Celebrating A Fun & Murderous Experience: HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES

Rob Zombie is a well-known name in the worlds of heavy metal and horror. It didn’t take Zombie long to dive into film; in 2003, after successful releases of his White Zombie and solo work, Zombie would present his directorial debut. While originally House of 1000 Corpses was met with negative reviews from critics, overtime it has gained a strong cult following. What was once written off as a crude exploitative horror flick is now looked back on as a hellishly fun experience.

House of 1000 Corpses is a bizarre trip that is packed with violence, and surrounded with an eerie atmosphere. Its unsettling characters and uncomfortable environment make for a film that will one second have you laughing, to then having your skin crawl.

A Murder Ride

House of 1000 Corpses focuses on two couples traveling across the country, writing a book about roadside attractions. During their trip they find themselves at a gas station which is also part of The Museum of Monsters & Madmen. This is all run by Captain Spaulding (played by Sid Haig), who reveals the legend of Doctor Satan to the couples, the latter who decide to drive off and learn more about the local madman.

On their way to the famous spot where Doctor Satan was hung, the couples find a hitchhiker who says they live near the location. The hitchhiker refers to herself as Baby (played by Sheri Moon Zombie), and when the tires blow out on their car, she offers to take them back to her house until the car is fixed. It’s at this point where the couples find themselves trapped in a horror show of mutilation and killing.

From the beginning, before we are even introduced to the couples, there’s an immediate weird air to the picture. This is portrayed through uses of cuts and editing that Rob Zombie places throughout the film, providing awkward pauses in-between scenes. An example of this is when the film abruptly cuts into this psychedelic wash of colors, and this elderly couple begin talking about how a Bigfoot-like creature violated the wife.

This pause has nothing to do with any aspect of the plot, but creates an awkward and uneasy feeling in the film (and within the viewer). House of 1000 Corpses is by no means an art film, but one can see how Zombie strives to make the viewer uncomfortable in watching the picture. It’s this directorial debut that would set the tone for Zombie’s love and use of black humor in his future work.

There are numerous times in these cuts that show naked women rubbing their breasts and grinding themselves on rotted corpses. There are also parts where we have the main villains speaking to the audience about torturing and killing people, and the fun that comes from it. These aren’t incredibly immersive fourth wall breaking moments, but do play into that goofy and unsettling aura that makes for the picture.

In the beginning of the film, Spaulding takes the couple on his murder ride attraction. The ride consists of little pop-up scenes that depict real life serial killers, with Spaulding giving some brief background into who these people were and their psyché. One example is when he is talking about Albert Fish, and shares how he used to like getting spanked and would shove needles into his groin.

House of 1000 Corpses is pretty aware of what it is, rolling itself around with the tongue-in-cheek darkness of serial killers and horror movie references. The pop culture references come through either in times when Zombie introduces one of his pauses throughout the film, or directly from the characters and setting.

It’s classic works such as The Wolfman and The Munsters that make these sort of appearances, giving the picture a fun and goofy quality. There’s a wall in the house the couples get trapped in that is an entire poster of The Creature From The Black Lagoon, to even a small scene where Spaulding is sharing his love for John Wayne.

Zombie has always been a fan of sharing his interests, with House of 1000 Corpses being his first film to pulsate with Americana vibes. The blends of pop culture movies that are shown and talked about, to the mix of rock and roll and country music that plays throughout the picture, all come with a sense of the “wink-wink” sort of in-your-face playfulness.

All these elements make for a lot of fun in the film, but don’t add any sense of actual horror to the work. Where this comes into play are the characters, for while we get to meet a variety of folks outside the two couples, it’s actually the villains that make for the most bizarre and disturbing treats of the film.

The Firefly Family

The film opens up on Captain Spaulding talking to a local man about this person who sticks pencils in his eyes and spins them around. Spaulding is always wearing clown makeup, and gives off this menacingly friendly presence. One minute he can sound like your best friend, to the next minute threatening your life.

Spaulding in particular is quite disturbing due to this nature, for you really could see yourself almost being friendly with someone like this (given if you didn’t know their true nature). And for the most part, that’s the same mentality behind most of the Firefly family. The family consists of Baby, Otis (Bill Moseley), Mother Firefly (Karen Black), Tiny (Matthew McGrory), Rufus (Robert Allen Mukes), and Grandpa Hugo (Dennis Fimple).

This band of sadistic, torture-loving folks is something that could only be dreamed up out of an LSD laden nightmare. They’re a strong blend of the families you would find in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes.

Mother Firefly and Baby are essentially the same, both using sex and childlike playfulness to lure in their victims. One grotesque scene has Baby asking a victim to guess who her favorite movie star while she has been jokingly cutting his hair, also asking him to calm down so she doesn’t slip with her blade. Upon guessing wrong, Baby then begins to take the blade and peels into the victim’s scalp.

Rufus and Tiny are fairly quiet throughout the film. Grandpa Hugo is a loud mouth vulgar old man who also doesn’t add much to the material. The true terror that comes from House of 1000 Corpses is all thanks to that of Baby and Otis.

The two make for a chilling couple, completely removed from reality. Otis is a fan of taking his victims aside, spewing random dribbles of philosophical nonsense in their face. In one scene, he calls out one of the kidnapped girls for being a yuppie, saying how her scooping ice cream on summer break is nothing like real work (such as when he his torturing and mutilating).

While there are scenes that depict intense violence, the film mostly works in regards to providing just how unsettling the psyché is behind these people. One of the best scenes (which would appear in a similar fashion in another future Zombie film), is when Otis skins the face and chest of the father to one of the victims, and wears it as a mask. He then proceeds to go up to one of the girls, and makes out with her while wearing the father’s face.

The creepy blend of violent rednecks makes for a terrifying and uncomfortable cast of villains. The Firefly family is the sort of nightmare that Charles Manson might have, for they are the strongest and most memorable part of House of 1000 Corpses.

The Beginning Of A Career

House of 1000 Corpses is effective in the way it disturbs the viewer, rather than scaring them. The film was just the start of a wild film career for Rob Zombie, showing off his trademark uses of intense violence and unique humor. These elements flowed right into the film’s sequel The Devil’s Rejects (while ramping up the violence even further).

Now more than a decade since its release, House of 1000 Corpses stands as a hellish and fun trip of delightful horror. Not so much scary as it is entertaining and chilling, it is a film that would help to encourage and inspire one of horror’s most interesting filmmakers. It’s a work that makes you just as tense as it does chuckle. With House of 1000 Corpses, Rob Zombie established one of horror’s most unique gems, creating a bizarre, trippy, and brutal experience.

What are your thoughts on House of 1000 Corpses? Do you find the film as creepy as it is entertaining?