Originally Posted by
Lon of the Dead
When you watch a Rob Zombie movie, you know it's a Rob Zombie movie. The redneck, grindhouse, 70s vibe, the grungy, grainy look, the period soundtracks, his use of the same actors from film to film, his tendency to write all his dialogue as if spoken by vulgar, uncultured white trash, how he borrows from other films for his own (EVERY filmmaker does that, incidentally -- more on that in a minute). All those things constitute Zombie's style as a filmmaker. Not liking his style, or refusing to acknowledge it as a style at all, doesn't negate its existence.
Nodody's challenging anyone's right to dislike him (or at least I'm not, I haven't read every single post in this thread). What I and some others are challenging is how you guys are presenting your opinion as indisputable fact. If it were an indisputable fact that Rob Zombie is a bad filmmaker, then it stands to reason that NO ONE would like his films. But there are obviously those who do enjoy his films, so no, it's not an indisputable fact that he's a bad filmmaker.
As for style, every director's style is an amalgamation of all their own filmmaking influences. By their own admissions -- and it's evident when you see their films -- John Carpenter's style is a direct rip-off of his filmmaking hero, Howard Hawks; George Romero would never hesitate to admit that his style as a storyteller is a direct steal from EC comics and Richard Matheson; same for Stephen King; Quentin Tarantino routinely cites a massive variety of directors and writers that he steals from; the bulk of Dario Argento's horror and giallo work feature stories blatantly stolen from previous materials (such as essays and, on occasions, books he couldn't get the rights to) and other filmmakers. Even the first filmmakers stole their styles -- from stage directors. There's an old Hollywood adage that goes, "If you're going to steal, steal from the best." You know what isn't a Hollywood adage? "Don't steal, ever." And if it were an adage, clearly no one ever paid it any attention.
Now, if you wanted to argue that Zombie doesn't always rip off his heroes as well as some other directors, that I could understand, and I would see your point. I like him as a filmmaker but I'd be the first to admit he's made some real stinkers (namely 31 and Halloween 2, which both were among my most hated films in their years of release). But I could just as easily point you in the direction of a few directors who make Zombie look like a certifiable genius in comparison.