Combine Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Andy Warhol, the most frenetic music video you've ever seen, and a bucket of generic 'spooky things' and you have House of 1000 Corpses.
I have been waiting for years to see this. Press releases from Lions Gate and Universal stating that they would not release it because they feared it would get an NC-17 rating only heightened my desire.
Man, do I feel like a tool now that I've seen it.
There was even a release about how one of the people involved refused to work with the film because it was too intense. This film was canned not because it was too gory. It is not funny. It is not sinister. It is unwatchable. It is not good.
Let's look at what kept this film from being released, shall we:
1 - 'Not Gory': Maybe it was gory at one time, but even after editing, nothing in this film could even remotely disturb anyone who has watched Blade 2, or unfortunately stumbled across the Guinea Pig series.
2 - 'Not funny': The movie tries to develop schlock by constantly winking at the audience while delivering horror and violence. It doesn't work. The result is far too 'oooh look! I'm funny and horrible' for anyone to be moved by it. It evokes less fear than a 15 year old suburban kid with a mohawk and $200 leather jacket.
3 - 'Not evil': Clowns are scary. People with cheap masks behaving erratically are scary. These statements we hold true, but neither are sinister. This movie needs sinister, yet nothing in it is. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 was sinister and deeply disturbing. What we get here is 'Boo! I'm a clown kinda thing, and I'm scary, emhwaaahh...nice lady...' (Ridiculous Jerry Lewis voice implied)
4 - 'Unwatchable': It is filmed like a contemporary music video, but unlike those who excel at quick cuts, this editing is just jumpy and headache inducing. But then again, nothing is unsettling and sinister as constant jump cuts, right? Wrong. (Rob Z.: Watch Windowlicker to see how disturbing a video can be without hyperactive edits.)
Lions Gate should have released this uncut immediately to video and hyped the underground stature of it -- then they would've made some cash. But by distributing it to theatres, they are going to take a beating, because this is just a bad movie.
I have been waiting for years to see this. Press releases from Lions Gate and Universal stating that they would not release it because they feared it would get an NC-17 rating only heightened my desire.
Man, do I feel like a tool now that I've seen it.
There was even a release about how one of the people involved refused to work with the film because it was too intense. This film was canned not because it was too gory. It is not funny. It is not sinister. It is unwatchable. It is not good.
Let's look at what kept this film from being released, shall we:
1 - 'Not Gory': Maybe it was gory at one time, but even after editing, nothing in this film could even remotely disturb anyone who has watched Blade 2, or unfortunately stumbled across the Guinea Pig series.
2 - 'Not funny': The movie tries to develop schlock by constantly winking at the audience while delivering horror and violence. It doesn't work. The result is far too 'oooh look! I'm funny and horrible' for anyone to be moved by it. It evokes less fear than a 15 year old suburban kid with a mohawk and $200 leather jacket.
3 - 'Not evil': Clowns are scary. People with cheap masks behaving erratically are scary. These statements we hold true, but neither are sinister. This movie needs sinister, yet nothing in it is. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 was sinister and deeply disturbing. What we get here is 'Boo! I'm a clown kinda thing, and I'm scary, emhwaaahh...nice lady...' (Ridiculous Jerry Lewis voice implied)
4 - 'Unwatchable': It is filmed like a contemporary music video, but unlike those who excel at quick cuts, this editing is just jumpy and headache inducing. But then again, nothing is unsettling and sinister as constant jump cuts, right? Wrong. (Rob Z.: Watch Windowlicker to see how disturbing a video can be without hyperactive edits.)
Lions Gate should have released this uncut immediately to video and hyped the underground stature of it -- then they would've made some cash. But by distributing it to theatres, they are going to take a beating, because this is just a bad movie.