House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Rob Zombie

Writer (WGA):

Rob Zombie (written by)

Release Date:

11 April 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

The most shocking tale of carnage ever seen.

Plot:

Two teenage couples traveling across the backwoods of Texas searching for urban legends of serial killers end up as prisoners of a bizarre and sadistic backwater family of serial killers.

Plot Keywords:

House | Serial Killer | Corpse | Hitchhiker | Roadside Attraction

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Sid Haig	...	Captain Spaulding
Bill Moseley	...	Otis Driftwood
Sheri Moon Zombie	...	Baby Firefly (as Sheri Moon)
Karen Black	...	Mother Firefly
Chris Hardwick	...	Jerry Goldsmith
Erin Daniels	...	Denise Willis
Jennifer Jostyn	...	Mary Knowles
Rainn Wilson	...	Bill Hudley
Walton Goggins	...	Deputy Steve Naish
Tom Towles	...	Lieutenant George Wydell
Matthew McGrory	...	Tiny Firefly
Robert Allen Mukes	...	Rufus 'R.J.' Firefly Jr. (as Robert Mukes)
Dennis Fimple	...	Grandpa Hugo Firefly
Harrison Young	...	Don Willis
William Bassett	...	Sheriff Drake Huston (as William H. Bassett)
Irwin Keyes	...	Ravelli
Michael J. Pollard	...	Stucky
Chad Bannon	...	Killer Karl
David Reynolds	...	Richard 'Little Dick' Wick
Walter Phelan	...	Dr. Satan / S. Quentin Quale
Jake McKinnon	...	The Professor / Earl Firefly
Irvin Mosley Jr.	...	Lewis Dover
Joe Dobbs III	...	Gerry Ober
Gregg Gibbs	...	Dr. Wolfenstein
Ken Johnson	...	Skunk Ape Husband
Judith Drake	...	Skunk Ape Wife
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Freddy Waff	...	Mental Patient (uncredited)

Directed by
Rob Zombie

Writing credits (WGA)
Rob Zombie		(written by)

Produced by
Andy Given	....	executive producer (as Andrew D. Given)
Andy Gould	....	producer
Joel Hatch	....	associate producer
Robert K. Lambert	....	associate producer
Guy Oseary	....	executive producer
Danielle Shilling Lovett	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Rob Zombie

Cinematography by
Alex Poppas
Tom Richmond

Film Editing by
Kathryn Himoff
Robert K. Lambert
Sean K. Lambert

Casting by
Dean E. Fronk
Donald Paul Pemrick

Production Design by
Gregg Gibbs

Art Direction by
Michael Krantz

Set Decoration by
Lisa K. Sessions

Costume Design by
Amanda Friedland

Makeup Department
Mustaque M. Ashrafi	....	makeup artist (as Mustaque Ashrafi)
Kelly M. Beatty	....	key makeup artist
Michael Burnett	....	special makeup effects artist: corpse bodies
Norman Cabrera	....	makeup effects artist
Gray Creasy	....	special makeup effects technician
Michael Deak	....	makeup effects artist (as Mike Deak)
Patricia Gundlach	....	key hair stylist
Matt Henkelmann	....	makeup effects artist
Jake McKinnon	....	makeup effects artist
Bart Mixon	....	special makeup effects artist
Gary J. Perticone	....	hair stylist (as Gary Perticone)
Vicky Phillips	....	hair department head (as Vicki Phillips)
Gilbert Romero	....	makeup artist
Keith Sayer	....	makeup department head
Leslie Ann Sebert	....	makeup artist (as Leslie Sebert)
Cedric Summerbell	....	makeup effects artist
Wayne Toth	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Andy Given	....	unit production manager (as Andrew D. Given)
Joel Hatch	....	unit production manager
Virginia Landis Albertson	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ty Arnold	....	second assistant director
Marco Black	....	first assistant director
Wendi Lampassi	....	second assistant director
John Nelson	....	first assistant director
Robert Schroer	....	second second assistant director (as Robert D. Schroer)

