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House of 1000 Corpses

House of 1000 Corpses

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $17.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Much better than you might think
Review: Fans have anxiously awaited Rob Zombie's directorial film debut for over 3 and a half years now, and while the finished product of House of 1000 Corpses isn't scary one bit, it's a very fun dirty little film that reminds us that horror films are supposed to be fun. In the late 70's, four kids go cross country and come across hearing the legend of Dr. Satan; an insane doctor who performed ghoulish experiments on his patients. Soon they pick up a hitchhiker (the oh so hot Sheri Moon; Rob Zombie's real life girlfriend), and from this point any veteran fan of horror films knows whats going to happen next. Soon we meet her family which includes Trilogy of Terror vixen Karen Black and the always excellent Bill Moseley. Next there are plenty of predictable scares followed by some nice gore and make up effects, and the film bares a stunning resemblance to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Zombie partly succeeded his intention; to make a truly scary horror film like the ones of old, and while House of 1000 Corpses isn't the most brilliant piece of horror film (or the most intelligent for that matter), it's a fun ride nonetheless, and Zombie shows some true directorial talent. The performances are great with Moseley stealing the entire show, his performance bearing striking similarities to his zany and hilarious deliverance of Chop Top in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and the cast also includes a foul mouthed clown faced Sid Haig and a southern drawl spewing Walt Goggins (Shane on TV's The Shield). All in all, House of 1000 Corpses is a gritty little movie that horror buffs will find some appreciation for. If you find you like this check out older horror films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1 & 2, Last House on the Left, and the original Hellraiser.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: THE BOOGYMAN IS REAL, AND YOU FOUND HIM!!
Review: I snatched this DVD off the shelf the day of its release, and for good reason. "House of 1000 Corpses" is absolutely the greatest grisly horror film I've ever seen! Watching the movie in its original theatrical premiere gave me the thrills and chills, and I don't even listen to any of Rob Zombie's music. What makes this film quite excellent is that it has finally reawakened the celluloid corpse of the horror genre; before this, Hollywood has churned out an obscene number of dull PG-13 teeny bopper flicks, including "Scream" and "I Know What you Did Last Summer." While paying homage to the disturbing shock-fests of the 1960's and 70's, Zombie gives "House" a post-millenium twist with acidic photo negativity and twisted montages incorporating topless strippers, mutilated cadavers and snippets from campy black-and-white monster movies (provided by Dr. Wolfenstein's Creature Feature Marathon). Rob Zombie himself commented that a majority of "House's" gritty home video footage was shot through a hand-held camera in parts of Zombie's own basement! Also notice how NO high-tech computer effects were used; because "House" is set in the rural American South in 1977, the makers intended to stay true to that period (not to mention achieve realistic gore without overspending the budget). And of course the larger-than-life characters of "House of 1000 Corpses" are just as memorable as those in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." In fact, in the DVD's featurette, Sig Haig happily confessed how he would like to see this film presented in any tiny theatre where audiences can yell back at the screen! Who wouldn't love to visit Captain Spaulding's Museum of Monsters and Madman and sample a bag of tasty fried chicken? Would you dare purchase a ticket to the scary Murder Ride and learn the legend of Dr. Satan? Or how about the psychotic Spiderfly family, who light up the flickering candles on Halloween night and fiendishly participate in a gruesome celebration (one in which cheerleaders are gagged, tied up and tortured)? Better yet, when was the last time a cinema fanatic witnessed a cult ritual of blood and fire, dedicated to the famous Dr. Satan himself?! Although I enjoy watching this film from beginning to end, I do have a few favorite moments. The first that immediately comes in my head is none other than the creepy Murder Ride, complete with cross-shaped tombstones, animatronic zombies and the awesome Captain telling the tragic tales of real-life serial murderers, molesters and cannibals (most notably Ed Gein, the notorious killer whose farmhouse was borrowed for "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.") I love the part when Baby (Sherie Moon) struts her way to the stage in her glittering evening gown, lip-synching to "I Wanna Be Loved by You" like a cute Hollywood starlet. Such bizarre charm! Yet another moment that stands out in my mind is when the sadistic Otis (Bill Moseley) lops off a victim's right hand with an axe...all while the funky Commodore's hit "She's a Brick House" blares on the radio! Mother Firefly (played by the voluptuous Karen Black) sort of reminds me of a blond, venomous Sharon Osbourne from the South!
