Editorials
Rob Zombie’s ‘House of 1000 Corpses’ Turns 15!
One month ago, Rob Zombie began filming the highly anticipated follow up to The Devil’s Rejects, 3 From Hell. It’s news that feels even more timely considering 2018 marks the 15th anniversary of Zombie’s feature debut and first introduction to the Firefly family, House of 1000 Corpses. A nihilistic, gonzo horror film full of homages and numerous genres while still retaining a distinct style that’s pure Zombie, House of 1000 Corpses offended critics and lodged its way into the hearts of horror fans on April 11, 2003.
Though the film saw theatrical release in 2003, production ended in 2000. The film sat on the shelf for three years once Universal Pictures refused to release the film out of fear it would receive an NC-17 rating. Zombie eventually purchased the rights to the film himself, made a deal with MGM, and then finally Lionsgate acquired it once MGM got cold feet as well. Trimmed down to an R-rating, Lionsgate released the film, quickly made back their investment and then approached Zombie for sequel plans. Despite the uncertainty around the film’s release, that three-year delay actually worked in its favor. When production ended in 2000, violence in media was under scrutiny by Congress after the Columbine High School shooting that took place on April 20, 1999. Many major studios were pulled in to testify in front of Congress about marketing violent movies to children, which included Universal Pictures’ chairman at the time, Stacey Snider. The political climate around media during that period might have meant a very buried release for Zombie’s debut had Snider pushed forward with release, with the likely outcome that we never would’ve gotten The Devil’s Rejects.
The initial partnership between Zombie and Universal Pictures stemmed from Universal wanting a haunted house designed by Zombie for Halloween Horror Nights. While designing the haunt, the concept evolved into the basis for the film. It was a huge success for the theme park event, triggering Universal’s desire to keep their relationship going. They quickly greenlit the project, and Zombie warned them time and time again how extreme he intended to take it. Their abandonment of the project was ultimately their loss.
Following a similar trajectory to the gritty horror of the ‘70s that influenced House of 1000 Corpses, the theatrical release was instantly reviled. A gory, brutal sort of slasher in the vein of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 with Manson family leanings, the narrative centered around a sadistic backwoods Texas family torturing an unwitting group of travelers that cross their paths on Halloween night. That family, the Firefly family, were as colorful in personality as the beautiful neon glow that washed over many of the scenes. That many were named after characters in the Marx Brothers comedy films is indicative of the campy roots behind Zombie’s serial killing clan. Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) from Animal Crackers, Rufus T. Firefly (Robert Allen Mukes) from Duck Soup, Otis (Bill Moseley) from A Night at the Opera, and “Baby” Vera-Ellen (Sheri Moon Zombie) possibly named after the actress who played Maggie in Love Happy.
Zombie’s reverence for film wasn’t just limited to the comedic origins of the characters’ names or in the ‘70s horror that played influence narratively. Even Zombie’s love of Westerns would find its way into House of 1000 Corpses, particularly in Spaulding’s consistent references to John Wayne. There’s a clip of 1932’s The Old Dark House featured in the film, and Baby Firefly also exhibits cinephile tendencies with her odd vaudeville performance and sharing her favorite actress is Bette Davis.
Zombie’s mishmash of cinematic inspirations and the film’s dark house conception were matched in style. The gritty handheld footage of Firefly clan inflicted torture against the pristine neon haze of Spaulding’s dark ride and Dr. Satan’s underground layer is just as manic as the Firefly family themselves. Tonally dark and gory as it is dementedly funny, a late supernatural twist by way of Dr. Satan keeps the entire story off kilter. That Zombie in actually shot dual versions of the film, one far gorier than the other, only furthered the eclectic aesthetic.
House of 1000 Corpses was a bold debut with a distinct style comprised of so many cinematic influences. It wasn’t a flawless film, but it was one steeped in passion and love of cinema. The uneven bits were smoothed over and tethered together by the tremendous performances of its cast. Sig Haig made Spaulding instantly iconic. Bill Moseley made Otis memorably terrifying. Matthew McGrory injected an enormous amount of sympathy toward the Firefly family as quiet yet imposing Tiny. Dennis Fimple gave an energetic, rousing performance as Grandpa Hugo, even when he was very ill and dying of heart disease.
In 2005, the Firefly family would tone down their theatrics for a much grittier grindhouse journey that further embedded themselves into horror fandom, earning a much stronger reception than its predecessor. Even still, House of 1000 Corpses is a bold declaration in horror even 15 years later. As unrelenting and dark as it is twisted and humorous, there’s nothing else like it.
The penultimate season of Tales from the Crypt (1989–1996) aired its first three episodes on October 31, so it’s understandable that at least one of those three stories is set on Halloween.
Sandwiched between “Let the Punishment Fit the Crime” (Russell Mulcahy, Ron Finley) and “Whirlpool” (Mick Garris, A. L. Katz & Gilbert Adler) is the most severe episode of the bunch. Maybe the entire series? William Malone and Dick Beebe’s “Only Skin Deep” traded the show’s typical sense of fun for startling amounts of bleakness and kink.
“Only Skin Deep” is, apart from the Crypt Keeper’s intro and outro, noticeably unfunny. There are no considerable attempts at making the viewer laugh. Come to think of it, if those bookends had been replaced, and there was more of a sci-fi element in the story, HBO could have easily squeezed this tale into that successor anthology, Perversions of Science (1997). In Crypt, though, “Only Skin Deep” is much too grim for an audience that had become accustomed to campiness and levity.
