Review: House of a 1000 Corpses

House of a 1000 Corpses was made in 2003 on a budget of around $7 million and was written and directed by Rob Zombie. It is an exploitation horror movie that was generally panned by the critics but has attracted a band of hardcore devotees. It reportedly grossed $16,829,545 from its cinema release. Below is a review of House of a 1000 Corpses.

Stars and plot

In late 1977, two couples set out on a road trip to write a book on oddball attractions. The couples, Jerry Goldsmith (Chris Hardwick), Bill Hudley (Rainn Wilson), Mary Knowles (Jennifer Jostyn), and Denise Willis (Erin Daniels) meet Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig), a friendly owner of the Museum of the Strange and they hear the legend of Dr. Satan. A young hitch-hiker, originally named Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie), is picked up as the four search for the tree from which Dr. Satan was hanged. One of their vehicle's tyres bursts and Baby walks with Bill to her family home which is nearby. Meanwhile, Baby's half-brother, Rufus (Robert Allen Mukes), picks up the other passengers and takes them to the same location. Over dinner, they meet the rest of the family and the alarm bells start to ring as they discover that the family lives on weird Halloween traditions. Not long afterwards, the carnage begins.

Production and reception

House of a 1000 Corpses was shot in 25 days and released in the United States on 11 April 2003 by Lions Gate Entertainment. The final cut had a running time of 88 minutes. Critics The reviews were almost entirely negative. James Brundage of Filmcritic.com wrote that the film was simply 'too highbrow to be a good cheap horror movie, too lowbrow to be satire, and too boring to bear the value of the ticket.' Today, it holds a lowly 17% approval rating on the Rotten Tomatoes film review website. The Devil's Rejects Though not popular by critics, it was followed by a sequel, The Devil's Rejects, starring most of the original cast and that went on to receive slightly more positive comments. A House of 1000 Corpses soundtrack was also released featuring artists such as Buck Owens, Helen Kane, The Ramones, Lionel Richie, Slim Whitman, Scott Humphrey and writer and director Rob Zombie himself and a number of instrumentals taken from the film.