House of 1000 Corpses DVD Review:

Driving home Jerry (Hardwick), Denise (Daniels), Mary (Jostyn) and Bill (Wilson) stop for gas at Captain Spaulding’s (Haig) Museum of Monster’s and Madmen. Their slightly eccentric host takes them on the Murder Ride and reveals tantalising information about some of the most notorious serial killers in American history but he leaves the worst till last. Captain Spaulding then regales the couples with the story of local mass murderer Dr. Satan and how his killing spree was brought to an end not far from their current location. Jerry and Bill instantly suggest that they go there and the girls reluctantly agree. As they set off they stop to pick up a hitchhiker called Baby (Moon) who says she will take them to Dr. Satan’s final resting place but the car runs into trouble and they are forced to stay the night with Baby’s family. What they don’t know is that this isn’t any ordinary family…

Rocker turned director Rob Zombie pays homage to the 1970s horror flick and it is fun but far from original.

It is easy to be inspired by the golden age of Hollywood horror that was the 70s. With films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist and Halloween, audiences shivered at the thought of going to the cinema. The films were all about the killers and the victims were inconsequential, merely fresh meat for the weapon of choice. So Rob Zombie has tried to emulate this but for all the films successes there are some major failures.

The film succeeds in the creation of some memorable horror characters. First we have Captain Spaulding played brilliantly by Sid Haig. He is an eccentric, foul mouthed clown and owner of the weirdest gas station you could ever visit. Otis, played by Bills Moseley, is a complete lunatic who just loves his art to the point that he would kill for it. Karen Black is Mother Firefly, the head of the family and a complete nymphomaniac. Baby is her daughter and she will kill anyone to get what she wants. Sheri Moon plays her slightly over the top and as a very spoilt brat. Then throw in Grandpa (Dennis Fimple) and Tiny (Matthew McGrory) and you have a family to rival the Manson’s or Sawyer’s (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre).

Where the film fails is in the plot. Garnered from a menagerie of movies from the genre the film fails to find its own identify and just becomes a mask with far too many faces. It starts really well with the excellent Captain Spaulding and then goes down hill before picking up for a very old school ending. With ruining what little plot there is, the introduction of a certain character comes out of the blue with no real explanation or connection to our lead villains and just seems like an excuse to up the gore ratio.

The lack of a discernable plot drags down the potential of a set of creepy new horror characters. They have a lot of potential, which should be better realised in the sequel (The Devil’s Rejects). House of 1000 Corpses isn’t a bad horror film, it just isn’t the most original. Now where can I get a ticket for the Murder Ride?

Star Rating = * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 or dts soundtrack, the transfer is very good. The director use of colour lighting is vividly brought to life especially during the murder ride scenes. The picture does get a little too dark during the finale put this seems to be intentional to add tension. The soundtrack is good but in parts the music soundtrack to tend to be a lot louder than the dialogue.

BONUS FEATURES

Director’s Commentary

Writer/Director Rob Zombie talks about all aspects of making the movie. He reveals why he wanted the 70s horror movie feel and that the shoot was surprisingly quick with an average of only three takes per scene. He also discusses the problems he had trying to get the film released and you find out that the Murder Ride did actually work!

Music Only Track

Watch the movie with only the music soundtrack playing. Idea for Halloween parties.

Making of Featurette (4.14 mins)

Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon, Karen Black, Chris Hardwick, Erin Daniels, Jennifer Jostyn and Rainn Wilson talk about working with writer/director Rob Zombie and they introduce the characters they play in the movie. Rob Zombie himself talks about his influences and the 70s setting for the film.

Behind the scenes (2.36 mins)

Your chance to watch B-Roll footage that was shot while filming the climatic moments of the movie.

Tiny Fu*ked a stump (3.01 mins)

Baby, Otis and Captain Spaulding try to tell a joke about Tiny’s sexual habits.

Casting (2.04 mins)

Dennis Fimple auditions for the role of Grandpa.

Trailers

The early teaser trailer, the theatrical trailer and a Radio spot are available for your viewing and listening pleasure.

Still Gallery

Promotional and Behind-the-scenes images from the movie

Rehearsals (5.06 mins)

Watch Bill Moseley and Jennifer Jostyn rehearse the Fish Boy scene. Rainn Wilson, Chris Hardwick and Erin Daniels practice the Escape scene and then Hardwick and Daniels return to go through the tied up scene.

Interviews (15.14 mins)

Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, Sheri Moon and Special Effects guru Wayne Toth talk about the movie, their reaction to the film, what it was like been an action figure and their favourite horror movies.

Billy Chainsaw meets Rob Zombie (UK exclusive) (18.42 mins)

Writer/Director Rob Zombie talks about his influences he drew upon while working on the screenplay. He also reveals how horror movies have been a huge part of his life and how the 70s was the golden age of cinema and scary films.

OVERALL

This is a very well put together DVD especially when you know it is a low budget, cult cinema feature. Otis, Baby and Captain Spaulding return to introduce the various sections of the disc and are very funny (but only for the first few times). There is a good collection of extras with the interviews and the very good director’s commentary standing out. All of this adds extra value for the fans.

DVD Star Rating = * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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