Not enough love for “House of 1000 Corpses”
For a debut film from the infamous Rob Zombie I would expect nothing less than a title such as “House of 1000 Corpses,” I can say that I was hoping for something like “The Insatiable Living Dead,” if not for the seemingly adequate description of the characters within the film, but as a nod to one of my favorite songs “Living Dead Girl,” BUT alas the title left me wanting. Bravo, for anyone that took on the gruesome task of actually counting the corpses, because I certainly did not.
I really enjoyed this film, it introduced us to such lovable characters as Otis Driftwood, played by Bill Moseley, Captain Spaulding, played by Sid Haig who sadly passed in 2019, and of course, Mrs. Zombie herself, Baby Firefly, played by Sheri Moon. So imagine my surprise that it got dragged on some sites like Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, and IMDb, was not surprised because if you read my homepage, that’s exactly the issue. I’m going to give this movie some love and list 1,000 (divided by 250) things as to why it was a great breakout horror film.
The Psychedelic or Psychotic Cinematic Style
Some might not be a fan of the grainy found footage or flash cuts, but since I love “Natural Born Killers,” I was happy to have the variety. It provided a much-needed feast for the eyes, even if what you are feasting on is, um… bloody. The film would not feel as chaotic without these interruptive styles, which is completely the point; this is a mad film, filled with madness, would we expect crazy to be linear?
Captain my Captain
If there was ever to be a stand-off between Pennywise and Captain Spaulding, my money is on the Captain. Captain Spaulding is by far the most memorable character out of all Rob Zombie’s movies, and rightfully so. His crude crazy nature teeters between funny and frightening; he’s the wild card, the rogue, and a nightmare in all the best ways.
The clown industry has really got their work cut out for them in terms of marketing, between Pogo aka John Wayne Gacy, Pennywise, Terrifier, and Captain Spaulding, I can’t imagine birthday parties are what they were
Don’t call it a Throwback
Let’s call it a nod and vintage homage. The Firefly family definitely gives off some serious "Texas Chainsaw Massacre” vibes, which is of no surprise considering it’s one of the films that inspired him to direct. He can be quoted saying “That was realism to just extreme levels. There was nothing like it. Those characters and the situations were so raw. You’re watching a movie thinking, ‘Are these actors or are these just crazy people they found.'” referring to the film. We can see the parallels with that of the 1974 classic at the Halloween dinner and in Otis donning Daddy Willis’ face.
Is the Doctor in? He never left
Apart from the already murderous psychopaths above ground, there is a monstrous threat that resides below. Dr. Satan is a comic meta-monster, meaning it looks like that it was taken out Goosebumps, and being a child raised in the 90s, I can’t think of a higher compliment.
