Amazon.co.uk Review
It's sick! It's twisted! It's
House of 1,000 Corpses, and it's more fun than a wholesome bowl of "Agatha Crispies"! Dropped by two studios (Universal and MGM) and doomed to obscurity until Lions Gate Films gave it a limited theatrical release, Rob Zombie's gonzo horror flick is a blood-spattered throwback to the gore-fests of the 70s, lending new meaning to the term "box-office gross". Most critics misunderstood this unbridled exercise in graphic style and violence, but for devoted horror buffs it's a refreshing rebuttal to the comparatively "polite" frights of the post-Scream era. While paying homage to
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,
Last House on the Left,
Motel Hell and other gory classics, Zombie's ramshackle plot (two young couples are terrorized by an inbred family of homicidal maniacs) lacks a crucial sense of dread, but his pastiche of vivid colours, grainy fetish-films and photo-negative imagery is guaranteed to hold your attention. A bona-fide cult item, this
House is definitely worth a visit... if you dare. --
Jeff Shannon
Synopsis
Rob Zombie, the heavy metal hero who has released such albums as SINISTER URGE and HELLBILLY DELUXE as a solo act and ASTRO-CREEP 2000 with his band, White Zombie, takes on the world of horror movies in this very bloody, very entertaining tale that rips off the old car-trouble story in which a group of unsuspecting travellers must spend the night in a place of demented evil--in this case, the Museum of Monsters and Madmen. Zombie makes the movie work for the same reason his music career has been so successful: He knows he's going way over the top, and he's not afraid to go as far as he can, so eager viewers should put their tongues in their cheeks and go along for the raunchy ride.
The always beguiling Karen Black, who starred in one of the all-time great horror classics, BURNT OFFERINGS, turns in another terrifically offbeat performance as Mother Firefly, the marvellous matriarch of a murderous family. Other fabulously gruesome characters include the crazy clown Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) and the oddball "lady killer" Otis Driftwood (Bill Moseley); Marx Brothers fans should note that many of Zombie's characters are named after roles played by Groucho. One of the advertising lines for the movie calls it "positively the most horrifying film ever made!" Zombie does his best to try to live up to that demanding tag, upping the gore quotient with numerous inventive killings that involve lots of blood and innards.