You kiddies will be happy to know that actors Sid Haig, Sherie Moon AND Bill Moseley actually host the different menus on the DVD; after returning to their delightfully creepy roles in the film, they each provide color commentary DIRECTLY TO YOU! Unfortunately, the list of extras DOES NOT include any hardcore deleted scenes, but if you carefully listen to Zombie's commentary, you might get just a hint as to which kind of footage was edited out. The interviews segment is quite interesting to watch too. I think I like the part when Sid Haig (clown greasepaint and all) chose "House of Wax" as his most favorite horror movie. Each interview even unveils a brand new character action figure!
I can hardly wait to see what Rob Zombie has in store for us in the future, when he prepares to unleash an even more violent sequel! RIP Dennis Fimple.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: This should have rocked--what happened??!!
Review: I love horror films and enjoy metal music so I should have been happy with this film. The DVD is great, in essence, with the menu intros and the hidden features but that does not make up for a bad movie. I have seen worse but it seems that Rob Zombie needs to work a little harder. The beginning was great with Captain Spaulding and the ending, with DR. SATAN, was interesting, but the middle just lagged. It would seem Rob wanted to pay homage to his favorite gore flicks from the 1970's but it just fell so short and seemed to have no real direction. I felt no suspense and I really did not feel the urge for the victims to escape or for the villians to win. I just really wanted it to end. I borrowed this film from a friend and I am so gald that I did not actually purchase it. I have heard that he is working on a follow-up to this movie and I hope it is better then this film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: THE BEST HORROR FILM IN A LONG TIME
Review: I absolutely love this movie. I cannot stop watching it whenever I see it on. Rob Zombie found the best characters to star in this film. I do file it in the cult-horror film category, but for avid horror fans, you will deeply appreciate the scenes in this movie that remind you of past horror films.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Chilling journey into hell!
Review: From famed hardcore rock legend Rob Zombie presents a dazzling and terrifying horror comedy set in 1979, a group of college students pick up a hitchhiker that takes them to a weird truck-stop that happens to have a ride and some fried chicken served. The college students are on the verge to find the legendary murderer " Dr. Satan" but when they go to where the Hitchhiker lives then all hell breaks loose in a house occupied by murderers and satanists who worship " Dr. Satan".
A totally disturbing, sleazy, funny yet gory thrill ride designed to be a tribue to 70's and early 80's horror movies, has good gore, good dialog and it's all around good bloody fun for the whole Manson family.
Also recommended: Maniac ( 1980), Last House on the Left, The Evil Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Blood Diner, The Toxic Avenger, Demons, Urban Legend, Final Destination 2, Cabin Fever, Re-Animator, Day of the Dead, Evil Dead 2, Wrong Turn, The Ring, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3, From Dusk Till Dawn, Reservoir Dogs, Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, Candyman, Hellraiser, Dawn of the Dead, Friday The 13th, Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday, Freddy Vs. Jason, May, and Creepshow.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Run, Rabbit, Run
Review: House of 1000 Corpses is a wild, psychedelic, psychobilly, B-Movie, horror flick directed like a music video by Rob Zombie or The Cramps(and that is a compliment). The film seems to pay homage to everything from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre to the Blair Witch Project to Plan 9 From Outer Space to Psycho, with a bit of Tarantino, Bettie Page and Psycho Beach Party thrown in and then some.