Art Department
Oscar Alvarado	....	carpenter
Eric Andresen	....	painter
Bennett Andrews	....	greens foreman
Fred Apolito	....	propmaker (as Fredrick Apolito)
Rick M. Atwell	....	propmaker
Matthew Kern Atzenhoffer	....	set dresser (as Matthew K. Atzenhoffer)
Maria L. Baker	....	set designer
Tammy Banal	....	on-set dresser
Ellis J. Barbacoff	....	assistant property master
Tobey Bays	....	set dresser
Daniel Beralas	....	painter
Brian Berkel	....	propmaker
Cliff Berns	....	painter
Dominique Blaskovich	....	scenic artist
Tony Bonaventura	....	property master
Donald Boyd	....	painter
Maxwell Britton	....	swing (as Maxwell Jean Britton)
Bob Carmody	....	propmaker
Mike Carrillo	....	property master
Tim Castagnola	....	labor foreman
Darrin Denlinger	....	storyboard artist
Colin De Rouin	....	set designer
Craig Diantonio	....	painter (as Craig L. Diantonio)
Christopher Elledge	....	swing
John Empero	....	propmaker
Steven Eustace	....	property master
Tom Fedele	....	painter
Pete Flynn	....	swing
Michael Grover Forster	....	propmaker
Martin Goulding	....	painter
Mariana Grubbs	....	painter
Anthony A. Guilar	....	propmaker
Curtis Hamill	....	painter
Mitchell Hammer	....	painter
Keith A. Kropf	....	painter
Maureen Kropf	....	painter
Jeffrey A. Leake	....	propmaker
Yvonne Lopez Bas	....	scenic artist
Ramón López	....	propmaker (as Ramon Lopez)
Dave T. MacDonald	....	propmaker
Matthew Martin	....	propmaker foreman
Atron McFadden	....	laborer
Anthony Medina	....	propmaker (as Tony Medina)
Kiven Meyer	....	painter
Dorit Oberman	....	swing
Cesar Orozco	....	carpenter
Perry L. Paolone	....	painter
Missy Parker	....	art department coordinator
Tim Park	....	set dresser
Jean-Pierre 'J.P.' Patry	....	painter (as J.P. Patry)
Lisa Penaranda	....	set decorating buyer
Lisa Penaranda	....	set dresser
Edmond Scott Ratcliff	....	set dresser
Jonathan Rose	....	labor foreman
Chris Santini	....	construction coordinator (as Christopher Santini)
Clare Scarpulla	....	set designer
Terry Sheffield	....	drapery foreman
Erin Smith	....	assistant art director
Russell J. Smith	....	production illustrator (as Russ Smith)
Michael Spitaletto	....	painter
Tim Stadler	....	painter
Rick Staves	....	drapery
Dugald Stermer	....	swing
Robert Tagle	....	painter
Adam Tankell	....	graphic designer
Rick Tanner	....	painter
Daniel Tull	....	scenic artist
Freddy Waff	....	lead man
Nate Walton	....	painter
Paul Walton	....	head paint foreman
Rick Welden	....	construction coordinator
Mykal Williams	....	set dresser
Mark Wong	....	painter
Isaac Wright	....	laborer
Ricky Zamudio	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Mike Anderson	....	utility sound
Joe Barnett	....	sound re-recording mixer
Susan Cahill	....	sound editor (as Susan Gamsaragan)
John Carlson	....	digital transfer engineer
Benjamin L. Cook	....	sound effects editor (as Benjamin Cook)
Mary Erstad	....	foley mixer
Robert Getty	....	dialogue editor
George Haddad	....	sound re-recording mixer
Michael Hertlein	....	dialogue editor
Frederick Howard	....	supervising sound editor
Michael Kamper	....	sound effects editor
Dave Kustin	....	assistant sound editor (as D.G. Kustin)
James P. Lay	....	supervising sound editor
Michael Lyle	....	foley artist
Derek Marcil	....	sound re-recording mixer
Diane Marshall	....	foley artist (as Diane S. Marshall)
Cynthia Merrill	....	foley artist
Joe Michalski	....	cable person
Michael Mullane	....	sound effects editor
Benjamin Pedersen	....	assistant sound editor: temp mix
Brian Robinson	....	boom operator
Buck Robinson	....	production sound mixer
Anne Slack	....	sound editor
Alec St. John	....	assistant sound editor

