'House of 1000 Corpses'

Starring: Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Karen Black, Sherri Moon

Directed by: Rob Zombie

Rated R

88 Minutes

2 Gus Heads out of 4

In a cinematic world where excess, gore and violence cause people to be desensitized to the real thing, "House of 1000 Corpses" is king. With an hour and a half of brutal violence, freakish torture and more blood than is in many newer horror movies combined, "House of 1000 Corpses" indeed sets a new precedent for a twisted and outrageous film.

The story of "Corpses" getting from the mind of writer/director Rob Zombie to the big screen is more storied and twisted than the flaky plot of the film itself. The movie was initially produced more than three years ago. Zombie is supposed to have been trying to get on the film bandwagon for a while. With rumors of him directing a sequel to "The Crow" and then the controversy surrounding this film, he seems to be making a name for himself with his first film only being released days ago.

The first distributor to pick up this film was Universal, who dropped it because of its blood and gore. Eventually, MGM bought the rights to it, and slated it for a release date of Halloween. Apparently, though, MGM wanted nothing to do with the Zombie Gore fest, and passed as well, leaving the smaller Lion's Gate to distribute the film. Zombie seems to have the idea that these companies are trying to censor his film or keep the public from seeing the gore. Don't be too sure that a conspiracy is behind the shelving of this movie, though. Perhaps the corporate types just realized that mass-appeal was not in the cards for "House of 1000 Corpses."

The movie is enjoyable, but in such a narrow vein that it's hard to see the film as commercially viable. This film really seems more like a tribute to "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and the B-movies and imagery that seem to influence Zombie in so much of what he does. The plot is there merely to tie the images of the movie together, and as such this joyride is similar to the experience of going to a gory but cheesy haunted house rather than the prototypical horror flick.

The story of the film (it's pretty thin) is that two couples of 20-somethings are on a road trip to write a book on roadside attractions. Early on, the kids stop to get gas at Captain Spaulding's (B-movie star Sid Haig) Museum of Monsters and Madmen, an establishment that advertises "Murder, Gasoline and Fried Chicken" In a movie where character development is an afterthought at best, Haig's Captain Spaulding is a sparkling standout. The crazed hillbilly clown unfortunately only gets a few minutes of screen time at the beginning and end.

After seeing Spaulding's museum, the tourists go looking for the local legend of the attraction, the lamely monikered Dr. Satan, a madhouse surgeon who tried to create a race of superhumans through brain surgery. What these predestined victims run into instead is a house inhabited by the Firefly clan, a group of hillbilly freaks that seem to like Halloween just a little bit too much.

After this point, the plot just turns into a series of bloody tortures, cheesy sets and horror movie clichés. Zombie obviously has some knack for the cinematic, but watching this makes one wonder if he even cares. Some very good scenes and shots stand out, though, and a mindless carnival of gore takes over in between.

Make no mistake, "House of 1000 Corpses" is not good. It's just that it's so bad it's funny. If ever there was an inkling that this wasn't a somewhat intended effect, it would be a lot worse. While very, very gory, the movie really is more fun than scary, and like a haunted house, it's a guilty pleasure. This film is certainly not for kids, and those who don't know what they're getting into should stay away as well. Just the same, with a title like this, they probably will anyway.