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.
We’re now officially in the back half of 2026 now that July is here, but what a year it’s been for horror so far. The sequels and reboots are still holding strong at the box office with films like Scream 7 and Scary Movie, but it’s also been a year where new voices are shattering records in unexpected ways.
Markiplier eschewed conventional production and distribution channels with his feature adaptation of Iron Lung, for example. We’re also still in the midst of Backrooms and Obsession-mania, with the former back in theaters with bonus footage and the latter extending its box office reign. Liminal horror has exploded, and low-budget indie horror is seeing just as much, and sometimes even more, success as big studio-backed fare.
All of which to say that 2026 has been a hell of a year so far for the genre, and it’s only getting warmed up. Still on the way are Evil Dead Burn, Insidious: Out of the Further, Resident Evil, Clayface, Whalefall, and Werwulf, just to name a few.
Also catch up with the Best Horror Books and Best Horror Games of the year so far.
Here are the ten best horror movies of the year (so far).
10) Chime
Horror master Kiyoshi Kurosawa is back with one of his most haunting yet, though one that’d likely be higher on this list if it were more accessible. The 45-minute feature was initially produced and distributed as an NFT before receiving a theatrical run earlier this year, with no plans to distribute digitally or on home media. It spins a somewhat cryptic tale, introducing a culinary teacher, Takuji Matsuoka (Mutsuo Yoshioka, Never After Dark), whose classroom becomes disrupted by a strange sound that leads to violence. It’s a quiet but haunting unraveling, one that leaves no aspect of Matsuoka’s life untouched, in true Kiyoshi Kurosawa style. That it defies any easy explanation also ensures Chime embeds itself under your skin.
9) Send Help
Sam Raimi’s splatstick return to form is a delightfully deranged two-hander that doubles as infectious catharsis for anyone who’s ever had a bad boss. Rachel McAdams (Doctor Strange) and Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner) face off when their characters are shipwrecked on an island, prompting a bid for survival in more ways than one. While O’Brien often matches her, It’s McAdams who shines as she deftly handles everything that Raimi, working from a script by Damian Shannon & Mark Swift (Freddy vs. Jason), throws at her. Send Help is full of vibrant personality, packed with all of Raimi’s signatures, making for one of the most entertaining films of the year.
8) Mārama
New Zealand filmmaker Taratoa Stappard’s gothic tale begins in familiar fashion, with Mary Stevens (Ariāna Osborne) arriving in Yorkshire upon invitation to learn more about her parents, only to find the remote manor haunted. Just when Stappard’s period horror story feels doomed to succumb to familiar gothic trappings and jump scares, though, its true horror emerges. The more Mary uncovers about her heritage and her Māori culture, the clearer it becomes that this grim home is built on violence and exploitation. Stappard’s vision comes into its own when it leaves behind its gothic influences and embraces its Māori identity; few scenes are as powerful as when Osborne’s Mary performs a haka in response to her vile oppressors, heralding in a righteous bloodbath.
7) Touch Me
Writer/Director Addison Heimann draws from retro Japanese horror, exploitation cinema, and perhaps even hentai for his campy, psychosexual sophomore feature. A toxic friendship plagued by trauma, codependency, and addiction gets tested to the extreme when Brian (Lou Taylor Pucci), a hip-hop-loving, tracksuit-sporting alien, gets between them. Olivia Taylor Dudley and Jordan Gavaris have an easy rapport and play off each other well as directionless, depressed Millennial besties prone to ignoring their problems until they become insurmountable. But it’s Pucci’s inspired, childlike take on the chicken nugget-loving extraterrestrial with tentacled secrets of his own that steals the show. Heimann has a lot on his mind with his sophomore feature and neatly condenses it all into a quirky, eccentric psychosexual camp odyssey that leans heavily into humor.
6) Backrooms
Director Kane Parsons translates the vast liminal labyrinth of his web series to the big screen in his feature debut, one that instills existential dread with its atmospheric horror and narrative. The ‘ 90s-set horror movie introduces a protagonist with a serious chip on his shoulder over life’s many disappointments, who then discovers his furniture store harbors a hidden door that leads to an endless labyrinth. It’s not just the incredible production design that instills a disorienting sense of doom and terror, but the lead characters’ palpable and profound sense of loneliness and isolation. Parsons exudes impressive confidence and control as he methodically entrusts his quiet worldbuilding and talented leads to carry the dramatic weight. While Backrooms does deflate by the film’s cryptic, cliffhanger-y end, it’s arguably the most effective and scariest yet at capturing the uncanny valley of generative AI.
