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Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie, Karen Black, Chris Hardwick ... see more see more... , Erin Daniels , Jennifer Jostyn , Rainn Wilson , Walton Goggins , Tom Towles , Matthew McGrory , Robert Allen Mukes , Dennis Fimple , Harrison Young , William H. Bassett , Irwin Keyes , Michael J. Pollard , Judith Drake , Donald Paul Pemrick , Jeanne Carmen , Dean E. Fronk , Jake McKinnon , Joe Dobbs , Chad Bannon , Gregg Gibbs , Ken Johnson , Walter Phelan , David Reynolds

Taking his cue from such 1970s horror classics as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977), animated rocker Rob Zombie goes celluloid with the throwback shocker House of 1000 ... read more read more...Corpses. Running low on gas as they travel the highways of America in search of the ultimate roadside attraction, a group of teens pull into Captain Spaulding's (Sid Haig) museum of oddities (which also offers fried chicken and gasoline) only to become obsessed with uncovering the mystery of a legendary local maniac known only as Dr. Satan. When an attractive and mysterious hitchhiker subsequently offers to give the thrill seekers a personal tour of Dr. Satan's old stabbing grounds, a breakdown forces them to take refuge with a group of menacing oddballs as a fearsome storm rages outside. As the evening progresses and the backwoods hosts' Halloween festivities become ever more threatening, the teens soon realize that the legend of Dr. Satan may hold a bit more contemporary weight than any of them had previously thought. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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67% liked it

123,920 ratings

Critics

17% liked it

77 critics

R, 1 hr. 28 min.

Directed by: Rob Zombie

Release Date: April 11, 2003

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DVD Release Date: August 12, 2003

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Flixster Reviews (8,088)

  • TheDudeLebowski65
    May 7, 2012
    TheDudeLebowski65
    Rob Zombie has been a horror fan for years. So when he decided to make a film it was no surprise that he would make a horror film. House of a 1000 Corpses is his first nightmarish vision captured on film. Corpses, though a flawed film, does it's job at creating something new and ... read moreexciting. We are introduced the most deranged family in horror history since the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. One thing thats very interesting about the characters is that every characters are named after Groucho Marx characters. House Of A 1000 is a thrilling, rejuvenating film in the horror genre and some fans and critics alike have noticed similarities between this film, and TCM. Some claim that Rob Zombie plays out his as a homage to the old school horror films. In part, I'd say it's true. But in the end, who cares? He's made a good little horror film thats worth to check out, and it doesn't matter if it's a homage or not. The film still terrifies across the screen, and by the films end you know that the Firefly family are not to be messed with.
  • aquateen2
    April 3, 2012
    aquateen2
    [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon13.gif[/img]

    In his directorial debut we learn that Rob Zombie was obviously a fan of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Last House on the Left because there are huge similarities between these horror classics and Ho... read moreuse of 1000 Corpses. It's visual style seemes to be that of a heavy metal music video and it didn't really work or for that matter scare me on any level despite the attempt and it's need to be fast paced. The storyline is very predictable and it wasn't really that good or as scary as it could have been. I didn't dislike the film entirely because I laughed a lot, and I thought it's cheesiness may have been Zombie's deliberate attempt at some humour. The soundtrack is by Zombie's nature very suitable and the gore and make up effects are bloody well perfect. It's mostly good visually but it's not atmospheric like the two great films that inspired this messy but interesting exploitational "horror". It tries to be disturbing but miserably fails and just comes off as weird.
  • fb100000040220993
    December 9, 2011
    fb100000040220993
    Rob Zombie's horror movie debut was a complete disaster. It's obvious that Zombie was a big fan of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". I'm not sure if he was paying homage to it, or if "House of 1000 Corpses" was a piss-poor attempt at ripping it off. It doesn't really matter, because... read more it fails miserably either way. You'd think with as much gore and deviant behavior that's... shoved down the viewer's throat, scenes would be occasionally, or at least accidentally disturbing. The film never accomplished anything that even made me mildly uncomfortable. The direction has no attention span, the movie just bounces around incoherently. People with taste in music should avoid Rob Zombie, and fans of horror should avoid "House of 1000 Corpses".
  • gatorgirl13
    October 27, 2010
    gatorgirl13
    I'm not a huge horror movie fan, but it was hard to resist something directed by the infamous Rob Zombie. It's gory and twisted and everything you'd expect from this director.
  • cancercapricorn2002
    July 19, 2010
    cancercapricorn2002
    Rob Zombie obviously is an enthusiastic fan and true connoisseur of classic Horror/Exploitation cinema, which also manifests in his films. While today's American Horror cinema is dominated by tame and crappy remakes, Zombie brought us two great, gory and rancid Shock features tha... read moret are among the most notable Horror productions of the decade, starting with "House of 1000 Corpses" in 2003. This is a traditional Hillbilly Horror film in great, gritty 70s style, upgraded with loads of innovating new aspects, a magnificent sense of black humor, wonderfully demented characters, brutal gory violence, genuine creepiness, delightful sickness and unrestrained shocks.

