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House of 1000 Corpses
EMAILPRINTLions Gate Films Inc.
Generally unfavorable reviews
Based on 16 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 76 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Horror
Written by: Rob Zombie
Directed by: Rob Zombie
Release Date:
Theatrical: April 11, 2003
DVD: August 12, 2003
Running Time: 88 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for strong sadistic violence/gore, sexuality and language
Starring Chad Bannon, Sid Haig, William Bassett, Karen Black, Bill Moseley, Michael J. Pollard, Joe Dobbs, and Sheri Moon
Two young couples take a misguided tour onto the back roads of America in search of a local legend known as Dr. Satan. Lost and stranded, they are set upon by a bizarre family of psychotics. (Lions Gate)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Halloween Halloween II The Devil's Rejects
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson
If your expectations aren't too high, there's lots of cool shit on-screen.
Read Full Review >Variety Scott Foundas
A cobwebbed, mummified horror entry that makes obvious, cartoonishly grotesque demands for attention.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dave Kehr
As much as film buffs might enjoy recognizing references to "Motel Hell" and other drive-in classics, Mr. Zombie's encyclopedic approach to the genre results in a crowded, frenzied film in which no single idea is developed to a satisfying payoff.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Isn't coherent, exactly, but what dripping-ghoul horror movie is these days? The new rule is, It's not hip to make sense when you're raising hell.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Zombie's sense of fun gets buried under the growing pile of bodies, and eventually, we're left with little more than a frenzy of sadism.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Shock-rocker Rob Zombie's loving homage to flat-out nasty horror films of the 1970s will leave many post-"Scream" (1996) horror fans cold because of what it's not. It's not slick or glossy. It's not funny or self-referential.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Clint Morris
Dazzling visuals, gob smacking editing, flamboyant sets and deliciously over the top characters. Unfortunately that’s the only merit I can give the long awaited House of 1000 Corpses.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
The setup almost needs footnotes, which makes it all the more puzzling that Zombie's obvious love for horror's past would translate into such a joyless, grisly rehashing.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
The endless gore and violence make the experience torturous -- and not just for the victims in the movie.
Read Full Review >Premiere Peter Debruge
Zombie's film plays more like an experimental pastiche than an outright homage to those classic road-trip-gone-wrong movies.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Dan Fienberg
Zombie wants his film to be gleefully demented, but he fails to grasp that loud, inbred evil people torturing stupid, grating benign people isn’t disturbing as much as tedious.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Alex Pappademas
Straining to put his own stamp on this stale-from-the-crypt material, Zombie falls back on the twitchy visual grammar of his videos, splicing in dream sequences and grainy porno-snippets apparently purchased at Bob Crane's estate sale. The violence eventually becomes more inhuman than human.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
Gosh, what to say about House of 1000 Corpses? That it's about 999 too many, for starters. Then again, in a picture where the body count is the whole point and the only purpose, carping about the math rather misses the mark.
Read Full Review >New York Post Megan Lehmann
Kicks off as a cheap piece of retro schlock and quickly devolves into a putrid bloodbath with a thin narrative made utterly indecipherable by the first-time director's clueless approach to filmmaking.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
The film is a mess, going all over the graveyard but never finding the grave. It's the work of a fan with too much time (and money) on his hands, eagerly awaited but best forgotten.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Todd Levin
Rips off so many splatter movie tricks at once that it becomes totally frustrating.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 5.9 (out of 10) based on 76 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
K M gave it a10:
Rob Zombie takes you on a road trip into hell and I loved it.
Acuzzam gave it a0:
Some people say that this is a good movie in the "horror trash" style. I have to disagree. I'm a fan of all kind of movies including trash movies and this one its not a good one. It's surprisingly boring, it's the kind of movie that is just a waste of time.
Alan B. gave it a10:
This is a good movie for those who like the sick & twisted. Anyone who gave it a really bad vote are the type of people who dislike twisted movies and are most likely very close minded people. I give it a 10 because it's unique and a refreshing view from the mainstream slew of run of the mill movies.
Maurice V. gave it a1:
I give it one because it was a nice try....the other nice try extra points went away when I started feeling like I was watching a boring extended version of the "I feel so numb" music video.... now seriously, after this film I got so angry that, though I am a big fan of the music from Rob Zombie, I didn't even want to hear a single song from him. though if you are really into bizarre experiences, not wanting to watch a horror nor a terror film but some surreal comedy with horror parodies go ahead, you might enjoy it. Then again I seriously doubt it. Still I think he evolved from this shitty standard with his next movies, and though everybody hates it, I think Zombie does the exact opposite with Halloween delivering a great new angle for a movie (switching -in my opinion- the genre of it from a slow paced suspense thrill to a very well done violent horror pic).
Simon M. gave it a10:
In the way of TCM:2 (the original). Extreme violence mixed with extreme dark humor. A great debut for senior Zombie!
Gerrick C. gave it a3:
Sounds like Rob Zombie's film is past dead- which is dull-dead and dreary.
M. M. gave it a2:
Surprised to see only 0's and 10's for the most part this movie is much closer to a 0. This movie was not scary and I found myself very bored watching it. I kept waiting for the gore, but there were only a few scenes of active violence - most of the offensive material were slow shots of already dead, mutilated bodies. There was really nothing original about any of the murders/deaths. For example, upon opening a trunk, a dead body is found with the words "treat or trick" (or something close) etched into the leg of a slightly overweight girl. I can think of a 1000 ways to make that discovery more horrifying. I did like Capt. Spaulding's character and the baby character (agreeing with a former reviewer) and give this a 2 as a result. I kept waiting for some good B movie thrills, instead I got spliced footage of old 50's topless C-level "models" Bottomline: no scares, no good T&A, no good gore.
