| House
of 1000 Corpses
As one
might expect from the title, House of 1000 Corpses
is a subtle and intelligent film of psychological terror,
satirizing modern America with
wit, erudition, and cadavers.
Not! (Except
for the cadavers.)
I like
a gorefest as much as anybody. My favorite horror flicks include
Re-Animator, Dead Alive, and Creepshow. Alas,
Rob Zombie's effort comes up
lacking -- scares, laughs, or interesting characters.
The story
is familiar to all genre fans, as well as anybody who might
have seen an episode of Scooby Doo. Our heroes -- two couples
researching a book on mid-American roadside attractions --
have car trouble while searching for the ominous-sounding
Hanging Tree of Dr. Satan.
Fortunately,
there's a dilapidated country house nearby, and the macabre
inhabitants seem more than eager to accommodate a few unexpected
guests.
This all
sounds like good fun, and the actors mostly leap into their
roles with gusto, hamming it up and cackling madly at every
opportunity to show the traditional rotten teeth of a murderous
backwoods hick. So what goes wrong?
Plenty.
The biggest thing is probably a complete lack of character
development. Our heroes are little more than mannequins dutifully
marching their way into victimhood. (The girls, in particular,
come off as generic sorority harpies.) Our baddies get more
attention from the camera, but their depth goes no deeper
than their costumes.
The direction
tends to be more annoying than stylish. Scenes of violence
tend to be rapid-cut flashbacks to a hand-held video sequence
of what would probably pretty gruesome if it was in focus.
Some scenes are shot in black and white, or negative image,
but in no case does this improve the movie.
And the
whole story is just a glorification of torture and murder.
Our heroes never get to take action of their own; they are
simply victims.
On the
plus side, every once in a while a macabre sense of humor
emerges that promises a chuckle, even if it fails to ever
deliver. Our protagonists' first stop is at "Captain
Spaulding's Museum of Monsters and Mayhem" -- renowned,
according to its billboard, for its chicken and gasoline.
And the obligatory homicidal hillbilly chick, Sheri Moon (director
Rob Zombie's wife), is pretty hot.
If you're
going to see House of 1000 Corpses, I'm not going to
be able to talk you out of it. But if you're looking for quality
schlock, look elsewhere.
What's it worth? $3
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