Review of House of 1000 Corpses (2003) by Benoît R — 23 Oct 2011

Music video directors that have their first feature presentation will really struggle in filming which the film will not know what it is. The audience is unaware if they are watching a film or a music video.

This was the case with Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) and Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003). Luckily, Rob Zombie understood this and mixed both in, unapologetically. Detractors fashionably scorn House of a 1000 Corpses as Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) rip-off even though there is much more to this.

Zombie may have syphoned the Texas Chainsaw Massacre for his film, but he also syphoned the Rocky Horror Picture along with other horror flicks from the 1970s including Donâ(TM)t Look in the Basement, Taxi Driver, Dawn of the Dead (1978) and The Hills Have Eyes (197-something).

What he did is taking all those elements and conceived this film within his own mind not only to shock, but rebel. Rebel against what (?), well, the late 1990s saw the rebirth of slasher films that began to rip mega Scream.

One after another, they began to lapse into one boring pic after another, equivalent to Prom Night, Silent Scream, and Terror Train. The early 2000s era had PG-13 films and tamed horror that needed a boot, I mean knife.

Luckily, Zombie provides us some fresh new blood and interesting dialogue along with the idea of how far is one person willing to look when they are told not to. He also makes the villains pretty interesting with a love them or hate them.

The only problem was Zombie needed concentrate a little more in suspense before shock violence, but for what it is⦠House of a 1000 Corpses succeeds in rebellion. He does bring some great tension building scenes though and great soundtrack too.