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House of 1000 Corpses

Name: House of 1000 Corpses
Genre: Horror
Released: April 11, 2003
Duration: 89 min
Rating: 31
Cast: Karen Black, Sid Haig

2003

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 15 Critics

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 110 Ratings

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4.7

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4.7	Your Score
4.7	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 110 Ratings

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HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES

Movie Details & Credits

Lions Gate Films | Release Date: April 11, 2003 | NC-17

Starring: Karen Black, Sid Haig

Summary: 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)

Director: Rob Zombie

Genre(s): Horror

Rating: NC-17

Runtime: 89 min

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Awards & Rankings

38	#38 Most Discussed Movie of 2003
53	#53 Most Shared Movie of 2003

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Critic Reviews

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

TV Guide Magazine 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

The 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

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

L.A. 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

Film Threat Todd Levin

Rips off so many splatter movie tricks at once that it becomes totally frustrating. Read full review

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User Reviews

SimonM.

Sep 24, 2007

In the way of TCM:2 (the original). Extreme violence mixed with extreme dark humor. A great debut for senior Zombie!

0 of 0 users found this helpful

spadenx

Jan 16, 2012

Rob Zombie gives us a cult classic horror film that we all have been craving for quite some times. I remember first seeing this film and being terrified by the Firefly family. I would highly recommend.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

imthenoob

Jan 1, 2013

It's scary, suspensful, funny, and features a ton of great characters that will haunt your dreams. Rob Zombie has created something special with this movie. I loved it.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

GerardistheWay

Aug 8, 2016

Say what you will about this film, but it accomplishes its primary goal--it entertains.

The influence of important horror movies such as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and the low-budget B movies of the 1950s-onward is evident throughout almost the entire film, but that's part of whatSay what you will about this film, but it accomplishes its primary goal--it entertains.

The influence of important horror movies such as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and the low-budget B movies of the 1950s-onward is evident throughout almost the entire film, but that's part of what works for it. The style is too low-brow to look as clean and polished as a typical Hollywood-funded horror flick today, and so the inside (and exterior) of the Firefly house appears dirty and cluttered, as if several truckloads of garbage were spilled out of the floor and a gang of children were handed crayons and told to go nuts on the walls. But it immediately gives you a sense of how bizarre this family truly is (which the protagonists either don't seem to or don't care until it's too late)--which brings me to my second point, the characters.

Like so many horror movies--big Hollywood budgets or not--the lead characters, teenagers traveling cross-country to write a novel on offbeat roadside attractions, are completely and utterly forgettable, as well as stereotypical in their group roles--moron Jerry, frustrated leader Bill (interestingly enough, these two were played by a pre-fame Chris Hardwick and Rainn Wilson), fussy Mary, and Denise, who is so "final girl" designed that she might as well have it tattooed on her forehead. It doesn't take long for you to guess which of the characters are the ones to bite the dust first (except for one that actually surprised me the first time I watched this movie), and it shouldn't; they're not the ones that matter, but rather the various depraved and twisted individuals making up the Firefly family. Zombie's dislike for these kids and preference for his antagonists is evident the second the opening credits begin, before the former group have even been introduced, as the names of the actors playing the main Firefly members are displayed first.

These would be Otis B. Driftwood, played by "Chainsaw Massacre 2" actor Bill Moseley and easily the family's most completely psychopathic member reminiscent of Charles Manson (who is referenced early on in the film), Baby, the youngest of the family and one of its two female members played by Zombie's future wife Sheri Moon, and Mother Firefly, the the deceptively normal-seeming (relatively speaking) matriarch of the family played by Academy Award nominee and another cult-horror icon, Karen Black. Another character who is by far the most interesting one in the film and who may or may not be related to the Fireflys (no spoilers) is Captain Spaulding, the foul-mouthed owner of the Museum of Monsters and Madmen played by Sid Haig who also makes his own homemade fried chicken, who is seen early on in the film taking the law into his own hands and dispensing vigilante justice onto a couple of robbers who attempt to knock over his store (but not before humiliating them due to their supposed inexperience first). Spaulding is, in a sense, a physical representation of the movie itself--funny in some parts, scary in others, but always entertaining.