    A bunch of young people are traveling through Texas in order to write a book on offbeat roadside attractions. After meeting Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) the owner of a gas station with an attached Horror/Murder museum, their car breaks down and they are forced to seek refuge in the house of a truly demented family of hicks...

    Though most obviously inspired by the Hillbilly Horror classic "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" (1974), "House of 1000 Corpses" pays tribute to various Horror classics and is thereby extremely innovative. The film is an utterly demented mix of Hillbilly Mass Murder Horror, Mad Science and various other elements, which is as darkly funny as it is extremely creepy and sometimes genuinely scary. Personally, I was a big fan of Sid Haig even before I first saw this film a few years ago, for his appearance in countless 70s Exploitation classics, such as "Coffy", "Spider Baby" and others. One might well say that "House of 1000 Corpses" and the even greater 2005 sequel "The Devil's Rejects" mark the highlights of Haig's career, as he plays a leading role, and his Captain Spaulding is arguably the most notable Horror character of the decade. Some other highly memorable roles are that of Bill Moseley as the utterly demented Otis, and director Rob Zombie's wife Sheri Moon Zombie as the incredibly sexy yet incredibly wicked daughter of the murderous Firefly family.

    "House of 1000 Corpses" is gory, brutal and demented unlike most contemporary Horror films and has a fantastic sense of pitch black humor. Apart from an innovative and wonderfully demented story, uniquely eccentric characters, countless Horror references, gore and morbidity, this film features some of the greatest Horror moments of the last 20 years. Overall, this film, as well as the even superior "Devil's Rejects" is most highly recommended to any fan of Horror and Exploitation cinema.
  • ythelastman89
    November 16, 2009
    ythelastman89
    If only more movies could be this warped and funny. Rob Zombie knows what a horror movie should have. It's the definition of horror comedy and is directed so perfectly that it makes it a modern masterpiece. The dialogue is so good at being just off balanced, tricking you into a w... read morearm and friendly environment. Then when the torture starts happening, you don't know what to think. Horror movies are rarely this fun, you'd be a fool to pass it up.
  • SirPant
    September 17, 2009
    SirPant
    Tribute to 70's horror films or just a rip off? Just a rip off really. Sid Haig is good though!
  • matertenebraum
    December 17, 2008
    matertenebraum
    Its sad that a film as wonderfully made as this is so grossly misunderstood.

    Let me say this right off that bat. If you're idea of a horror film is I know What You Did Last Summer and you consider Scream and The Exorcist to be the most shocking films ever made, this is not a fil... read morem for you. If you havent seen I Spit on Your Grave, Evil Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead or Last House on the Left, this is not a film for you. If you've never listened to "Living Dead Girl" or "Superbeast" this is not a film for you.

    Now having said that, this is a film for me. It is a film for true horror fans, the kind that stay up and watch Dawn of the Dead and The Beyond, who know who Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento and George Romero are. This is a film that was meant to be seen by people like this and will only be enjoyed by people like this. This is not exactly mainstream stuff here. Only a small percentage of people enjoy this stuff, and for those people, this film is a true rivival of classic exploitive horror.

    Rob Zombie has created a homage to 1970's exploitation/horror films, and he has been extremly successful in achieving that goal. The film borrows largely from Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Last House on the Left, with his own little bits of original demential thrown in and an assortment of other horror film references. The film tells the tale of four teenagers who are terrorized and tortured by a bizarre southern family living in a remote farmhouse in 1977. The film uses all sorts of camera tricks--negative colouring, split-screens and seemingly random inserts of grainy snuff-like footage of various S&M and gore images; the off-the-wall effect is similar to what Oliver Stone did in Natural Born Killers. The film is not about plot, or about characters. Its purpose is to shock and disturb, to serve no other function than to entertain through exploitation and disgusting and bizarre violence. Just as you think the limits of weirdness are approaching, Zombie takes the film a step farther, and before long you surrender yourself to the mercy of the film and just accept things for what they are. The film has the feeling of an out of control freight train being piloted by a madman and the climax of the film is truly bizarre. The reviewers who wrote the film off as overly-sadistic with little in the ways of character development, plot or suspence have come to see a different kind of film, perhaps more at home with titles like The Sixth Sense or Silence of the Lambs. The have no busineness debasing a great film like this.

