Rob Zombie. He’s surprisingly articulate, though there’s enough ‘colorful metaphors’ to make even me blush. He’s very candid, and doesn’t waste a breath on any uninteresting facts or stories about the making of the film.

The ‘Making of’ featurette has some interviews and such, and a ‘Behind the Scenes’ short offers you a look onset while the crew is preparing for a shoot. There’s one extra (that shall remain nameless) that begs to question what it could be. The words Tiny and Stump are in the title and they are part of some odd ‘knock knock’ joke that we get to be privy to… over and over again. The ‘audition tape’ is really just one audition, and that is of Dennis Fimple reading for the part of Grandpa Hugo. More interesting are the rehearsal tapes, which give you a look at some of the characters out of makeup, as they prepare for their scene.

“House of 1,000 Corpses” is not your run of the mill horror flick, and neither is the DVD. It’s not for those with a weak stomach, and you’ve got to have a twisted sense of humor to really get into the morbid comedy. I also think it’s far from the greatest horror film of all time, but it does deliver one heck of an insane roller coaster ride.

Directed by: Rob Zombie
Starring: Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Karen Black, Sherri Moon
Extras: Director Commentary, Featurette, Audition Footage, Rehearsal Footage, Cast and Crew Interviews, Still Gallery, Theatrical Trailers, 2.0 Stereo Music Only Track
Specifications: Widescreen (1.85:1) Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions, Dolby Digital 5.1
Studio: Lion’s Gate
Release Date: 8/12/2003
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R (Strong Sadistic Violence / Gore, Sexuality and Language)
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We'll give House of 1,000 Corpses a B+.