Special Effects by
Roy Augenstein	....	special effects technician
Jared Baker	....	special effects technician
David Blitstein	....	special effects coordinator
Kam Cooney	....	special effects coordinator (as M. Kam Cooney)
Michael Deak	....	special effects
John Fontana	....	special effects technician (as Johnny Fontana)
Roger Lifsey	....	special effects foreman
Michael O'Brien	....	mold department: Ex Mortis Effects
Christine Onesky	....	special effects technician
Gil Romero	....	special effects makeup
Brian Sveum	....	special effects technician
Wayne Toth	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Richard Eberhardt	....	optical lineup
Steven Fagerquist	....	visual effects
David Feinner	....	digital artist
Michael L. Griffin	....	optical lineup
Peter Koczera	....	digital artist (as Peter Kozera)
Peter Koczera	....	senior digital artist
Derek Ledbetter	....	visual effects
Steve Mayer	....	optical lineup
Leilani McHugh	....	optical lineup
Ken D. Smith	....	digital fxs supervisor: Pacific Title & Howard Anderson Co. )

Stunts
Rick Avery	....	stunts
Jon Braver	....	stunt double: Chris Hardwick
Gregg Brazzel	....	stunt coordinator
Laura Lee Connery	....	utility stunts
Gino Crognale	....	stunts
Wally Crowder	....	stunts
Alisa Hensley	....	stunts
Terry James	....	stunts
Louis Kiss	....	stunt performer
Louis Kiss	....	stunts (as Lou Kiss)
Jake McKinnon	....	stunts
Roger W. Morrissey	....	stunts (as Roger Morrisey)
Chris Nielsen	....	stunts
Nicole Randall	....	stunt double
Tony Santoro	....	stunts
Michelle Sebek	....	stunts
Ted Smith	....	stunts
John Vitale	....	stunts
Webster Whinery	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Jared Abrams	....	second assistant camera
Michael Albala	....	lighting technician
Dominic Aluisi	....	second assistant camera
Kathy Andreasen	....	rigging gaffer
Pete Asidilla	....	grip
Eddie Avila	....	camera loader
Clint Borden	....	grip
Albert Gerald Bozian	....	crane operator
Joel Bystrom	....	grip
Dan Carpluk	....	grip (as Daniel Carpluk)
Paul Ciancetta	....	lighting technician
Joe Clarke	....	rigging best boy
Sean Patrick Crowell	....	key grip
Suzanne Davis	....	video playback operator
Josh Denering	....	grip
Matias Farias	....	crane operator
Dominik Feller	....	rigging electrician
Tom Fraser	....	camera operator
James T. Gordon	....	grip
Jim Gordon	....	grip
Bruce Alan Greene	....	Steadicam operator
Suzanne Hanover	....	still photographer
R. Dana Harlow	....	grip
Charles Hart	....	grip
James J. Hughes	....	grip
James Irons	....	grip (as James B. Irons)
David Irwin	....	lighting technician (as David J. Irwin)
Dan Jones	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Ian Jordan	....	light balloon technician
John Keefer	....	grip
Tom Keefer	....	grip
John Koth	....	best boy grip (as John R. Koth)
Logan Leabo	....	gaffer
Charles Lenz	....	grip (as Charles F. Lenz)
Chuck Linkes	....	lighting technician
Christopher Lucchese	....	dolly grip
Christopher Mapes	....	video engineer: studio segments
Tim McGinnis	....	lighting technician
Richard Miller	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Gary Molyneux	....	grip
David Myers	....	additional second assistant camera (as Dave Myers)
Jeff Nakamura	....	best boy electric (as Jeffrey K. Nakamura)
Jeff Nemeth	....	grip
Tom O'Donnell Jr.	....	grip (as Thomas J. O'Donnell Jr.)
William O'Melia	....	rigging gaffer (as William P. O'Melia)
Nathan A. Pelland	....	lighting technician
Richard C. Phelps	....	grip
Lex Rawlins	....	first assistant camera
Thoma Reavis	....	rigging gaffer (as Thomas Reavis)
Daniel Robinson	....	grip
Chris J. Rossi	....	rigging key grip (as Chris Rossi)
David Scott	....	rigging gaffer
Domenic Sfreddo	....	lighting technician
Mike Shaheen	....	video playback operator
William Skinner	....	lighting technician
Peter Sorel	....	still photographer
Calvin Starnes	....	grip (as Calvin R. Starnes)
Steven C. Steig	....	lighting technician
Al Stewart	....	grip
Robert Stillman	....	grip (as Bob Stillman)
R. Michael Stringer	....	rigging grip
Paul D. Strong	....	light balloon technician
Mark Vollmer	....	grip
André T. Williams	....	lighting technician
Jerald L. Wilson	....	rigging gaffer (as Jerald Wilson)

