House Of 1000 Corpses

"House of 1000 Corpses" (2003, Rob Zombie, Universal Pictures) is an entertaining sick-fest from the mind of the great Rob Zombie. I'm a big fan of Rob Zombie as a musician and I like his movies. I wouldn't say I'd watch them a lot, but they're weird and tense and bloody.
This film is no different. It's set in the '70s on the dusty backroads of America where there appears to be a high population of lunatics. The style of the film echoes 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre', but I'd say it holds its own weight as a movie, too.

Two young couples stop for petrol at a crazy side attraction called "Captain Spalding's Museum of Monsters and Madmen" where they encounter Captain Spalding (Sid Haig), the crazy, but by this movie's standards, friendly nutjob. They go into his museum and the two boys become interested in a local mystery; the missing body of a mass murdering surgeon named Dr. Satan.

While leaving, they stop and pick up a hitchhiking chick wearing a cowboy hat and little else... Her name is Baby and she is played by Rob Zombie's wife, Cheri Moon Zombie. Suddenly the car breaks down (funny that, when you run over a trap...) and Baby convinces Bill (Rainn Wilson) to walk to her home to get her brother to come collect the car with his pickup.

Soon her brother (Robert Mukes) arrives with the car and Bill's friends Jerry (Chris Hardwick), Mary (Jennifer Jostyn) and Denise (Erin Daniels). It's safe to say that they do not enjoy their stay with Baby's crazy family; her mother (Karen Black), brother Otis Driftwood (Bill Moseley), Grampa (Dennis Fimple) and Baby's deformed brother Tiny (Matthew McGrory).

If you've ever flicked through any White Zombie or Rob Zombie cover art, you'll know what to expect. If not, be warned; not for the faint hearted.

This is a rough cut, brutal murder flick. The characters are weird and disturbing and the camera work is bound to cause some kind of seizure if you're not expecting it as it likes to jump between random scary stuff and plot.

I love the opening scene of this movie though, kind of reminds me of Creepshow 2's "Old Chief Woodenhead" story except where the shopkeeper wins.

All in all, this is a flick for fast paced slaughter fans.... it's not a slow burning artful horror, don't watch if you're not a gore hound. Also, it's not serious, so don't go in expecting genre bending lines and awesome character development. It's just weirdos murdering people! But if that's what you're expecting, it's one big crazy ride!

Maybe as a girl I shouldn't like this film so much, considering, but hey, what can I say?

Sid Haig steals the show as Captain Spalding (above), but out of all the characters, Bill Moseley's Otis (below) is the scariest. 

[Pictures: Universal Pictures]