    Rob Zombie has created a film that is both a homage and derivative at the same time; most things in the film have been done before, in one shape or another, and the level of gore is a fraction of what was intended, due to its shameful R-rating. To see the inevitable Unrated Directors Cut on video is going to be a true horror experience.

    But this film is something has hasnt been seen in decades and it has been made with the utmost care that only a true horror fan could provide. It is a film made by horror fans for horror fans, a true labor of love by Mr. Zombie, despite some flaws. If you arent sitting the theater going "hey, theres Bill Mosely from TCM 2!" or "hey, that shot is a homage to the cover of Evil Dead!" or "hey, he wears peoples skin like Leatherface!" then you probably arent meant to be seeing this film. But for those who are, the film is a true gem and a rarity; it is a kind of film that hasnt been seen on the screens in over twenty years and probably wont be for another twenty years. Get out there and enjoy this rare experience while you still can.

    An instant cult-hit.

    Grade: A

    For true horror fans only. Everyone else just wont get it.
  • FilmFanatik
    November 4, 2008
    FilmFanatik
    A true Grindhouse-style movie that steals from every great underground horror film and spins a yarn of fun.
  • 366weirdmovies
    September 18, 2008
    366weirdmovies
    Four college aged kids stumble into the web of family of bizarre, yet cliched, backwoods killers. First time director Rob Zombie tries to cover up the lack of a story with an excess of style; the result looks a lot like what you would get if you took THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE... read more (1974), removed all the scary, and replaced it with annoying.

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Critic Reviews

Peter Howell
April 18, 2003
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Possibly the greatest waste of celluloid since Jerry Lewis was first allowed to stand before a camera. Full Review

Rick Groen
April 18, 2003
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

In this field of endeavour, any intense reaction is unsustainable, for the obvious reason that the guiding principle of repetition comes with an inevitable corollary and unavoidable side-effect -- she... Full Review

Owen Gleiberman
April 16, 2003
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

House of 1000 Corpses isn't coherent, exactly, but what dripping-ghoul horror movie is these days? Full Review

Scott Foundas
April 15, 2003
Scott Foundas, Variety

A cobwebbed, mummified horror entry that makes obvious, cartoonishly grotesque demands for attention. Full Review

Alex Pappademas
April 15, 2003
Alex Pappademas, Village Voice

Wit follows coherence out the window. Full Review

Glenn Lovell
April 14, 2003
Glenn Lovell, San Jose Mercury News

Parts have been cannibalized from better shockers and, worse, the stitches holding them together are so obvious they glow in the dark.

Frank Scheck
April 14, 2003
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

The end results are almost strangely devoid of thrills, shocks or horror, other than the sight of not one but two former Oscar nominees (Black and Michael J. Pollard) reduced to such a pitiable career...

Wesley Morris
April 14, 2003
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

I'm not sure Zombie really wants to scare us at all. Turn our stomachs; maybe, scratch our heads, sure. But scares are not really on the Zombie menu. Full Review

Gary Dowell
April 14, 2003
Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News

Mr. Zombie's shameless pilfering, derivative and uninspired writing, and ham-fisted direction result in a chaotic mess. Full Review

Megan Lehmann
April 14, 2003
Megan Lehmann, New York Post

Neither scary, perversely funny nor suspenseful, this demented dung heap is not even inventively gory.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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    • Otis: [looking at Jerry while wearing a mask made of human skin] What was this guy looking for? Oh! I remember... You were trying to find Dr. Satan. Well how about we go and find him...
    • Jerry: [moaning and grunting] Fuck you!
    • Otis: [takes off mask] It's all true. The boogeyman is real, and you found him.
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House of 1000 Corpses Trivia

  • Who directed House of 1000 Corpses?  Answer »
  • What horror movie had serial killers, underground zombies, lots of crosses, bunny rabbits, alcohol, 4 poor unsuspecting travelers who break down, a clown and some fried chicken.   Answer »
  • Which 2 Rob Zombie films starred a family of psychotics called the "firefly family"?  Answer »
  • who is the director of the movie's 'house of 1000 corpses' and 'the devils rejects?  Answer »
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