3/12/04
Movie
House of 1000 Corpses - Rob Zombie
It's 1977 and the night before Halloween. Jerry and Denise, and Bill and Mary are on the road checking out offbeat roadside attractions. They come across a place run by the clown faced Captain Spaulding that boasts tasty chicken, carnival style oddities, and a murder ride. When they hear about local legend Dr. Satan Bill just has to go and see the tree where he was hanged but disappeared from. It begins to pour rain like crazy and they pick up a female hitchhiker named Baby Firefly. When they blow a tire she takes the four to her nearby home where they meet her crazy family and discover that Dr. Satan wasn't the only local murderous kook. Can any of them escape the House of 1000 Corpses?
House of 1000 Corpses is like a movie collided with the world's longest music video. With its cuts to other things, including scenes from the past, bits of specially created TV shows, and just assorted miscellaneous stuff, it comes across as very experimental. Overall this is a good thing giving the film its own unique identity. Occasionally though it grates, and as often as it adds impact to the film it also takes it away. The musical score doesn't really stand out as more than just above average but at the same time it is put to absolutely excellent use. It carries many a scene and has the most impact of any part of the film. Also adding to the film are great exterior locations and better than average interior sets.
The acting is excellent within the framework of the story. There is a strong backroads, redneck feel to the film, that at first would seem to be distracting but works wonderfully. While there is not much depth to the characters some of them, particularly Captain Spaulding, and Tiny are extremely memorable. Sig Haid as Captain Spaulding was awesome. Sheri Moon (Zombie's wife apparently) as Baby will be most remembered for her mostly to nearly uncovered bottom in a couple scenes, and her laugh, though the laugh doesn't really stand up that well as the scary thing it was supposed to be. The greatest failing of the film has to be the directing which is weak to middling. There are many spots where a more experienced director could have seriously punched things up and tightened others.
The pacing of the film is good though there is a complete lack of contrasting scenes to help things along, though it has well spaced lulls to catch it's breath. As it goes the plot sort of falls apart and the end bit of the film really feels like it should have been a different film entirely. The film is at once gratuitous but also subdued. It seeks to overload the audience with the horrors but they aren't as graphic as many other films. As a throwback, or homage to Texas Chain Saw Massacre and other films of that time and vein it sort of works and sort of fails. Overall as often as it succeeds the film also falls quite short. It's a mass of contradictions spun out into a horror movie. Still, it has it's moments and might manage its own cult status or it might just fade away.
(
Thank you for reading my review.
Bob Male)
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