House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

Two young couples traveling across the backwoods of Texas searching for urban legends of murder end up as prisoners of a bizarre and sadistic backwater family of serial killers.

Director:

Rob Zombie

Writer:

Rob Zombie

Stars:

Sid Haig, Karen Black, Bill Moseley

4 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chad Bannon	...	Killer Karl
William Bassett	...	Sheriff Frank Huston (as William H. Bassett)
Karen Black	...	Mother Firefly
Erin Daniels	...	Denise Willis
Joe Dobbs III	...	Gerry Ober
Judith Drake	...	Skunk Ape Wife
Dennis Fimple	...	Grampa Hugo
Gregg Gibbs	...	Dr. Wolfenstein
Walton Goggins	...	Steve Naish
Sid Haig	...	Captain Spaulding
Chris Hardwick	...	Jerry Goldsmith
Ken Johnson	...	Skunk Ape Husband
Jennifer Jostyn	...	Mary Knowles
Irwin Keyes	...	Ravelli
Matthew McGrory	...	Tiny Firefly

Storyline

On the eve of Halloween, on October 1977, four friends--Bill, Jerry, Mary, and Denise--embark on an exciting cross-country road trip to write a guidebook about offbeat roadside attractions in America's less-travelled roads. Before long, the young explorers chance upon Captain Spaulding's Museum of Monsters and Madmen, only to become infatuated with the local legend of a deranged serial-killer doctor, and cross paths with the mysterious hitchhiker, Baby. However, when the unsuspecting group meets Baby's eccentric family after having a flat tyre, an endless night of terror, torture, and murder ensues. Has anyone ever got out alive from the House of Thousand Corpses?

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Plot Keywords:

depravity | masked man | giant | clown face | dark comedy | 

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Taglines:

The most shocking tale of carnage ever seen.

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sadistic violence/gore, sexuality and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both this and the sequel, The Devil's Rejects (2005), are dedicated to actors who appear in the film but died before its release.

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Goofs

(at around 4 mins) When the robber with the ski mask points his revolver at Captain Spaulding for the last time you hear the sound of the hammer being cocked, yet in subsequent shots the hammer is uncocked.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Announcer: Attention boils and ghouls, it's time for Dr. Wolfenstein's Creature Feature Show.
Dr. Wolfenstein: Ah! The doctor is in! Don't scream, don't move. Stay tuned for channel 68's Halloween Eve movie marathon! I'm your host, your ghost ghost, with the most, Dr. Wolfenstein! I will be with you until the end!

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Crazy Credits

After the last scene, the words "The End?" are shown.

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Alternate Versions

In interviews Rob Zombie said how lot of the violent and disturbing scenes cut for R rating included Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie). Scenes showing her being a necrophiliac were also deleted from the final film, but few shots from one such scene, her kissing a skeleton and touching herself with it, was left in.

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Movie Review: Halloween Horror Top 25, nr. 20: The Devil's Rejects (2010)

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Soundtracks

House Of 1000 Corpses
Lyrics by Rob Zombie
Music by Rob Zombie & Scott Humphrey
Performed by Rob Zombie
Courtesy of Geffen Records 2002
Published by Demonoid Deluxe Music/WB Music Corp. and Gimme Back My Publishing administered by Bug Music

User Reviews

fascinating mess of craziness

Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) is a foul-mouthed clown owner of the "Museum of Monsters and Madmen" and "Fried Chicken and Gasoline". On October 30, 1977, Spaulding shoots a bunch of holdup guys. Jerry Goldsmith (Chris Hardwick), Bill Hudley (Rainn Wilson), Mary Knowles (Jennifer Jostyn), and Denise Willis (Erin Daniels) are traveling the country investigating weirdness. Spaulding shows the group his roadside show and tells them about Dr. Satan. They go in search of the hanging tree where they hanged Dr. Satan. They pick up hitchhiker Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie). Their tires get popped and they end up with Baby's family.

I like directer Rob Zombie's weird outsider style. It's over-stylized Grindhouse. I just think that writer Rob Zombie needs help pulling all the craziness together into a coherent compelling plot. He needs to figure out rooting interest, and how to create tension. This is a bit of a mess but it's a fascinating mess.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 April 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

House of 1000 Corpses

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,400,000, 13 April 2003

Gross USA:

$12,634,962

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,829,545

Company Credits

Production Co:

Spectacle Entertainment Group, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min 105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS (uncredited) DTS (uncredited)

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1