5) Leviticus
Writer/Director Adrian Chiarella uses an It Follows-like supernatural entity that relentlessly stalks its prey as a launchpad to immerse audiences in the horror of constantly living in fear for simply existing. A conversion therapy ritual among a deeply conservative community plunges a pair of erstwhile lovers into a nightmarish bid for survival when it summons a force that takes the shape of those whom the afflicted desires most. Chiarella refines the horror mechanics and metaphor with much sharper precision, ensuring that the scares and emotional gravity of the young couple’s terrifying predicament reach their intended impact. It’s the central layered performances by Joe Bird (Talk to Me) and Stacy Clausen (Thrash) that clinch emotional investment in their heartbreaking plight, ensuring that the social horror cuts deep.
4) Redux Redux
The McManus Brothers, writer/director duo Matthew and Kevin McManus (The Block Island Sound), dials up the intensity of a classic revenge story by setting it within a multiverse, where Irene Kelly (Michaela McManus) seeks to snuff out every single iteration of her daughter’s murderer, Neville (Jeremy Holm). The more she stalks and slays every world’s Neville, the more she risks losing her humanity entirely. Through a narrative foil in Mia (Stella Marcus), Redux Redux smartly bypasses repetition as it explores the moral complexities and vulnerabilities of Irene’s extremely violent quest. Holm becomes utterly terrifying in the climax, ensuring that no matter whether Irene loses herself to vengeance for good or not, it’s justified if it means ridding the world of this sick maniac.
3) 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Director Nia DaCosta takes the reins in the second entry in writer Alex Garland and original director Danny Boyle’s trilogy, picking up from the previous conclusion that saw Spike (Alfie Williams) fleeing from the infected straight into the welcoming arms of Sir Jimmy Crystal (Sinners’ Jack O’Connell). From here, DaCosta presents a stark contrast between humanity’s best and worst. The former sees the tender studies of Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) make poignant strides toward humankind’s future, while the latter unleashes more pain and bloodshed courtesy of the Jimmies. The dual paths of light and dark collide in one epic conclusion, an inspired confrontation between good and evil on a stunning set piece of heavy metal insanity. Yet it’s DaCosta’s handling of both extremes that impresses most, teeing up one epic conclusion to this trilogy.
2) Obsession
Sketch comedian turned horror filmmaker Curry Barker (Milk & Serial) wrings blood-curdling terror from a classic Monkey’s Paw wish fulfillment scenario in a way that no one could have ever anticipated. To say that it’s taken the box office by storm would be a massive understatement; Obsession is the top horror movie of the year in terms of gross. It’s not hard to see why, either. While Monkey’s Paw scenarios often yield predictable outcomes, and this outcome is practically telegraphed from the start, Barker manages to surprise with the journey itself. And it’s one insane journey paved with blood-soaked violence and no shortage of nightmare fuel. What truly sets it apart, though, is leads Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette as the central pair undone by one vicious wish. Expect to see a lot more from breakout Navarette.
1) Hokum
A surly, traumatized writer must break free from his self-imposed shackles of guilt when confronted by a wicked witch haunting a quaint Irish inn in the latest by writer/director Damian McCarthy (Oddity). Adam Scott’s Ohm makes for an atypical but rewarding protagonist, and his complicated emotional journey gives way to a deeply moving story of a man so thoroughly broken by personal trauma that he constantly dwells in darkness. In true McCarthy style, expect the creepy as hell witch to dole out some supernatural retribution for crimes committed, but never in the way you’d expect. The filmmaker has a way of making whimsy pure nightmare fuel; Hokum distorts a kids’ show into eerie, uncanny valley-induced terror in its torment of Ohm. Channeling Stephen King, this creeper plays like a traditional campfire tale in mood and style, infusing genuine scares with a sense of magic and heart.
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