Review of House of 1000 Corpses (2003) by Al M — 04 Apr 2013

I don't care what you think of this film or of me, but I absolutely adore House of 1000 Corpses. Essentially a postmodern homage and parody of classic slasher and exploitation cinema, particularly The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Rob Zombie's film is definitely uneven--it blends brutally sadistic violence together with the blackest most morbid kind of humor imaginable, and it presents its plot through an overstylized aesthetic that often plays like a music video with portions that don't seem to fit with the narrative but only serve to introduce other creepy elements.

While this list can be read as House of 1000 Corpses's demerits, it also is a list of its strengths. It is a self-conscious, postmodern horror film, but it remains visceral and true to the genre in a way that most similar meta-horror films do not--it is not a pussy horror-comedy like Scream.

Featuring a cast of certified maniacs like Sid Haig and Bill Moseley, House of 1000 Corpses introduces us into a world of pure madness and chaos: serial killers, satanists, the undead, evil clowns, vivisection, etc.

It is a truly warped and original vision that will delight those twisted enough to appreciate it and appall the other 99% of people. House of 1000 Corpses was Zombie's debut, and it demonstrates a brutal cinematic aesthetic that promises great things even if it fails to reach those heights.

But Zombie's follow-up, The Devil's Rejects, would streamline and purge his aesthetic to create one of the most nihilistic and disturbing exploitation/horror films of the last ten years.