House of 1000 Corpses is a 2003 exploitation horror film directed and written by Rob Zombie. It stars Sid Haig as Captain Spaulding, Bill Moseley as Otis Driftwood, Sheri Moon as Baby Firefly, Karen Black as Mother Firefly, and Chris Hardwick as Jerry Goldsmith.
The story takes place around Halloween 1977. Four friends are on the road in search of off-beat roadside attractions. They stop for gas and encounter Captain Spaulding, a vulgar clown and owner of the gas station. He shows them his "Museum of the Strange" and tells of the local legend of Dr. Satan. He was a doctor who tortured and killed his victims. He was later hung from a tree Spaulding claims is not far from the attraction. The group goes in search of the tree and pick up a hitch hiker named Baby Firefly. The tires are blown out and they are forced to seek out Rufus, Baby's half-brother, who can fix the car. Meanwhile, Baby's family takes in the four friends and treats them to dinner and a show. After Baby flirts with the men in the group, one of the girls takes exception and insults Baby. At this time, Rufus returns and says the car is fixed. They try to escape but other members of the Firefly family capture and bring them back to the house, where they torture the four people.
The viewer can pretty clearly tell that this is Rob Zombie's directorial debut because he had virtually no movie experience and he needed a relatively simple method to promote the film, which may be why he chose to make it an exploitation film, as it is in every sense of the word. For those of the readers who do not know what an exploitation film is, it is a film that primarily employs graphic violence, gore, and sex. It focuses on "sensationalist" behavior, of which House of 1000 Corpses clearly contains with all the realistic torture scenes and the explicit nudity seen periodically throughout the film.
Another fascinating feature the writer noticed in this movie was the very similar plot sequence to another film released nearly 30 years prior, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. In that film, a group of kids have car trouble and, while searching for help, encounter a cannibalistic family in a secluded rural area. One by one, they are captured and mutilated with a chainsaw. Meanwhile in House of 1000 Corpses, another group runs into another secluded family after having the tires of their vehicle blown out. They are taken prisoner, tortured, and, eventually, killed. As the reader can see, both films follow the same pattern with the car breaking down and the meeting with a mysterious family in the middle of nowhere who tortures and kills them.
To wrap, if you seek a film with the "sensationalist" behavior factor and a similar plotline to an old classic, then House of 1000 Corpses may be what you're looking for!
