Just watched House of 1000 Corpses and Cocksucker Blues. The first half-hour of House of 1000 Corpses is fantastic. I watched it twice and could have watched it again. The dialogue between Sid Haig and Michael Pollard (Scrooged, Roxanne, Bonnie & Clyde) is hilariously vile. If the whole film had been them talking and occasionally slaughtering some people I’d have ben thrilled. The rest of it is not as good, but pays tribute to the old 1970s American International exploitation drive-in flicks in fine form. It’s also beautifully shot, and fantastically colored. Some of the between scene cuts in negative and orange and blues are too much, and distracting, but I wouldn’t want Rob Zombie to be overly restrained… I eagerly look forward to the relase of the sequel on DVD soon.
Cocksucker Blues on the other hand, proved to be just what many of the reviews of House of 1000 Corpses claimed it to be: depressing, ugly, depraved, and displaying the worst aspects of humanity. It’s amazing the Stones survived (as people let alone as a band), and it’s amazing more bands didn’t drop dead during this period than did. Granted there were plenty of people that didn’t survive, and having finally seen this film, I am much more aware of why they didn’t. Like Zombie’s film, Cocksucker Blues takes place in 1970s America, and I don’t know if serial killers are any less real or rare than Jaggers or Keefs. Both are decades old legends – kernels of truth wrapped in lies. The actual truths though are probably more horrible, stripped of their celebrity, than we’d ever want to acknoweldge.
I didn’t actually finish wathcing it, but I’m wondering if this wouldn’t be a quite good double feature for the blog’s theoretical revival-house. There are some ghastly similarities here: the near-rape of a groupie on the Stones’ jet is far more disturbing than any kind of sexual pawing of a teenager by a freak in Corpses.
By the way, the last line in the first part of the film (1000 Corpses) is a play on a punch line to my favorite joke in the world. It’s a joke that Reynolds told me years ago.
Does it deal with clown suits?
Naturally
Wow, an in-joke that doesn’t even get told. How “in” can you be?
Saw Devil’s Rejects, and enjoyed it much more than expected–but I’d still caution folks. Those expecting a virtuoso reinvention of ’70s exploitation tropes will be better off (re-)seeing Kill Bill; this film is determinedly inside the genre, limitations and all. By that I mean its low-budget gory scummy virtues are low-budget, gory, and scummy. Action scenes are not brilliantly choreographed–they’re visceral, low-budget, often with a gleeful malignant sense of humor. There’s some great odd stuff: as the vengeful cop (William Forsythe) tracks down Captain Spaulding’s family of pointlessly homicidal freaks, he learns that the moniker “Cpt. Spaulding” is from Groucho Marx, and calls in a film critic to learn what he can. What ensues is dazzlingly strange. I wish the film leaped more frequently away from the stock hyperboles of homicidal trash tormenting non-homicidal trash… but, heck, if you ever liked that kind of thing, you’ll fucking LOVE this.
Following in Joe Bob Briggs’ footsteps, I think we have 11 or 12 breasts, one face removed (and reworn), at least seven stock B-movie cameos (a few of whom die horrible deaths), a disembowelment, a horribly mutated family member–and, my favorite, one truck-flattening. No heads roll, but check it out anyway.
And, yeah, Zombie does have wit and style to spare. I’m interested in what he’ll do next.
So you’re the reason ‘Devil’s Rejects’ is listed as “short wait” on my Netflix queue. Well, return it so they can send it to me. Speaking of Zombie(s), I’m watching French ones tonight in “They come Back.” I hope I don’t need subtitles.
No, but I will recommend a cup of strong coffee.
French horror, eh? except for Georges Franju, they don’t seem to have much luck with it. I’m still reeling from the appalling mish mash of Brotherhood of the Wolf and Crimson Rivers. Let us know how they handle the zombie stuff.
I just saw Devil’s Rejects and was sad that it wasn’t even close to being as funny and engaging as the first film. I’m not sure why this film seemed to do better with the critics than House of 1000 Corpses. It’s a little more sophisticated,particularly in its use of music. It had some great appearances by oddball actors – the guy from Every Which Way But Loose (not the monkey), but it missed Karen Black coming back to her role, and Sid Haig just didn’t have enough moments like the one where he tells the child he’d better think of a reason to hate clowns or he’s going to come back and cut his throat.
Sid Haig is of course the heart and soul of these films. Sheri Moon Zombie is great as a psycho child in the body of a Coop drawing, but it’s Haig – who may or may NOT kill the person he’s talking to – that has the feeling of danger.
I have to say that I was impressed that the last scene made use of almost the ENTIRE GOD DAMN 8 minute version of Freebird. If ever there was an exercise in excess, that has to be it. The fact that it was paying homage to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid at the same time was kind of touching though.
I can’t recommend this one, I”m sorry to say. At least not if given the chance to watch House of 1000 Corpses instead.