Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Movie Isn't For Everyone, February 20, 2003
Set in the '70s, the day before and on Halloween, the film tells the tale of two couples on a road trip who lose their way looking for the legendary "Dr. Satan". They come upon the Firefly household one rainy night and meet its family members: Baby (Sheri Moon), Otis (Bill Moseley), and Mrs. Firefly (Karen Black). At first things are fine, then everything spirals dangerously out of control as the two couples are stalked and tortured by the Firefly family.I was a bit scared, at first, when I heard another rock star was going to take a stab at horror ("Strangeland" anyone?) but this is Rob Zombie we're talking about. The man knows horror and he proves it with every minute in "Corpses". He gives you horror straight up with a heaping bloody chaser in case you're not satisfied. He pulls no punches. He doesn't turn away and leave it to your imagination. He gives you the grisly details. Essentially, Rob's delivered a 1970's horror film. It's really no wonder why Universal and MGM execs are scared by this film. The film isn't a summer release for crying out loud. This is a Halloween-release flick that will scare the mess out of you. The new final release date was announced yesterday. The film will be released April 11, 2003. FINALLY!! In early interviews, Rob claimed that his intention was to make the audience "root for the bad guys". He's succeeded, but it sure makes you feel filthy afterwards. You can thank the collective performances of Sheri, Bill and Karen, for that. Moseley is always great. Don't expect a Chop Top retread from him this time around. For those who don't know...Bill played "Chop Top" in Texas Chainsaw massacre II. Bill's REALLY bad in this one. He's just plain evil. Karen Black turns in another great role as she flaunts her stuff. And Sheri Moon's just plain beautiful. Aside from being Zombie's girlfiend, Sheri has been in several of his videos. This is her first big screen role and she handles it perfectly. I don't think I can picture any other horror actress to play the sweet/demented Baby like she did. Rob set out to make a true, original and classic horror film for the fans and he's succeeded. It was loud, it was bloody and it was the best horror film I've seen in a long, long time. Immediately, Zombie sets the mood of the film opening with Sid Haig's foul-mouthed character, Captain Spaulding, and pals being robbed at gunpoint by two thugs in Spaulding's Museum of Monsters and Madmen. The criminals suddenly realize they're in deep when a man in an oversized mask bursts through the door and cuts the robbers down. At this point the audience cheered. The film immediately smash cuts to the opening credits, which is pure Zombie, as a deviant surgeon performs surgery on a patient (it does tie into the filf though.) This movie isn't for everyone and as bad as I don't want to say it, I don't even know if I will see the finished product. After 3 and a half years of waiting for this movie I have changed a lot and I have even higher morals than I did back then. Like I said before this movie isn't for everyone and now I think I'm one of them. The parts that I did see have been reworked and some scenes have been reshot and intensified with more gore and detail added to them. I can't even imagine what the final product will look like now.
