#6 – House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
I’m sure I’ll get called out on this one ranking so low, but trust me when I say that I weighed this decision long and hard. I really and truly like House of 1000 Corpses and always have. It’s a good-looking, colorful film that is packed with standout moments and memorable characters. It’s also a very entertaining one, especially during its more offbeat sequences, something that I had forgotten until revisiting it for this piece.
So what’s holding it back? How does a film with handfuls of unforgettable bits rank so low? When it comes to House of 1000 Corpses, I’ve always felt that the parts were greater than the whole. Be it the almost vignette-ish structure or the simple fact that it was Zombie’s first time as a feature film director, it never feels entirely cohesive. There’s an almost spookhouse nature to the whole thing; as though we’re being taken on a feature-length version of the kooky roadside attraction that Captain Spaulding guides us through early on. Again, this isn’t a bad thing. Hell, it gives the film its own quirky nature, especially in the almost video game-ish finale.
House of 1000 Corpses remains a worthwhile effort, but one that I do not count among his best work as a filmmaker.
