House Of 1000 Corpses (2003)

House Of 1000 Corpses (2003)

Written and directed by the iconic metal singer Rob Zombie, this film marked his debut into the horror movie genre. Since it's release he has come out with a multitude of films though for the most part most people agree that he should be coming up with original material. Once he started making remakes fans everywhere where at first excited but now for the most part cringe with what he has done with the Halloween franchise. While not everyone agrees with that statement enough do to make you sit up and worry if you hear him working on a project - at least a remake. Thankfully though House of 1000 Corpses is from a simpler time of fresh ideas on how hillbillies from the southern portion of America really are the most frightening people to have to deal with.

We open the movie with 4 kids who are taking a road trip and are on an apparently deserted back road. Like the introduction to so many other horror movies that take place in the South they don't stumble across a single soul with real intelligence. They do however come across at Captain Spaulding's which is run be a demonic looking clown who sets the stage for what is to happen. At Spaulding's you can buy gas, fried chicken, and take a death ride! The death ride tells us about Doctor Satan who was apparently a local serial killer who was hung years prior. They go to look into where he was hung and on the way there pickup a hitchhiker - the ever luscious "Baby" (Sheri Moon.)

From this point it all goes downhill for the 4 kids who are drawn to where Sheri lives which is when the true "fun" begins as her entire family is basically a group of insane, cannibalistic, serial killers. Zombie knows how to craft a visually gritty film from top to bottom and it’s a shame that the plot isn’t half as good as the sequel (how often does that happen?) It’s a fun ride of sheer gore and violence though is rather weak on the suspense itself. The entire family is a top notch cast of insanity as we have Sid Haig playing the previously mentioned Captain Spaulding. Sheri Moon Zombie as the daughter mentioned. Karen Black (who was in countless classic B horror films) playing her mother and finally her brother Otis is being played by Bill Moseley.

The entire family (aside from Sheri) immediately comes off both visually and mentally as a group of cannibalistic rednecks who truly are just insane and that have never heard of morals. While Sheri herself is just as mentally twisted as her entire family she at least has the looks to pass as a normal member of society and they are clearly intelligent enough to use this to their advantage. As we all know sex sells and what better wait for a group of cannibals than to use it to sell safety right before everything goes to hell for their unsuspecting pray. As I mentioned the plot on the first one is kind of weak but if you are looking for a splatter fest than this is the film for you.