House of a 1000 Corpses.

[harbor]

Let me just begin by saying that If I saw Rob Zombie right now I would shake his hand based on the simple fact that the first 40 minutes of this film managed to mind F@#$ me like you wouldn't believe. This is a short and quick review, so here goes.

SPOILERS BELOW
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So far this movie reeks with a creepiness that hasn't been mustered since TCM in 1974. And speaking of such a classic, watching House, any fan can tell that Zombie is heavily influnenced by the type of homicidal atmosphere that TCM held. Errie settings include a creepy farm house, deserted roads, and a hellish "Monsters and Madmen" museum (based on real Serial Killers) that somewhat reminded me of Tobe Hoopers FUNHOUSE.

The characters are off the chart. Maybe not too creepy as opposed to funny, but once "Tiny" entered for the first time I pictured myself in the main characters position and how I would react... Well, soiling myself would probably fit the mood to a T.

I'm not going to detail the plot because it really doesn't need it. Two couples traveling across the country are writing a book about roadside attractions. Needless to say they run out of gas, and end up at Dr Spaldings Monsters and Madmen Museum. after a quick tour one of the leads becomes interested in a local area where a serial murderer presumably met his demise, and sets out with the rest of the group to find the area in question. Well... it's raining, a hitchhiker is picked up, the car gets a flat, and you guessed it... they end up in a House of a 1000 Corpses.

I turned it off just as all hell begins to break loose. Not because it was boring, but because I promised my wife I would watch it with her this weekend. (yeah I know)

Either way I hope I'm not in for a big let down. I remember when I watched Evil Dead Trap for the first time. The first thirty minutes were great, and then.... It was down hill from there.

Directing: Rob has a very unique touch that in a way may be a tad outdated. (remember this movie was supossed to be out 2 years ago I believe) The style is a mix between Oliver Stone and Robert Rodriquez. (Check the opening scene) Rob mixes film stock much like Stone did in Natural Born Killers. And the opening has Rodriquez written all over it. It's not bad thus far either. Cinematography is great. there are a lot of neons used throughout the entire half I watched. It balances out the dark rain soaked scenes that make up the first act.

Overall I'm impressed with the first half of this long awaited film by Rob Zombie. I'm a fan of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and HOUSE fits the style and tone of such a dated film. Lets just hope for a few twists and turns along the way. By the way, Bill Mosely is as creepy as ever, and after seeing the way this film was shot, you'll wonder why in the hell didn't they ask Rob Zombie to direct the TCM remake. (not like it needed to be remade, but Rob would have been a good choice)


Thus far a disturbing film with nasty images that manage to shock, freak and absorb you into the action and terror of Mr Zombie's own freakish mind. I can only imagine what his next film will be, but I will tell you this. He could be a new breed of Horror director, and we should all welcome that with open arms.

[dwatts]

Review (http://creature-corner.com/)

" I can tell you this: DO NOT expect this to be the second coming. 'House' was a fun, gory, freaked up little film that wears it's influences on it's sleeve. It's not revolutionary, it's not daringly original, and it does have some minor technical annoyances that could've been fixed."

They kinda liked it overall though.

[KillerCannabis]

I've already said so much about this movie and heard so much about this movie that I'm not going to say anything else except that I cant wait to see this fucking movie. Do I expect it to be the second coming? I'd like it to be, but NO. Do I expect it to kick the everlovin' shit out of everything packaged as "horror" in the last, oh..... decade? You bet yer fraggin' ass.

[c0rpse]

I saw this movie tonight...and WOW. This is hands down the best horror flick I have seen in atleast 5 years. As stated about, it was obvisouly heaviyl influenced. Was it perfect? Of course not, but it was exactly as I expected. A kick ass horror flick directed by a true horror fan. The first scene was amazing..and as soon as the violence started it started to get good, really good.

I recommend this movie to all of you, because the reality is, only us die hard horror fans will apprecaite it, as I am sure this will be written off as crap, but it is far from it..

SPOILER
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Can anyone tell me who that dude at teh end with the axe was?!:)

MIke

[Gnaghi]

just finished watching it. it was ok, not to my tastes. the editing and filming got on my nerves with weird zoom in and outs over and over. i was expecting better direction that that. the ending was a letdown. though i see most everyone on this board liking it.

the end was just blah. when i saw dr satan and that other thing i was hoping for the best but it just went so fast by that it didn't matter(they looked really awesome though... i want a half an hour short of those two going crazy). the thing getting trampled was really lame too. it annoyed me how that girl that almost survives resembles natalie portman in certain scenes. it made me care for the character. i was like no don't kill her... ok she lost the look get it over with. horrible casting with chris hardwick though. i assume everyone got it online?

