House of 1000 Corpses.

Review #1590: House of 1000 Corpses.

Cast: 

Sid Haig (Captain Spaulding), Bill Moseley (Otis), Sheri Moon Zombie (Baby), Karen Black (Mother Firefly), Chris Hardwick (Jerry Goldsmith), Erin Daniels (Denise Willis), Jennifer Jostyn (Mary Knowles), Rainn Wilson (Bill Hudley), Walton Goggins (Steve Naish), Tom Towles (Deputy George Wydell), Matthew McGrory (Tiny), Robert Allen Mukes (Rufus), Dennis Fimple (Grandpa Hugo), Harrison Young (Don Willis), William Bassett (Sheriff Frank Huston), Irwin Keyes (Ravelli), and Michael J. Pollard (Stucky) Written and Directed by Rob Zombie (#743 - Halloween (2007))

Review: 

"The first film I directed, which people seems to love, is just a calamitous mess. Well, when it came out it seemed like everyone hated it. Now everyone acts like it’s beloved in some way. All I see is flaw, upon flaw, upon flaw… upon flaw.”

Sure, there have been quite a few directors that came across film after having made a name for themselves with another form of media. But how many were musician-turned-directors? Rob Zombie (born Robert Cummings) is one such director. He grew up with an three-pronged fantasy of being like Alice Cooper, Steven Spielberg and Stan Lee, having grown up with an interest in horror as a young child, noting the boom of horror in the late 1960s with media that ranged from The Munsters to magazines like Famous Monsters, although other favorites later included Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Westerns. The Massachusetts native attended both the Pratt Institute and the Parsons School of Design for a time before coming up with the idea for what became the band White Zombie in 1985, which he co-founded with Sean Yseult. Alongside others in the band, they contributed four albums over the next thirteen years, eventually finding recognition for their heavy metal sound, with Zombie directing the music videos. His first album after going solo was influenced by classic horror films (complete with some songs having samples and quotes from his favorites) while also doing work for various media (including animation for Beavis and Butt-Head Do America in 1996). He expressed an interest in directing in 1997, with an actual plan to have him write and direct a sequel to The Crow (set in 2037, I kid you not) before it was shelved. He worked with Universal Studios in designing a haunted maze attraction in 1999, and it was its success that led to them wanting to work with him on a film (thought of on the spot while designing another attraction), which he started directing in 2000. The resulting film did not please Universal, who shelved it in fears of receiving a NC-17 rating due to its violence (an Adults Only rating, as if Universal decided releasing a violent horror film was suddenly too much) before Lionsgate Films eventually signed on to release it, with this serving as the first of so far seven theatrical films directed and written by Zombie.

One can see the influence of films such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Spider Baby (1968) while also seeing the drive-in qualities that make a gritty and weird experience. Is it for everyone? You best believe it isn't for everyone, because for some it will feel tedious even at 89 minutes for where it wants to go in the art of the grotesque, a film that seems constricted by its influences to be anything more original. On the other hand, there are arguments to be made in favor of Zombie and his direction (alongside co-contribution to the music with Scott Humphrey) when it comes to his mix of horror and dark humor with ghoulish charm, which is why it has proved to have a cult following (alongside two sequels released in 2005 and 2019). I can firmly state that while it may not be exactly as well-developed as something like say Motel Hell (1980), I found enjoyment with its vision of macabre thrill and a fairly consistent cast to make it a worthwhile effort. I found it to be pretty enjoyable, in the sense that it made a madhouse worth investing time to look into without being driven senseless into gore without something to go along with it, even if it isn't exactly the most subtle horror film (its setting of the 1970s is believable to those who want to pretend it looks like that era). To start off, one goes with the first focus-point in Haig, the actor-turned-hypnotherapist-turned actor again (going from blaxploitation and heavy roles to horror). He mainly has three scenes to highlight, but he sure makes them ones to enjoy in ghoulish curiosity, amusing but effective in keeping you on your toes (he, alongside Moseley and S.Zombie, would feature in both sequels). Mosley (best known for his role in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) alongside other cult horror films) proves just as fiendish in grabbing attention to creep on one's shoulders, demented but useful to what is needed from him. S.Zombie (a dance choreographer and fashion designer that has featured in each of her husband's films) does fine with providing wicked allure for what is needed here, wrapped in terror just like the others that holds well with other fellow familiar actors in horror, such as the case with Black (long noted for work in independent films alongside horror fare), soothing but just as out there with the other members of family creeps (one that seems reminiscent of the Mansion family, what with Zombie inspired by recordings of them for the rants presented here). The other side of the action is the doomed travelers, which is mostly amusing to think back to the faces that eventually found prominence beyond horror, which involves Wilson, eventual star of The Office (2005) and Hardwick, comedian and podcast host (if one is into that sort of thing...no comment). They, alongside Daniels and Jostyn are just fine, in a room temperature kind of charm. I mean, we're watching a haunted ride of ghoulish people that murder people, the least one can do is make sure we aren't taken out of the experience with some jarring seriousness or bland set-ups for body counts. In that sense, I found it to be just enough to win out in the end, despite my reservations about its unwieldy consistency, which may seem like an excuse for Zombie to show off with references or in its weird cuts to those who desire more. It is exactly the kind of weird drive-in charm that makes Zombie an interesting face in horror cinema, one with a passion for the genre that yearns to creep its viewers out to their enjoyment (whether squeamish or not). It's a love it or hate it kind of movie - and I'm just fine with what it is.