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70 of 84 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE BOOGYMAN IS REAL, AND YOU FOUND HIM!!, August 16, 2003
I snatched this DVD off the shelf the day of its release, and for good reason. "House of 1000 Corpses" is absolutely the greatest grisly horror film I've ever seen! Watching the movie in its original theatrical premiere gave me the thrills and chills, and I don't even listen to any of Rob Zombie's music. What makes this film quite excellent is that it has finally reawakened the celluloid corpse of the horror genre; before this, Hollywood has churned out an obscene number of dull PG-13 teeny bopper flicks, including "Scream" and "I Know What you Did Last Summer." While paying homage to the low-budget shockfests of the 1960's and 70's, Zombie gives "House" a post-millenium twist with acidic photo negativity and twisted montages incorporating topless strippers, mutilated cadavers and snippets from campy black-and-white monster movies (provided by Dr. Wolfenstein's Creature Feature Marathon). Rob Zombie himself commented that a majority of "House's" gritty home video footage was shot through a hand-held camera in parts of Zombie's own basement! Also notice how NO high-tech computer effects were used; because "House" is set in the rural American South in 1977, the makers intended to stay true to that period (not to mention achieve realistic gore without overspending the budget). And of course the larger-than-life characters of "House of 1000 Corpses" are just as memorable as those in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." In fact, in the DVD's featurette, Sig Haig happily confessed how he would like to see this film presented in any tiny theatre where audiences can yell back at the screen! Who wouldn't love to visit Captain Spaulding's Museum of Monsters and Madman and sample a bag of tasty fried chicken? Would you dare purchase a ticket to the scary Murder Ride and learn the legend of Dr. Satan? Or how about the psychotic Spiderfly family, who light up the flickering candles on Halloween night and fiendishly participate in a gruesome celebration (one in which cheerleaders are gagged, tied up and tortured)? Better yet, when was the last time a cinema fanatic witnessed a cult ritual of blood and fire, dedicated to the famous Dr. Satan himself?! Although I enjoy watching this film from beginning to end, I do have a few favorite moments. The first that immediately comes in my head is none other than the creepy Murder Ride, complete with cross-shaped tombstones, animatronic zombies and the awesome Captain telling the tragic tales of real-life serial murderers, molesters and cannibals (most notably Ed Gein, the notorious killer whose farmhouse was borrowed for "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.") I love the part when Baby (Sherie Moon) struts her way to the stage in her glittering evening gown, lip-synching to "I Wanna Be Loved by You" like a cute Hollywood starlet. Such bizarre charm! Yet another moment that stands out in my mind is when the sadistic Otis (Bill Moseley) lops off a victim's right hand with an axe...all while the funky Commodore's hit "She's a Brick House" blares on the radio! Mother Firefly (played by the voluptuous Karen Black) sort of reminds me of a blond, venomous Sharon Osbourne from the South!
You kiddies will be happy to know that actors Sid Haig, Sherie Moon AND Bill Moseley actually host the different menus on the DVD; after returning to their delightfully creepy roles in the film, they each provide color commentary DIRECTLY TO YOU! Unfortunately, the list of extras DOES NOT include any hardcore deleted scenes, but if you carefully listen to Zombie's commentary, you might get just a hint as to which kind of footage was edited out. The interviews segment is quite interesting to watch too. I think I like the part when Sid Haig (clown greasepaint and all) chose "House of Wax" as his most favorite horror movie. Each interview even unveils a brand new character action figure!
I can hardly wait to see what Rob Zombie has in store for us in the future, when he prepares to unleash an even more violent sequel! RIP Dennis Fimple.
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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Zombie Delivers, April 19, 2003
I went into this movie expecting to see a fun-filled throwback to the classic drive-in slasher movies of the 70's and that is exactly what i got. This movie was awesome. Unwanted by two major studios, Lion's Gate gave Rob Zombie the chance of a lifetime. He wasn't trying to make the most amazing horor film of all time, he was trying to pay tribute to classics such as: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Last House on the Left, and The Hills Have Eyes. Taking a classic plot: a group of kids is stranded in the middle of nowhere, onlt to be terrorized and brutalized by the family from hell, he twists it into a fun-filled nightmare. The family in this movie is one of the funiest and most terrifying families you will ever see on film. This family lures unsuspecting passers-by with the youngest member of the family (played by Zombie's real life girlfriend) and then proceeds to torture, eviscerate, sodomize and do just about everything you can to someone. The actors delivered as well. Sid Haig is hilarious as the foul-mouthed Captain Spaulding. The acting is corny, as well as it should be. Some might get bored after the hilarious opening scene. The first two thirds of the movie introduce the characters and the disgusting family. The final one third of the movie is a terrifying nightmare that morphs from a gore-filled slasher film to a science fiction acid trip. The ending might make some mad, but I found it fitting to the whole plot. I had heard a lot of hype saying how violent this film was. It is to a point. I am a gore hound so I din't find this as violent as Dead Alive or Cannibal Ferox(One of the sickest movies of all time) and the r rating takes a good chunk of the film away from the viewer. I can't wait for an unrated director's cut to be released
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