[creamstick]

Watched it the other day - it has the same vein of dark humour running through it that the likes of Return of the Living Dead, Re-Animator, Evil Dead 2, Brain Dead (Dead Alive for the US guys) et al have. I don't think it's like TCM at all - it's more of a fun movie.

It's not quite as good as the above movies, but it's almost there - these days, that's REALLY saying something.

[bruce h]

I thought it sucked. It's not gory. It's not scary. It's not intense. It's not worth watching.

Those of you claiming it's a great horror movie need to start watching more horror movies.

[Dave]

Damn, that was one intense movie. I found myself really engrossed by it. I noticed that my heart was beating rapidly throughout the second half. It's been a while since a movie has had that sort of effect on me.

Scary? Not really, though there were a few "scary" scenes. Disturbing and intense? I thought so. There are definitely a lot of TCM influences in there, as most have noted already.

It'd rate it with a B or B-. It's not something I'd rave over, but I'd definitely recommend it to horror fans.

P.S. This site does have spoilers tags! DUH!!!!!!!!!

[Gnaghi]

yeah i know... some peoples kids.

[ScaryMovieFreak]

It seems like I'm the only person who hasn't found a download of this movie. :(

[dwatts]

Well, I finally got around to seeing this film. After so much talk, I was not sure what to expect, so I went in fairly blind. To be honest, I'd read some fan stuff about it, but not much else, so I really was pretty blind.

Anyway, I think it was a bit too "weird" for its own good. Overall, I'd day it gets a 6.5 to 7 out of ten. Which isn't bad. I actually think the opening of the film, say the first 40 minutes or so, are the bets bits. After that, it stops maing too much sense, and things seem to exist for weirdness sake.

For a horror film being made today though (or three or so years ago
:rolleyes: ) it did have some things going for it. The meaness, the gore, the futility of the major - non monster - characters. There was no way they were getting out of it, and that was clear from the beginning.

Couple of things I did not like though. Other than one or two shots, I thought the Direction was flat and unaccomplished. It looked like a first timer made it - which Zombie was, of course. In other words, I detected no "Zombie style", it was all rather mechanical.

I also thought the 70's setting was totally not working. If they had not flashed up that card at the beginning to tell me the date, I'd never have known it was he 70's. It never felt like it, and since the timeframe was irrelevant to the film - what's the big deal?

The ending was a good idea, poorly realized. It gets muddled and you could be excused for wondering what the heck was going on. Why were they strange mutants from outer space?!?!? Who knows, it just made little sense to me.

On the plus side, for some reason I liked the editing. The inserts worked pretty well for me, even if they took you out of the movie somewhat.

I will say this - while the DVD transfer is great (as it should be for a new movie) the extras are complete and utter shite. I could hardly believe how bad they were. If you read the back of the box, this DVD is PACKED with stuff. Until you start watching it - it is totally embarassing. The interviews, the rehearsels the "behind the scenes" and the rest, a horrible waste of space. The Commentary was even a bit rough, with only snippets of interesting stuff, and Zombies deadpan delivery.

They talk about part 2 a lot on the DVD, don't know about that. We'll see. Zombies girlfriend is certainly easy on the eyes.

All in all, worth seeing, I think.

[Dr_Acula]

I didn't care for it. Zombie doesn't know how to pace a movie. When it's just shock after shock after shock with no "rest" for the audience after a while the shocks just don't seem shocking anymore. It starts out okay but he lost me during the last half hour. I quit caring about what was going on, and that's the worst thing that I can say about a movie.

The DVD menus are more entertaining than the movie itself, but I agree that the extras were poor. And until I read the last post, I had no idea the movie was set in the 70s! I must have been looking at something else while they flashed that on the screen or else forgot it.

There were a few good things...I liked Sid Haig and liked a few of the things in the background but overall I didn't like it and probably won't bother to check out a sequel unless Zombie learns pacing and storytelling.

[Grim]

It seems like I'm the only person who hasn't found a download of this movie. :(

Why download it? Just go rent it or something.