Watch horror Movies for free with Amazon Prime

House of 1000 Corpses

House of 1000 corpses
2003
9
Director: 
Rob Zombie

SYNOPSIS: 

Taking his cue from such 1970s horror classics as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977), animated rocker Rob Zombie goes celluloid with the throwback shocker House of 1000 Corpses. Running low on gas as they travel the highways of America in search of the ultimate roadside attraction, a group of teens pull into Captain Spaulding's (Sid Haig) museum of oddities (which also offers fried chicken and gasoline) only to become obsessed with uncovering the mystery of a legendary local maniac known only as Dr. Satan. When an attractive and mysterious hitchhiker subsequently offers to give the thrill seekers a personal tour of Dr. Satan's old stabbing grounds, a breakdown forces them to take refuge with a group of menacing oddballs as a fearsome storm rages outside. As the evening progresses and the backwoods hosts' Halloween festivities become ever more threatening, the teens soon realize that the legend of Dr. Satan may hold a bit more contemporary weight than any of them had previously thought.

REVIEW: 

Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses has nostalgia on its side but not much else. Pretending the last 20 years of teen slasher flicks never existed, Zombie creates a strange burlesque cocktail that reimagines The Texas Chainsaw Massacre by way of Vulgar. Four teenagers go chasing after an urban legend (Doctor Satan) in backwater USA and meet strange with an ex-prom queen (a busty Karen Black) and her immediate family. The kids have to wear masks before they can chow down on Halloween dessert and soon find themselves rubbing shoulders with several corpses-cum-scarecrows hanging outside Mother Firefly's lovely estate. Zombie's film-stock fetish gives 1000 Corpses a welcomed homespun quality but the effect quickly wears off. Not unlike Zombie's clip for his song "Living Dead Girl," 1000 Corpses is a playful shout-out to the horror films of yesteryear but there's little meat beneath the admiration. In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, anticipation was Tobe Hooper's weapon of choice. Only once does Zombie successfully channel the hellish dread of Hooper's masterpiece. High above the Death compound, Zombie's camera observes the preening Otis (Bill Moseley) as he aims a gun to a man's head and it feels like an eternity before he pulls the trigger. If not for the blink-and-miss sideshow attractions (most notable is the sight of the howl-inducing Fish Boy) and stockpile of memorable quotes (if "He performed lurid acts on my person" and "You stupid fucking whore" don't tickle your fancy, there's also "I'm going to cut you like a pig and make you eat your own intestines"), 1000 Corpses would have been easier to shrug off. This vintage curio is proudly and humorously derivative but that familiar aftertaste is that of wasted opportunities.

Post by Frank Moran on 23/03/2015 - 13:52
Tags: 
clown massacre gore splatter blood Texas

SIMILAR MOVIES REVIEWS

Mockingbird movie Mockingbird

2014

I have always believed that it’s not always the way the movie ends that matters, it’s how you get there. While it’s true that many a bad ending have ruined films for me in the past, it isn’t always the case. Of course it’s ideal that the viewer be left in the dark when it comes to big twist endings that everyone will be talking about; but if the film is strong enough throughout, the setup should be as important than the ultimate payoff. In real life, when people are faced with the things similar to what we see in horror films, there isn’t always closure. It’s probably quite rare to have everything tidied up all nice and some form... Read More

Clown the movie Clown

2014

Hating clowns is pretty much a religious observance in Western culture. No one really needs to explain, ‘I hate clowns’, and no one ever seems to be indifferent to them, let alone like the things, save for women of a certain age who are into naff figurines; it’s weird, though, that so many people have an opinion on something they haven’t ever seen first-hand in their original environment. I don’t know many people who’ve even been to the circus or ever had clowns turn up to entertain them at parties, or if they have, it’s certainly not frequent and/or traumatic enough to create a genuine aversion to them. In fact, most folk seem to... Read More

OTHER MOVIES REVIEWS

Jeepers Creepers 3

Jeepers Creepers 3

2017

Jeepers Creepers series. Thinking back on the progress and how we got to this point, a sequel had been in talks since before the second movie even found its way into theaters, but finding proper financing has always been an issue (and writer/director Victor Salva's sordid past didn't help matters). Over the years many ideas have been thrown around, like some parts of the film possibly taking place in western times (which might explain The Creeper's choice in clothing) and the more reported idea of the story taking place 23 years after the events of the last one. This idea... Read More

Goodnight Mommy

Goodnight Mommy

2015

This my one of the favorite movies of all time, I love to say the view and creepiness in this movie are amazing. Usually if a movie trailer depicts a movie a certain way and the actual film is completely different, I get annoyed. Why are you marketing it in a way that doesn’t actually do it justice? Just to make people want to see it? It smacks of desperation and comes across as a cheap ploy. However, in the case of the Austrian film Goodnight Mommy, the trailer does exactly what it needs to do by showing us things to make us terrified of one... Read More

Ichi The Killer (Koroshiya 1)

Ichi The Killer (Koroshiya 1)

2001

Ichi The Killer (Koroshiya 1) is director by Takeshi Miike. I would say it is Miike’s best film, but he has such an extensive and varied catalogue it is hard to even see all his films let alone really compare them: they range from zombie musicals (Happiness of the Katakuris) to spaghetti westerns based on Shakespeare’s Henry VI (Sukiyaki Western Django). Miike is one of the world’s most prolific directors, making about 3 films every year for the past two decades and they are rarely in the same genre twice, although he does have a love stories involving the Yakuza (... Read More

Noroi: The Curse

Noroi: The Curse

2005

It’s true that when it’s bad, it’s really bad, but there are a few gems out there that make it all worthwhile. The other day I managed to see what might be the most complex one yet, one that doesn’t sacrifice story for the sake of cheap shocks. This film, my friends, is Noroi the Curse, from director Kôji Shiraishi. Bearing more resemblance to something like Brian De Palma’s Redacted* than Paranormal Activity, the film is structured as a mockumentary by the fictional paranormal investigator/journalist Masafumi Kobayashi.... Read More

Annabelle: Creation review

Annabelle: Creation

2017

"Annabelle: Creation" falls in accordance with the advanced awfulness wave. It's the fourth film in "The Conjuring" serie — and the second spinoff to focus on Annabelle, a freaky-looking doll that resembles the Victorian-period cousin of "Child's Play's" Chucky — and it has every one of the components of a contemporary frightfulness hit, including the frightening doll, the spooky (or spooked out) kids and the house that is too huge not to be alarming during the evening.  On the off chance that exclusive it were, you know, scarier. "Annabelle: Creation" has yells and... Read More