Lots of gore, so if you have a weak stomach you should probably avoid it. But it's a very well written, acted and directed film. Lots of attention was paid to continuity and details, so beyond being a fun bloody psycho mess, it's just a really well made movie. And you can tell the actors had a blast making it.

The extras on the DVD, especially the commentary, are hilarious and made me love the film even more. I seriously think Rob Zombie will be the next Quentin Tarantino because they are both so focused on detail and music and little inside jokes.

Rainn Wilson seems to be playing the same character (Arthur) he did on Six Feet Under, but it fits. Sheri Moon (Rob's wife) was my favourite part of the movie as Baby Firefly, kind of a Whatever Happened to Baby Jane/Punk/Marilyn Monroe/Manson Family girl. Though Captain Spaulding was awesome, you have to love a foul-mouthed psychotic clown. All the characters were quirky and had a lot more depth than any predecessors they may have been based on.

See it! See it! See it!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: We are all dumber for having seen this...
Review: I rented this looking to fill 2 hours, not expecting anything great, but at least to be entertained. This movie has no plot. It insults the audience by trying to have scary scenes (none of which are original) based on no story. You can practically tell where scenes from other horror films have been cut and pasted together within this pile of garbage. I've heard that this was a "tribute" by Rob Zombie to all of his favorite horror films. Okay...anyway...still no excuse. Rob Zombie should stick to making terrible music and stay away from the film industry. Don't waste your money or your time.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Horrible Horror Film
Review: I, like many others, was anxiously awaiting the release of Zombie's House of 1,000 Corpses. What horror buff wasn't given that the film was REFUSED release due to explicit carnage scenes? However, what was finally released was a massive disappointment. Zombie dropped the ball in two big ways: 1) He tried to cram too many villains into the film. With Spalding, with the family of weirdos and with the mysterious subterranean Dr. Satan, there were too many bad guys for the viewer to effectively loathe. I got the feeling that Zombie had three films in mind and yet pushed all of them together. 2) There was hardly any real gore effects. A major reason fear film fanatics were going to see House of 1,000 Corpses was to see what disgusted the suits at Zombie's previous studio. Instead, the guts (literally) were edited out almost completely. The only reason I can guess for this is because Zombie wanted to receive an "R" rating because it's the finacial kiss of death for a film to get an NC-17 rating or no rating at all. Still, it would have been better to have produced a top-notch splatter yarn that would have likely made its money back through video sales and sequels than to churn out a piece of junk.

To be fair, the Captain Spalding character was superb, and I liked the idea of a sleazy roadside exhibit of murderers being dropped in on by some thrill-seeking youths. That makes the travesty of House even more awful. It had the makings of a good film, and yet it was wrecked.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: HOPE YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE!
Review: This film is actually pretty good and blends a lot of humor with the horror!

Sid Haig & Karen Black steal this film! Who could not love Grandpa's comedy routine and Baby's Betty Boop lipsynching! A real play on redneck comedy and the blood flows!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Up along with Halloween, as a "horror" movie
Review: Halloween (the original) has recently been named the scariest horror movie. The first (and last) time I watched that movie, I was so bored! This movie is the exact same. Labelled a horror movie, it's overly long, and apart from a few gory scenes, didn't do anything for me. I am one of those people who needs a movie which will make me jump out of my skin, hiding behind a cushion/couch/guy, and makes me want to stop watching. Definitely wanted to stop watching during this! Just when you think the film is over, another scene appears. And another. And another. And you're exhausted by the time it finally finishes, just because you've been waiting for it to finish for so long!

There was a bit of a heated discussion after it finished, involving why horror movies always have teenagers as their main cast (think of something different, PLEASE), similarities between this, and many other movies of the same genre (Blair Witch Project, the Friday 13th movies etc). What I did accept as a valid point during the 'discussion', was that it showed you who the killers was practically straight away, whereas many other films (the Scream trilogy, and Urban Legend come to mind) are films that you know the killer is likely to be one of the cast (obviously), but you have to work it out.

Particularly regarding the camera work, this movie is along the same lines as Blair Witch Project (another movie that didn't really hit me until the last 5-10 minutes). During the credits you see some very strange cutaway scenes that don't seem to fit into the movie, and are filmed on a very shaky, gritty, 16mm hand held camera. These were filmed in Rob Zombie's (NOT his real name obviously) basement after filming wrapped. He would invite cast members over to his house on the weekends and shoot the footage himself with a 16mm hand-held camera. With the exception of the shot of a setting sun, he created the opening credits the same way.

I found myself very bored during this movie, and frequently eyed up the clock, finding it was only a couple of minutes since I last looked. This is definitely not a movie I would watch again, I'd like to keep precious hours of my life thank you very much.


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