The story is nothing special, and in fact seems contrived from the most basic of horror elements--rainstorm, hitchhiker picked up, flat tire obtained through pre-set trap, teenagers forced to take refuge with killer family to await their car being fixed/the end of the storm, entire killer family set off by the idiotic actions of one person--but this also seems purposefully done, because the story is hardly the point of this movie; the point is the characters doing what they do, and Zombie showing off his skill as a visual stylist with constant switches between photo negatives and the picture in its original form. There are a few sup-plots that are resolved shortly after they begin, as well as a number of oddball scenes that seem stuffed into random places in order to provide something resembling comic relief and self-recorded videos of Otis and Baby intended to once again recall the Manson family, but there is so much else going on in this film that the plot is forgotten moments after it begins.

In conclusion, not the best horror movie ever created, but certainly not the worst. The cast, intentionally or not, nail their assigned roles to a T, and fans of Zombie's unique visual style should appreciate the film as it is. The two major complaints I can think of are the story, which as I said is take-it-or-leave-it, and a severe lack of Captain Spaulding in any and all scenes he doesn't appear in. All in all, though, this is a solid, entertaining movie that serves as a strong film debut for writer-director Rob Zombie and should satisfy fans of the horror genre and its horror-comedy subcategory. Heed my warning before you run out and watch it, though...This movie is not for everyone, and certainly not for the faint of heart. 7/10… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

ERG1008

Sep 1, 2010

Rob Zombie's take on 1970's B-Movies.
Full of weird and wonderful characters especially Sid Haig as the almost iconic Captain Spaulding.
The acting is pretty bad throughout (I assume this was to get the B-Movie feel in parts) & it gets a bit silly at the end. A mention for the great use ofRob Zombie's take on 1970's B-Movies.
Full of weird and wonderful characters especially Sid Haig as the almost iconic Captain Spaulding.
The acting is pretty bad throughout (I assume this was to get the B-Movie feel in parts) & it gets a bit silly at the end.
A mention for the great use of Slim Whitman's "I remember you" in quite a morose scene as well.
Not as good as Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror which is in the same genre & done a lot better.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

macaronihorror6

Jun 7, 2019

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. One word that sums up this movie perfectly is disorienting. The numerous "flashback" sequences, which invariably have random negative filters and tv static applied to them, create a cool effect and contribute to the atmosphere of the film,which is one of the few things this film does right. However, the short asides generally serve more as a source of confusion than answers.
The plot of this film is convoluted, nonsensical, and lacking any sort of direction. The serial-killer family conducts a lengthy ritual towards the end of the movie, burning hundreds of crosses while the major antagonist of the film wears corpsepaint and chants. While a cool scene that builds up plenty of tension, it is symptomatic of the major problems I have with the movie as a whole. Events in this movie are tangential and sparsely related, barely maintaining any semblance of a cohesive narrative.
Rob Zombie was clearly trying to do something different with his psychotic family of hillbilly murderers, and the underground corpse dungeon that serves as the location of the climax shows off some impressive special effects, but its all so disjointed and hard to follow that the few good points of the film were lost in the chaos. Technically impressive, but lacking focus, cohesion and any semblance of character motivation.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Philter137

Sep 16, 2005

I am not being extreme, I honestly believe this film deserves a zero. My friends stopped watching after half and hour, one by one they found something better to do. I watched for as long as I could, a full 30 minutes longer than the others, but eventually I did something I've never I am not being extreme, I honestly believe this film deserves a zero. My friends stopped watching after half and hour, one by one they found something better to do. I watched for as long as I could, a full 30 minutes longer than the others, but eventually I did something I've never done with a rental film before... I hit fast-forward and watched the film fly past, just so I could get to the end and put this behind me. I must have stopped and watched 20 times before reaching the end, but it was the same old sh*t. I'm sure there are fans of this flick out there, someone on Rob Zombie's wavelength, and that's great. I hope you enjoyed it. You're on your own in a very small, special group of people.… Expand

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