House Of 1000 Corpses

Two young couples seek refuge in completely the wrong house - that of a scary, dark witchcraft-practising, cannibalistic family - in the back woods of America after their car breaks down

House Of 1000 Corpses start off as a run of the mill slasher/evil family horror, much of which has been seen before. Disposable teens on road trip encounter car problems and end up at the mercy of a psychotic hillbilly family.
But there comes a point in this movie where the tone slightly shifts and becomes in my opinion a little confused within itself.

The first half of the movie, as mentioned above, is fairly bog standard horror fair.
The couples encounter car trouble but with the help of a stranger end up in a house in the middle of nowhere, amid a creep family and soon they are set upon and some are murdered in gruesome fashion. This has been done before and done better but that doesn't mean to say that its not a little enjoyable if you are a fan of horror.

Zombie brings his own style to the movie, with plenty of cut away scenes showing the torture of some previously kidnapped cheerleaders.
I particular Zombie shows his skill and style when the cops arrive at the farm house to investigate, his use of slow-motion, score and lingering shots are stunning and proves he has potential as a film maker.
The performance are suitably over the top, in particular by Bill Mosely as Otis, who appears to be a deranged Charles Manson style character, often seen almost preaching his views on the world. Sid Haig, Karen Black and Sheri Moon, all perfect for their roles, give good performances too.
But it is the shift in the movie that lets it down, the 'sacrifice' performed in the graveyard seems like a fitting end to the movie, possible leading to the survival girls escape, but alas, that is not to be.
We are suddenly thrown into a different movie, we find ourselves underground amidst the steampunk-esque Doctor Satan and his creations, one of which seems to be some kind of mutant creature that would be more at home in a Resident Evil movie.

And its this descent into madness, if you will that leaves a baffled and slightly sour taste in the mouth that stops this from being a solidly enjoyable horror movie. Overall the movie shows that Zombie has a style of his own and is willing to take chances with a movie but those chances let him down on this occasion


5/10