UHM - Review - House of 1000 Corpses

As we all know, this film was supposed to be released a couple years ago, but Rob had so much trouble trying to get the movie distributed that it's just now that fans will finally get to see it, but even though the movie will be out within a month, the fans have gotten tired of the all waiting and many are finding screeners and such all over the web. Horror fans have gotten so pumped about the film because of all the hype its gotten due to the fact that it's supposed to be really twisted and gory and such and that it was supposedly getting an NC-17 rating, so after all the talk and wait, is the movie worth it? In my opinion, no.

I didn't expect much from this, because I know any movie that gets so much hype will only be let a down. I wanted to really like this film, but there were a lot of scenes that seemed rather unnecessary and sometimes it felt like I was just watching just another Rob Zombie music video. It's obvious that Rob's main inspiration for the movie came from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which is one of his favorite horror films and mine as well. He even casted Bill Moseley, who starred in the second film. Much like TCM, the story is about a group of travelers who end up crossing paths with a psychotic family. The movie was basically a mix of many different horror movies. There wasn't anything original here, but I wasn't expecting any originality and I'm sure Rob was going for that anyway.

To get more into the story it's about four group of friends on their way to visit some family, but end up making a stop at a gas station which is also half a museum. That's where they talk with a clown named Captain Spaulding who tells them the story about Dr. Satan, who practiced weird experiments and such on his patients. The story is said that he was hung on a tree and naturally the travelers want to visit the tree. They pick up a hitchhiker named "Baby" while on the way, who happens to live next to the tree. They get a flat tire and the driver has to follow the Baby to her home where her brother is a tow-truck driver. Without giving too much away, the whole group ends up at Baby's home and meet her unusual family. R.I.P.

The movie has no scares and there were a lot of scenes that I guess would aim to shock the audience, but I was not amused. It's a film with balls, but I think Rob Zombie was just trying too hard at times. Like I said before, there were a lot of unnecessary scenes, but I'm sure they were put there to show just how crazy the family is. I just thought a lot weren't needed and it just made it seem like I was watching late-night MTV. Although I didn't like some of what Rob did with some scenes, I thought he was a pretty decent director. I can see him doing more horror in the future and getting better with each film. The acting was average. A little over-dramatic and unrealistic at times. I wasn't sure what to make of Baby's (Sheri Moon) acting. It seemed too silly in some scenes. She's probably better off just sticking to Rob's music videos. I believe she has starred in three of his videos and she is also his girlfriend.. Lucky mofo. I thought the best performance in the movie was by Sid Haig's character Spaulding. Good stuff. Bill Moseley could have been better though.

I really don't remember if I saw much, if any, gore in the movie. I dunno if what I saw was edited or not, but I didn't see much gore anywhere. At least it had some decent blood and I liked the music. There are some scenes that I liked, like towards the end when one of Dr. Satan's creatures is shown and a couple camera angles and such I thought was cool. Though, in the end it just seemed a little rushed and out of no where. I'm not complaining, but it sure was weird. The shot at the end of the movie reminded me much of a shot in the original TCM, which I thought, although brief, was a great homage. I wanted to give the movie a higher-rating, but I just didn't like the movie that much. The horrible editing just gave me a headache at times. You can check this movie when it hits theatres April 11th 2003.

OVERALL

Doesn't really live up to all the hype that it has gotten over the years. See this movie, but don't expect too much.

Comments page 2 of 2:

CLICK HERE TO COMMENT

britt :

Posted 58 days ago

the ultimate movie...rob zombie is a genius...sure it's a little cheesey but there are defintely very creepy elements to the movie..love sheri moon's character "baby"...innocent appearence but a total wacko...and devil's rejects is a completely different movie..you learn more of their personality and back story and i found myself rooting for the firefly family in the end

HeartofBlades :

Posted 150 days ago

Oh hell, why do people like this movie? I reamember when I first saw a teaser trailer back when it was still being made, I thought this movie was going to be awsome! Then I rented it, watched about 20 minutes, said to hell with it and took it back to the vental store.

Beshem :

Posted 168 days ago

Why are people comparing this to Devil Reject's so badly that they think they are reviewing that movie? Rob Zombie nor Robert Englund directed this movie, granted Englund does star in it. Now, should I be concerned that I got bored bout halfway through this movie and started downloading porn?

mike best :

Posted 188 days ago

this movie rules its just a cool ass horror movie i like this better than devils rejects cause its more a horror movie but no cgi crap pretty original i like the maniac acid trip atmosphere rob sets just see it for what is like natural bourne killers

<21 >