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 HORROR POSSUM'S VERDICT "The first hour was best" |
HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES (Lions Gate Films)
Director: Rob Zombie. Hacktors: Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon, Karen Black. Rating:  Tag-line: None, on this release. Death Toll: If my calculations are right, twelve. Presumably, the graveyard full of crosses makes up the remaining 988 corpses. Cutting Remarks: I've always been a fan of Rob Zombie's music, from the White Zombie 'La Sexorcisto...' days, so the prospect of the man writing and directing a horror flick was mouth-watering. Having said that, I somehow expected Zombie to come up with a rather campy horror flick, steeped more in the tradition of the older horror movies and underground no-budgeters. House Of 1000 Corpses certainly has moments of high camp and all the trad horror trappings - a creepy old lightning-lashed house, for instance - but I was unprepared for its intensity and most of all its disturbing qualities. The good guys are a pair of couples on a road trip, doing research on creepy legends such as the maniacal surgeon Dr Satan. While geeky Bill and Jerry (Rainn Wilson and comedian Chris Hardwick respectively) are good, likeable characters, their girlfriends Mary and Denise (Jennifer Jostyn and Erin Daniels) are Zombie's least impressive characterisations, being fairly interchangeable. They even look similar to the first-time viewer. If they had been more real as characters, 'House...' would be even more disturbing than it already is - perhaps we should consider ourselves fortunate. Anyway, as the foursome pick up a cute hitch-hiker named Baby (Sheri Moon, Zombie's wife), their torment has only just begun. The first half of the movie feels relatively upbeat, but soon takes a turn for the vicious. The highest compliment I can pay this excellent piece of work is that it contains two killings which actually managed to stay with me and trouble my brain. How often does that happen these days? I also love the way in which the supernatural pops up towards the end (what would a Rob Zombie movie be, without zombies?); Dr Satan and his very cool henchman The Professor (give that fella his own franchise!) and the wonderfully inappropriate use of music such as Slim Whitman's I Remember You. Special mention must also go to Sid Haig (a B-movie veteran with the likes of Spider Baby and Coffy under his belt) for his portrayal of Captain Spaulding, who manages to be hilarious and frightening at the same time. House Of 1000 Corpses is a killer for fans of true horror, or anyone who needs reminding what it's all about. Most Memorable Demise: The one which ends with the creation of Fishboy. Shockingly blunt and filmed like a snuff movie. Look Out For: An incredible slow, high tracking shot which suspends you in silence for what feels like a whole minute. Killer Quote: "I ain't readin' no funny books, mama!" - Otis (Moseley) sure ain't kidding. DVD Details: While you can't help feeling that material has been held back for what Zombie himself calls the "super-duper deluxe" director's cut of the movie, a great deal of work has been put into this single disc. First off, it carries a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack and appears in 16 x 9 widescreen (1.85:1). The most exciting thing about the DVD is the way in which most of the main bad guys appear in specially-filmed segments on the menu screens, yabbering away at you like the loons that they are. The best of these is Captain Spaulding (Haig) who greets you in his shop with the marvellous expression, "Shit the bed!". Then there's a short Making Of featurette, an admittedly disappointing Behind The Scenes segment, audition footage, rehearsal footage, four rather shallow interviews with Moseley, Haig, Sheri Moon and make-up man Wayne Toth, a still gallery, theatrical trailers, a 2.0 stereo music-only track, English/Spanish subtitles and three fun Easter Eggs - two of which contain some more ludicrous footage of the killers foolin' around. A very good package overall. Release Date: In the States, August 12, 2003. Came out in the UK through Tartan on March 29, 2004. [Check it out at Amazon UK] [Rob Zombie interview] [Home] © Copyright Slasherama 2002-present |