Casting Department
Chris Bustard	....	extras casting
Greg Sacks	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sara Daubney	....	costumer (as Sara W. Daubney-Kinney)
Sloane Morrison	....	costumer (as Sloane Perry Thorne)
Jennifer Starzyk	....	on-set costumer
Cesha Ventre	....	costumer
Josephine Willes	....	costumer
Christi Work	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Mark Bourgeois	....	assistant editor
Bob Fredrickson	....	color timer
Lara Khachooni	....	assistant editor
George Koran	....	telecine colorist
Chris Miller	....	post-production services
Hillary Murray	....	color timer
Anne Sawyer	....	assistant editor
Ronald White	....	assistant editor

Transportation Department
Ron Hardman	....	transportation captain
Peter Mandel	....	transportation captain (as Pete Mandel)
Paul Veluzat	....	driver
Allan Yamauchi	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Alexa Alden	....	script supervisor: additional photography
Linden Bierman-Lytle	....	production assistant
Jeff Bock	....	production assistant
Anna Bradley	....	production assistant
Edward Cass	....	production coordinator
Ryan Demarti	....	production assistant
Nancy Diaz	....	production assistant
Sharon C. Dietz	....	production office coordinator (as haron Dietz)
Isabel Ferrer	....	assistant production accountant
Chloe Finch	....	daily production assistant
Toby Forlenza	....	script supervisor
Clare France	....	assistant to first and second assistant directors
Katy Genovese	....	payroll accountant (as Katy Tatian-Genovese)
Cheryl Harris	....	animal trainer
Marvin Hayes	....	production assistant
Roger Herren	....	assistant light balloon assistant
Kathryn Loraine Hibbs	....	production accountant
Ryan Hintz	....	post-production accountant
Jason Inman	....	set medic
Eric Ernest Johnson	....	production assistant
Sean S. Kanase	....	production assistant
Eric Klosterman	....	location manager
Timothy Kreis	....	production assistant
Stephen Maloney	....	production assistant
Laci Dionne Maltbie	....	production assistant
Charles Mcdonald	....	title designer
Eric Melstad	....	production assistant
Christopher Miller	....	location manager
Karl Lewis Miller	....	animal trainer
Teresa Ann Miller	....	animal trainer (as Teresa A. Miller)
April Morley	....	animal trainer
Michael D. Morris	....	animal trainer
William Nuzzo	....	craft service (as Bill Nuzzo)
Karen Radzikowski	....	production assistant
Nancy Reid	....	assistant production coordinator
Joshua Reitman	....	production assistant
Pascual Romero	....	promotional consultant
Erin Smith	....	production assistant
Amy Snetzler	....	production assistant (as Amy K. Snetzler)
Donald F. Spinney	....	animal trainer
Brian C. Sullivan	....	production assistant
Samuel W. Sullivan	....	production assistant
Shaun P. Sullivan	....	assistant location manager
Rhys Summerhayes	....	production assistant
Donna Leigh Tatum	....	production assistant (as Donna Tatum)
Jon-Paul Velasquez	....	production assistant
Stacey Wahlstrom	....	production assistant
Jenni Wieland	....	first assistant accountant
Cloudia Wintermute	....	production assistant
Deborah Wuliger	....	publicist
Oorala J. Yamada	....	office production assistant
Oorala J. Yamada	....	set production assistant: re-shoots
Daniel Veluzat	....	location liaison (uncredited)

