House Of 1000 Corpses (DVD)

...(Bill) walks off to the house with the girl, whose name seems to be Baby. When they arrive at the house, Bill soon starts to feel uneasy. There is a disturbing collection of children's dolls pinned to the wall in various states of mutilation and there is something not quite right about Baby's mother. When he is relieved to see his friends arrive at the house, he has no idea that the night is about to turn into the worst nightmare they could possibly ...
...after all……

House of 1000 Corpses is the writing / directing debut of Rob Zombie, who is otherwise a big luminary in the world of heavy metal music (apparently.) You won't be surprised to learn, therefore, that House of 1000 Corpses plays rather like a Marilyn Manson music video, as the viewer is bombarded with bizarre imagery, grungy music and action sequences that shift between ultra slow motion and multiple ultra-fast shots stitched ... more

It's 1977, and four American teenagers are travelling across America in search of "weird stuff". When they realise that their car is running low on gas, they stop off at a petrol station to fuel up, which also turns out to be a macabre theme park, run by a local freak named Captain Spaulding. Gleefully enjoying the side show of murder and mutilation, the four teenagers are particularly enthralled by the tale of a local psychopath aptly named Dr Satan. Legend has it that when he was finally caught, Dr Satan was hanged from a tree not far from the petrol station and, in spite some of their instincts for trouble, they set out to see if they can find the tree for themselves.

They haven't travelled far when they spot a beautiful girl at the side of the road, hitching a lift. The stranger tells them that she knows exactly where to find the Satan tree and they set off into the night with their new guide. However, it isn't long before disaster strikes and the car is stalled by a flat tyre. The young girl tells them that she lives within walking distance and that her brother can probably help them out, so three of the teenagers stay with the car and one of them (Bill) walks off to the house with the girl, whose name seems to be Baby. When they arrive at the house, Bill soon starts to feel uneasy. There is a disturbing collection of children's dolls pinned to the wall in various states of mutilation and there is something not quite right about Baby's mother. When he is relieved to see his friends arrive at the house, he has no idea that the night is about to turn into the worst nightmare they could possibly imagine. It would seem that the legend of Dr Satan isn't just a story after all……

House of 1000 Corpses is the writing / directing debut of Rob Zombie, who is otherwise a big luminary in the world of heavy metal music (apparently.) You won't be surprised to learn, therefore, that House of 1000 Corpses plays rather like a Marilyn Manson music video, as the viewer is bombarded with bizarre imagery, grungy music and action sequences that shift between ultra slow motion and multiple ultra-fast shots stitched together. It's something of an assault on the senses, although masterfully done and it does raise the film above your standard horror fare. There are many visual highlights in this film, and Zombie quickly grasps how to play with the audience by playing with the camera. The arrival of the police suggests that a rescue may be in sight, but Zombie' slo-mo scenes drenched in dread and awful anticipation soon put paid to any notion that anyone is going to wake up from this particular nightmare. House of 1000 Corpses makes grim viewing indeed.

It's also a clear homage to the horror films of the 1970s, when hapless teenagers would be herded into nightmare scenarios, where evil, inbred families preyed upon their isolation. The similarities / tributes to Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre are everywhere. The tone of the film is almost entirely the same with the twisted, mocking family of freaks and weirdos relishing every vicious moment. Even the "dolly cemetery" seems to offer the same twisted premonition of evil that the "bone lounge" intimated in Texas Chainsaw. This isn't stalk and slash - this is stalk, mock and mutilate and once things get going there is virtually no respite for anyone.

Zombie's film isn't an entirely fluid piece of film making, however, and I got the feeling that his brain was so filled with ideas that when he finally got the chance to put them on camera, the download was too fast and too chaotic. Somewhere in this film you will find missing cheerleaders, deformed children, attempted robberies, Satanic rituals, bizarre attempts to created semi-human freaks for a museum of the macabre and more besides. If it all sounds a bit furious, then that's probably because it is and very often I wanted Zombie to slow down and limit himself to less than 456 ideas in the one film. There are a host of weird and worrying characters and after a while, I started to lose the plot of who was who with who and where.

Let's be clear about one thing though. House of 1000 Corpses is a nasty film. With a title like that, why would you be surprised? People are stabbed. Viciously. Scalps are removed with blunt razors. And that's just for starters. Weak stomachs and wobbly knees should stay well away from this film. Incidentally, though, the film highlights for me were never the gory bits. There's a great sequence outside the house when the teenagers first start to leave and there's also a nicely sinister twist towards the end when two of the teenagers are lowered into a mud-filled grave. One thing Zombie is NOT short of, is imagination.

Unwittingly or otherwise, Zombie has created a new horror icon in the shape of Captain Spaulding whose insane drawl and love of circus make-up make him eerie, imposing and dangerous. He also gets some of the best lines and love him or hate him, the guy is cool. The Firefly family are a fairly mixed bag who will either have you laughing or loathing, butu then I guess that's the whole idea. Momma Firefly is very difficult to take seriously, if only because Karen Black has more recently gone on to be known as Joey's agent in the spin-off from Friends. Her ability to frighten is therefore somewhat limited - and she has been dropped from the sequel. Baby Firefly works better because she is disturbing disturbed. The long blonde hair and pretty eyes betray nothing of the psychopath behind. Need an example? When one of the teenagers cannot answer a simple question she cuts his scalp off with a cuth throat razor. Otis Driftwood (Bill Moseley) seems to be the leader and chief nasty of the pack, but he was always a bit too pantomime for me. His long white hair seemed too theatrical and I could never really decide what he was about. He gets some better scenes later on in the film but I'm afraid Baby and Captain Spaulding do rather steal the limelight. Tiny Firefly is a more complicated creature, horribly deformed in a horrific housefire, he mutely stumbles around the place, but just seems to do what he's told. I was never quite sure whether he really wanted to be a part of things but with nowhere else to go, was just forced to stay with the fruitloop family from hell.

House of 1000 Corpses is a startling and memorable movie debut from Rob Zombie and promises great things. It is neither the most coherent nor competent example of film making that you will ever see, but it certainly fits the bill. Nasty, shocking and exciting it offers an appropriate introduction into the lives of the Firefly family. It won't be giving too much away if I warn / advise you that they are coming back soon in the sequel, The Devil's Rejects. You have been warned.

For a horror / cult film, the region 2 DVD is surprisingly empty of extras. Apart from trailers of other films, the standard menu selection and a link to the web site there is, erm, nothing. I picked up a copy in July 05 for £3.99 from HMV.

Recommended
 

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