Review of House of 1000 Corpses (2003) by . S — 12 Aug 2011

This movie really is an homage that people from Zombie's generation were supposed to be able to see and enjoy. As a fan of the camp movies that Zombie is homaging, I found this film incredibly entertaining.

The plot is somewhat weak in some respects, but the outlandishness of the characters seems to step in and make the viewer not notice. Also of note is the fact that the characters seem so grounded in their own reality that this movie could almost be compared to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre in its depiction of a crazy family living in the backwoods (ALMOST).

The movie really fails in the horror elements because the overall horrific scenes are too far removed from any kind of reality that people experience, so it kind of takes the viewer out of the film and makes them a viewer instead of bringing them into the picture itself.

The sequel is far more effective because it plays as something that people could be a part of and experience, thus adding to whatever the character is feeling in the movie. This film, aside from that, is marvelous in almost every way.

Sid Haig is marvelous as are the rest of the starring cast. I was a little uninterested in Karen Black's character, so she is probably the worst performer in this for me, luckily she was replaced in the sequel by someone with whom I identified with and the writing meant for us to identify with.

It has the look of the camp classics and actually creates some really compelling characters (in that the audience is really left in suspense as to what really drives the characters to do what they do without having any real reason or hint to do it).

The ending also needs a mention because so many other horror movies fall apart at the end whereas this one has an effective ending that doesn't really play to the viewers as being stupid enough to take anything.

Also, the ending is successful because the bad guys win. This is done in a few horror movies but this one is one of the more effective among them. Overall, it is an effective film that can seem little outlandish and is only a viewing pleasure as opposed to an immersive film.

If you are a fan of 70's cult horror or camp acting, you really need to see this movie.