shoelace
Joined Feb 2000
Welcome to the new profile
Our updates are still in development. While the previous version of the profile is no longer accessible, we're actively working on improvements, and some of the missing features will be returning soon! Stay tuned for their return. In the meantime, the Ratings Analysis is still available on our iOS and Android apps, found on the profile page. To view your Rating Distribution(s) by Year and Genre, please refer to our new Help guide.
Badges3
To learn how to earn badges, go to the badges help page.
Reviews6
shoelace's rating
***Spoilers***
The best horror movies leave you feeling disturbed. They get into your head and stay their for awhile and get at something approaching primal fear. Sometimes they do it by not showing anything or just glimpses of terror (think Don't Look Now) or have some gore to go along with your shocks (think the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre). House of 1000 Corpses does neither. It just throws helpless victims who Rob Zombie seems not to care about except that he wants them to suffer, and seems to want the audience to cheer on their demise. He does not want you to relate to them at all. They might as well be pin cushions or plastic dolls to be stabbed and torn apart in sadistic ways. He seems to make his victims people who probably tormented him in high school. Cheerleaders, nerds, pretty girls, a suburban dad, and some cops. This movie feels like an movie revenge against those types of people. That is all the characters are anyway, just types. The movie is just one note. It goes from horrible, (when the robbers get killed to when the victims first get abducted) to more horrible (when the cops and Denises father get killed and Otis wears the "Dad" suit) to most horrible (all of the Dr. Satan scenes and the ending).
Rob Zombie would show snippets of information to try to scare you I think by letting you know it is going to get worse. This drains any suspense he might build. We already know things are going to be bad for the characters because the title of the movie is House of 1000 Corpses. He would show clips of old movies along with faked grainy footage of the Firefly family in past crimes. If he just tried to be less MTV it may have worked better. I think the only reason for old movie clips is to show what old movies he liked. What other reason are they in the picture?
One thing that bothered me was why wasn't their any follow up investigation into the disappearance of the cops and the girls father? The Sheriff knew what they were doing. Besides, as soon as the cheerleader body was found in the trunk of the victims car, the FBI would be called in and the whole countryside would be crawling with feds and cops.
Some people liked the no hope ending and tout it as being realistic. Folks logically assume there is no way these young people would get away from these maniacs. All of the victims die and none of the killers are punished. This is true to an extent. But with the cops in the story and the dead cheerleader in the trunk (I mean it was all over the news), you really have to suspend your disbelief. Like I wrote previously, cops and feds would investigate. Maybe a better ending would be like a siege like a Waco or something (with less people though). The Fireflies rig up explosives in a suicide instead of getting caught. Going out in a blaze of glory taking out their victims and maybe more cops too. Or maybe they just leave out the cop angle altogether?
I did like some of the cast. It was fun seeing Karen Black being creepy again. Sid Haig I recognized from some 70's-80's exploitation movies and TV was memorable as Captain Spaulding. Michael J Pollard was only in the movie at the beginning, which was a shame. Dennis Fimple was another guy I recognized. He is one of those guys you say, "I've seen that guy in stuff but I can't remember what". In fact, half of the older cast members fit in that category.
I hope that Rob Zombie gets better at film-making because he has a ghoulish sense of humor. Its just that cheap thrills are not scary. This movie was in your face when it should have been in your head.
The best horror movies leave you feeling disturbed. They get into your head and stay their for awhile and get at something approaching primal fear. Sometimes they do it by not showing anything or just glimpses of terror (think Don't Look Now) or have some gore to go along with your shocks (think the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre). House of 1000 Corpses does neither. It just throws helpless victims who Rob Zombie seems not to care about except that he wants them to suffer, and seems to want the audience to cheer on their demise. He does not want you to relate to them at all. They might as well be pin cushions or plastic dolls to be stabbed and torn apart in sadistic ways. He seems to make his victims people who probably tormented him in high school. Cheerleaders, nerds, pretty girls, a suburban dad, and some cops. This movie feels like an movie revenge against those types of people. That is all the characters are anyway, just types. The movie is just one note. It goes from horrible, (when the robbers get killed to when the victims first get abducted) to more horrible (when the cops and Denises father get killed and Otis wears the "Dad" suit) to most horrible (all of the Dr. Satan scenes and the ending).
Rob Zombie would show snippets of information to try to scare you I think by letting you know it is going to get worse. This drains any suspense he might build. We already know things are going to be bad for the characters because the title of the movie is House of 1000 Corpses. He would show clips of old movies along with faked grainy footage of the Firefly family in past crimes. If he just tried to be less MTV it may have worked better. I think the only reason for old movie clips is to show what old movies he liked. What other reason are they in the picture?
One thing that bothered me was why wasn't their any follow up investigation into the disappearance of the cops and the girls father? The Sheriff knew what they were doing. Besides, as soon as the cheerleader body was found in the trunk of the victims car, the FBI would be called in and the whole countryside would be crawling with feds and cops.
Some people liked the no hope ending and tout it as being realistic. Folks logically assume there is no way these young people would get away from these maniacs. All of the victims die and none of the killers are punished. This is true to an extent. But with the cops in the story and the dead cheerleader in the trunk (I mean it was all over the news), you really have to suspend your disbelief. Like I wrote previously, cops and feds would investigate. Maybe a better ending would be like a siege like a Waco or something (with less people though). The Fireflies rig up explosives in a suicide instead of getting caught. Going out in a blaze of glory taking out their victims and maybe more cops too. Or maybe they just leave out the cop angle altogether?
I did like some of the cast. It was fun seeing Karen Black being creepy again. Sid Haig I recognized from some 70's-80's exploitation movies and TV was memorable as Captain Spaulding. Michael J Pollard was only in the movie at the beginning, which was a shame. Dennis Fimple was another guy I recognized. He is one of those guys you say, "I've seen that guy in stuff but I can't remember what". In fact, half of the older cast members fit in that category.
I hope that Rob Zombie gets better at film-making because he has a ghoulish sense of humor. Its just that cheap thrills are not scary. This movie was in your face when it should have been in your head.
Tension. Tension in a Nicholas Ray movie is a given, at least the ones I have seen(They Live by Night, On Dangerous Ground, Johnny Guitar, Rebel Without a Cause, Bigger Than Life, Party Girl, King of Kings and this one). Every scene in the movie Bogart looks like he might snap. The very first scene of the movie sets this up great. Bogart is recognized by an attractive actress in the car next to his at a red light. The man driving the car gets fresh with Bogart and Bogart(Dixon Steel, screenwriter in the movie) challenges him to a fight without batting an eye. He has reactionary temper that had gotten him in trouble in the past. For the rest of the movie you don't know what to expect from him. I wont get that much into the plot(its really secondary to the relationships that Dixon Steel has with every other character in the movie, esp. with Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame who gives a terrific performance), just see one of the great Hollywood movies about itself. Also surprising is the downbeat ending, considering that this 1950. That year was a great year for some downbeat dramas or thrillers. Also check out All About Eve, Sunset Blvd. and The Asphalt Jungle.
This is the worst car chase movie ever. I don't want to harp on how bad I feel this picture is, I'll just mention that the car jump on the bridge at the end of the movie was sinful. In the past, when film makers want a car jump, they actually had a real car jumping, not some computer generated crap that this movie delivers.This takes all the fun out of the movie for me. The chase at the end should have been good considering the buildup (Which sucked anyway). Don't waste your time. To those who enjoyed it, shame on you for accepting another Bruckheimer mess. Watch it again and you will see how not to make an action movie.
Recently taken polls
76 total polls taken