What makes “Only Skin Deep” feel dark, among other things, is its protagonist. Showing up to a Halloween party where he’s not welcome, and where his former girlfriend (Diane DiLasco) is attending, Carl Schlag (Peter Onorati) first comes across as your standard bitter ex. You soon realize it’s much worse than that, once Carl threatens Linda (“You know, silly me, thinking I gave you what you deserved. If I’d have done that, I’d have killed you”). Now, I haven’t forgotten that Tales from the Crypt was teeming with vile men who did women harm. Yet Carl’s brand of misogynistic menace hits differently—it borders on being too realistic for this kind of series.
Mike Vosburg’s EC-style comic cover for “Only Skin Deep”, as seen in the Tales from the Crypt episode.
Despite donning a party mask for much of the episode, Carl can’t ever mask his true nature. The invitation did say “come as you are”, after all. That inability to change and be better, however, is why Carl ends up in such a karmic predicament. His outburst of anger at the party attracts the attention of one loner partygoer named Molly (Sherrie Rose, who was also in Season Four’s “On a Deadman’s Chest”). Her bone-white, featureless “mask” and body-bag costume don’t initially register as too strange, especially on a night like this. But at a party chock-full of colorful, cartoonish, and lighthearted ensembles, it does look out of place.
Darkness attracts darkness as Carl ditches the party and accompanies the mysterious Molly to her place. Which, by the way, should have been an immediate red flag. But perhaps she’s so hot, he doesn’t seem to mind the serial killer aesthetic. Resembling a warehouse that has been converted into living spaces, but never then decorated to remove the cold, industrial look, Molly’s home (or lair) is as gloomy as this whole episode feels. It’s like the set of a grungy music video, albeit a tad cleaner. The environments in a typical Crypt episode tend to be small, overfilled, and broken-in. Warm, regardless of any weird goings-on. All that empty space in Molly’s hovel, on the other hand, elicits a creepy feeling that Carl was unwise to ignore.
Tales from the Crypt featured more sex than it didn’t, but hands down, “Only Skin Deep” boasts the steamiest scene in the show’s history. Pushing it over the line, in addition to Onorati showing bare buns and the camera never turning down one of his pelvic thrusts, is the twisted dirty talk. Carl stays in the moment, whereas Molly unleashes charged lines like “the hurt, the anger, give it to me” and “take it out on my flesh like you want to”. It’s all quite kinky, as well as tied into the story’s theme of pain.
How else “Only Skin Deep” differs from other episodes is its twists. Or rather, its lack thereof. Nothing comes as a great surprise here, particularly because the deuteragonist’s ulterior motives are so obvious. By no means is Molly a wolf in sheep’s clothing; her face is a fright mask, she practically reeks of death, and she lives in what can best be described as a serial killer’s hideout. That last-act revelation of Molly’s mask really being her face is also nothing shocking. Cleverness is certainly not this episode’s strength.
A page from “…Only Skin Deep!”, as seen in EC Comics’ Tales from the Crypt.
While “Only Skin Deep” isn’t the most universally loved episode of Tales from the Crypt, it’s an interesting preview of William Malone’s future as a director. Most notably, he went on to helm House on Haunted Hill (1999) and FeardotCom (2002), the former of which was co-written by Dick Beebe, this episode’s writer. Dark Castle Entertainment, that genre house founded by Crypt producers Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, and Gilbert Adler, was instrumental in bringing out Malone’s gruesome, over-the-top vision in House on Haunted Hill. However, FeardotCom and Malone’s Masters of Horror episode, “Fair-Haired Child”, are the most stylistically compatible with “Only Skin Deep”.
As one might guess, this episode is nothing like its source material. The “…Only Skin Deep!” found in the pages of EC Comics is set during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and save for its last couple of pages, is pretty sweet in nature. There, a man named Herbert is enamored with a woman he met five years prior to the present-day story. Every year, he has come down to Mardi Gras to see Suzanne, who’s always dressed as a hag-faced witch. Well, this time, Herbert plans on popping the question and marrying someone who is, for the most part, a total stranger. Suzanne accepts his proposal, but with one condition: they stay in costume until they’re officially hitched. You can probably see where this is going…
Once they are married, Suzanne remains incognito, even when she and Herbert have consummated their vows. A semi-predictive nightmare then rattles Herbert; he dreamt that Suzanne’s real face was as wizened as her mask. Finally, in his haste to find out the truth, Herbert winds up killing his new wife. Faceless and well on her way to bleeding out, the dying Suzanne manages to say she never wore a mask.
For more traditional EC-style ghastliness, your best bet is reading the comic. It’s wickedly sad. For something less conventional, as far as Tales from the Crypt goes, the role-reversing adaptation is worth watching. It’s not the best this show had to offer, although Malone’s visual style, plus the sexual abandon, does set the episode apart. If nothing else, “Only Skin Deep” leaves an impression that, even years later, shows no signs of fading.
Season Six of Tales from the Crypt can be streamed on Shudder, starting on June 5.
Tales from Tales from the Crypt celebrates the show’s Shudder premiere by singling out one episode from each season. So don’t even think about changing that dial, boys and ghouls. More spot-“frights” are to come.
Carl discovers Molly’s collection of human ‘masks’ in the Tales from the Crypt episode, “Only Skin Deep”.
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