Rob Zombie making his own horror films was only a matter of time. The rocker turned filmmaker has always implemented horror movies in to his music and general content, so “House of 1,000 Corpses” is a culmination of all that creativity. Suffice to say I wouldn’t particularly call “House of 1,000 Corpses” a masterpiece. It’s rough around the edges, and often times feels like a film school project more than a feature film. But there’s no denying Zombie has a real love for horror. Even more he has a real love for the characters he’s created, all of whom are a beautiful hodgepodge of various pop culture facets.
An empty fuel tank and a flat tire lead two couples down a terror-riddled road to the House of 1000 Corpses. “House of 1000 Corpses” is at its core a story of family – a cast of twisted individuals who, with each slash of a throat or stab thru the chest, add bodies to their sick human menagerie. When the pair of couples happen upon the Firefly family’s twisted mansion one rainy night, they fight to get out alive, while being stalked by the insane murderous clan, led by the maniacal Otis.
The Firefly clan (their names references to Marx Brothers characters) is a force of evil nature, they’re a group of people that delight in making others suffer as much as possible. And they do it for the joy of it. Though they’re much more realized and better fleshed out in the follow up “The Devil’s Rejects,” Zombie has a good time building up the larger than life horror villains for a new generation. Zombie really is hell bent on selling his Firefly brood and he is successful by virtue of the fact that he has a great cast behind him. When I say great, I mean Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, and Sheri Moon are fucking excellent as the sadistic trio of human maniacs.
They’re complimented by folks like Karen Black and Tom Towles, respectively. Even twenty years later, “House of 1,000 Corpses” is not great. It really stalls in the narrative department, as Zombie is more concerned with a lot of montages and colorful flourishes rather than a cohesive story. This makes the film feel more like an extended music video when all is said and done. That said, for fans of Zombie, or this universe he’s created, “House of 1,000 Corpses” has surefire appeal and some surefire treats in store. The prologue with Captain Spaulding and a botched armed robbery alone is worth re-visiting Zombie’s freshman feature.
The new release comes in a box set with a ton of bells and whistles, and alternately comes in a Steelbook edition sold exclusively at Best Buy. We were granted the Best Buy Edition for this review.
The 20th Anniversary Edition features a Director Commentary with Rob Zombie, and a Making-of Featurette. HOTC Zombietron is a game you can play that’s basically a twisted Pac-Man-type arcade game. There’s exclusive Casting Footage, as well as Rehearsal Footage including Bill Moseley & Jennifer Jostyn, Rainn Wilson, Chris Hardwick & Erin Daniels, and Chris Hardwick & Erin Daniels. As well there are extensive Cast and Crew Interviews with Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, Sheri Moon, and Wayne Toth, and the original Theatrical Trailer. There are more exclusive Cast & Director Interviews with Rob Zombie, Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon, Karen Black, Rainn Wilson, Chris Hardwick, Erin Daniels, Irwin Keyes, Jennifer Jostyn, and Wayne Toth, respectively.
There are also five Behind The Scenes Segments including the Dr. Satan Test, and the Professor Test. There’s also the EPK for the film, and the original Teaser Trailer. There are also new cast and crew interviews with Rob Zombie, Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon, Karen Black, Robert Mukes, Rainn Wilson, Chris Hardwick, and more. Finally, Exclusively on Digital Platforms*, there’s a New Director’s Commentary from Director Rob Zombie who tells all about “House of 1,000 Corpses” and thinks reflects on his original shooting of his first horror feature.
* If you only want to digitally purchase House of 1000 Corpses, it can be purchased through VUDU ($7.99 for SD, $9.99 for HDX) where you can unlock the Digital Copy bonus features, including the new Rob Zombie commentary.