House of 1,000 Corpses (2003)

[demolition18]

This thread is for talks about House of 1,000 Corpses written and directed by Rob Zombie.

Plot Outline 1: In "House of 1000 Corpses", two young couples take a misguided tour onto the back roads of America in search of a local legend known as Dr. Satan. Lost and stranded, they are set upon by a bizarre family of psychotics. Murder, cannibalism and satanic rituals are just a few of the 1000+ horrors that await.

Plot Outline 2: Jerry, Bill, Mary, and Denise are two couples out on the road in hopes of writing a book on offbeat roadside attractions. When the four meet Captain Spaulding, they learn of the legend of Dr. Satan. When the four take off in search of finding the tree that Dr. Satan was hung from, they pick up hitchhiker Baby. When their car breaks down, Baby invites them into her house. This is where the two couples meet the Firefly family, a murderous clan of bizarre people. As the family attacks the unsuspecting couples, Jerry and his friends try to survive the house of 1000 corpses and it's dark secrets.

 

[Starbeast]

For me, the best part of the movie was the first half hour, the rest of the film seemed like a surreal rehash of original 1974 film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I listened to the audio commentary of House of 1000 Corpses and Rob Zombie admitted that he made many mistakes while directing the movie. Rob also said that he learned a great deal about "How to Make a Horror Movie" as he struggled to piece together his chaotic creation. If you watch the behind the scenes footage, you can see Mr Zombie pacing back-and-forth, staring at the ground with an angry face.

I think Rob should have put Sid Haig (Capt. Spaulding) in more of the movie, because he was a great weirdo clown character.

 

[ravenus]

I generally liked HoTC, sure it riffed a great deal from TCM, that was intentional. But I loved Zombie's look for the film - great use of colors and costumes for that fantastic garish effect. In fact the film reminded me a lot of TCM2, although that one was played a lot more for laughs.
The Devil's Rejects, a sequel to HoTC is one fo my favorite films. It is IMO a lot more kinetic and gripping than its predecessor.

 

[Starbeast]

The Devil's Rejects, a sequel to HoTC is one of my favorite films. It is IMO a lot more kinetic and gripping than its predecessor.

I agree, Mr Zombie knows how to make a movie now.

 

[Demonomania]

I agree, Mr Zombie knows how to make a movie now.

I'm not sure about that, did you see Halloween part two? Worst film I've seen in a long time. Which is a shame as I loved his first two.

 

[Lemmy]

I loved House of 1000 Corpses, even before most people I know new it even existed. You'd be surprised how many people think The Devil's Rejects were the first one. I didn't mind Devil's Rejects, but I didn't like it nearly as much as House. Maybe because they are two very different movies. House goes all out and doesn't hold back on anything, but Devil's Rejects feels too normal for me. Sure the Firefly-family returns, but I thought they were kinda boring compared to House.

As for Rob Zombie's Halloween, I hated them both. One of the main reasons why I love Michael Meyers is because we never got to know his past. He killed his sister for no apparent reason, went to the loony bin, just sat there for 15 years, then broke out and went on a killing spree. And somewhere along the road, he got superhuman powers. What the heck happened? Trying to explain everything felt wrong. We know what happened to Jason (if you watch Friday 13th part 2, they say Jason didn't drown. He survived and lived in the forest until his mother was killed, then went on a rampage to get revenge. He didn't even have superpowers until part 6.) And Freddy? Not sure what that was all about, but there has been plenty of theories even in the movies. What makes Michael so unique is simply that we don't know anything about him.

And as for that kid who played him, I hated him. He felt very wrong for the part. And Halloween 2... don't get me started. If the first one killed the franchise and buried it, the sequel danced on the grave. And even worse, he's making Halloween 3D. Not sure if it can possibly be worse than the second, but I guess it will.

But I guess this is getting off topic. Back to the house, folks! Anyone think he can make a third movie? A prequel, perhaps? And would you want one? I sure do, if he can remember the good, old days of House and forget all this new stuff he's been doing. He should take all the experience he has from all his movies and go back to House of 1000 Corpses and make a proper sequel. Or prequel. Or reboot, even.

 

[Starbeast]

I'm not sure about that, did you see Halloween part two? Worst film I've seen in a long time. Which is a shame as I loved his first two.

I haven't seen it yet, but thanks for the warning.

 

[ravenus]

I'd rather Rob make an all-new movie, not HoTC or Halloween. Original ideas are harder to come by than sequels / reboots.

 

[Demonomania]

I haven't seen it yet, but thanks for the warning.

That's no problem manm, I'm just glad I can prevent someone from going through what I did. I was genuinely upset at how bad it was. Mainly because it showed how much of a hack director he has become. All the genre stereotypes were there, ALL of them. I let his first Halloween slide and actually found some enjoyment from it as there were moments of potential within the whole thing but part two... It's my own fault really, when I saw the first one I said, 'okay, he done that time to move on to original stuff again... if he makes a sequal I will definately not go see it...' What a fool I was

Based on this I do not think it would be a good idea for him to revisit his earlier two films, mainly because he is so much of a hollywoodhorror film hack it would ruin the magic he made with those films.