Thanks
Dennis Fimple	....	dedicatee

Production Companies

• Spectacle Entertainment Group
• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Alamode Film (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Art Port (Japan) (theatrical)
• Gateno Films (2005) (Peru) (theatrical)
• Lions Gate Films (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• DeA Planeta Home Entertainment (Spain)
• Eagle Pictures (2004) (Italy)
• H.O.M. Vision bv, Spakenburg (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• H.O.M. Vision bv, Spakenburg (2004) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Kamer-Ton-Film (Russia)
• Maple Pictures (2006) (Canada) (DVD)
• Metro Tartan Distribution Ltd. (UK)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (France)
• Quasar Films (Argentina)
• Shooting Gallery
• Sunfilm Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Art F.X.
• Howard Anderson Company, The (digital opticals)

Other Companies

• Central Casting  extras casting
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• Executive Cutting Service Inc.  negative cutting
• Howard Anderson Company, The  titles and opticals
• Widget Post Production  sound post-production

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sadistic violence/gore, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

89 min | Argentina:105 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Germany:18 (cut) | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/18 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | Germany:18 (SPIO/JK) (uncut) | Denmark:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R | Chile:14 | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Japan:R-15 | Mexico:C | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) (uncut) | Singapore:NC-16 (edited for re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #37744) | Canada:R (Alberta/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Canada:18A (British Columbia)

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Spectacle Entertainment Group

Trivia:

Inside Captain Spaulding's gas bar/fast food/museum of horror, behind the cash on the wall are reproductions of Aleister Crowley's paintings of demonic figures which were later discovered under whitewash in his former Abbey of Thelema, in Cefalu, Italy.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the graveyard scene with Mary, the shadow of the camera and cameraman can be seen as she spins around.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Announcer: Attention boils and ghouls, it's time for Dr. Wolfenstein's Creature Feature Show.
Dr. Wolfenstein: Ah! The doctor is in! Don't scream, don't move. Stay tuned for channel 68's Halloween Eve movie marathon! I'm your host, your ghost ghost, with the most, Dr. Wolfenstein! I will be with you until the end!

Movie Connections:

References Duck Soup (1933)

Soundtrack:

Run, Rabbit, Run

Anyone Who Hated This Movie Should Not Be Watching Horror Films

You like horror movies? Have you seen the original 1974 "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"? If not, do yourself a favor and go watch it, and then come back and treat yourself to Rob Zombies wonderful homage "House of 1000 Corpses". The film is all homage and humor, but it would be wrong to call it parody. The film is really lovingly done.

Now mind you, this isn't in the same class as movies like "Apocalypse Now" and "Citizen Kane". It is, however, still beautiful. The style is almost in overkill and is where most of the entertainment is derived from. The story is secondary. Like many a horror film, it's about a group of young people who go where they shouldn't and p*ss-off (I can't believe I had to censor this word) some creepy hicks. In this case they are looking for Doctor Satan, a local legend who might just be real. From there it follows the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" formula pretty closely, but far better than any of that films sequels ever did. The film is very inventive and keeps from being very boring or very predictable. I was able to guess at a few things, but then I watch a lot of horror films.

A real stand out is the use of color. The photography is surprisingly good for a horror effort. Another big reason to watch is Sid Haig who acted in many 70s classic exploitation efforts. The guy has always been fun to watch and is really funny here.

After this I'm really looking forward to Zombies's "The Devil's Rejects"