Reel News - 'House of 1000 Corpses'

Reviewed by Justin Colburn

Four teenagers traveling across the country become engrossed with the small town legend of Dr. Satan and get a little too nosy for their own good. Will they be able to escape from the sickeningly dysfunctional Firefly family? Will the police be able to find them in time? Do four teenagers really stand a chance against a family of psychopaths without the help of a talking dog or "Scooby Snacks?"

The only two things I knew about this movie when I went to see it were 1) it was directed by Rob Zombie and 2) it sounds like something Bart Simpson would want to watch. Once we made it into the theater and found our seats it was easy to see which of our fellow movie-goers were going to be walking out in the first thirty minutes. This isn't a "family flick" or a "date movie"; it's a "get-all-your-friends-together-and-have-a-few-drinks-while-you-yell-at-the-characters-on-screen" movie.

The cast was comprised largely of unknown actors, if you're a movie buff or a Rob Zombie fan you'll recognize some people, but otherwise you've probably never seen these people before. Of everyone in the movie Sheri Moon really stole the show, in my opinion. The rest of the cast performed their parts well, but let's face it you're not going into this movie looking for award winning material.

The story was less than solid and filled with every cliché known to the horror movie industry, and that was exactly the effect desired. The coolest thing about this movie was they was it was filmed. Some of the film cuts, scene transitions and even the camera angles were awesome. Rob Zombie does a great job of making you the unwilling companion of the characters. You're with them for every wrong step and bad decision, seeing what they see and experiencing what they experience.

Watching this movie was like seeing someone really get hit in the head with an anvil. You would feel bad about laughing, but at the same time you still think it's funny. That's the way the entire movie was; I wanted to laugh, but didn't feel that it would be appropriate. In the end I think this will be a perfect rental for your large get together. This is the kind of movie that is great for groups. It makes you want to yell, taunt, cringe and laugh all at the same time. House of a 1000 Corpses is a tribute to horror movies and any fan of the genre will definitely enjoy it.