Well, it's November 7th. I'm glad to have reached just as many films done in the week following Halloween as it was for the year before with five, and I hope you enjoyed Halloween: The Week After Part II. You can always throw suggestions in for horror films to be done any time of the year, but it is fun to make time for ones to really highlight in the month of fear alongside my personal extension week - enjoy the fun. There may or may not be another themed week coming up before the year ends, so stay tuned.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

One Hour Photo.

Review #1532: One Hour Photo.

Cast: 
Robin Williams (Seymour "Sy" Parrish), Michael Vartan (Will Yorkin), Connie Nielsen (Nina Yorkin), Gary Cole (Bill Owens, Manager), Eriq La Salle (Det. James Van Der Zee), Clark Gregg (Det. Paul Outerbridge), Paul H. Kim (Yoshi Araki), Erin Daniels (Maya Burson), and Dylan Smith (Jake Yorkin) Written and Directed by Mark Romanek.

Review: 
"I don't know how much value I have in this universe, but I do know that I've made a few people happier than they would have been without me, and as long as I know that, I'm as rich as I ever need to be."

It's easy to peg someone as just a comedian if you only focus on the laughs. Robin Williams is likely one of the most talented comedians to ever try his hand at both comedies and dramas that ever lived. He attended various schools of study in a path to becoming involved with acting (dropping out of studying political science at Claremont Men's College to study theatre at the College of Marin) that led to study at the prominent Julliard School starting in 1973. He worked through various odd jobs before deciding to do stand-up comedy in 1976, which he would perform on a consistent basis over the following decades, even while finding prominence with Mork and Mindy (1978-1982) and Popeye (1980). He was known for both comedic and dramatic successes such as The World According to Garp (1982), Dead Poets Society (1989), and Good Will Hunting (1997) that surely proved a perfect fit for this film (strangely enough, Jack Nicholson was initially thought of for the lead role, although he turned it down). This was the second work of Romanek, who had studied cinema and photography at Ithaca College before making his first feature with Static (1985), which he later disowned. In the years that followed, he decided to take on doing music videos, directing his first one for the group The The in 1986. He became better known for his videos for music groups such as Nine Inch Nails and Janet Jackson (his video for Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" is however is easily the most memorable).

It's easy to look back and think about the differences time can make for a psychological thriller like this. Sure, maybe people don't exactly go out to their big-box store and have photos processed by someone in a booth anymore, but there is definitely an appeal and interest about the very idea of having someone get a glimpse into a person's life through what they process in a photo. Think about the photos you take with others or have taken of yourself and think back to the memories associated with those snapshots and wonder about how someone might perceive them differently that may verge into devotion, considering that the main character not only knows the habits of certain customers that come in regularly (like ones who like to photograph cats) but also just happens to know where you live too. It is a film that views upon a not-so-quite ordinary man with a life empty enough for one to nearly forget about in the background, which most definitely taps into the emptiness of one's soul that arises from chasing memories to worship without having anything for yourself. What can it take for one to turn from voyeur to vigilante? As it turns out, sometimes the truth really does hurt when it comes to facing reality, and it generally does work out in building small-scale chills with a distinct look and one great performance by Williams to make an adequate thriller worth checking out. If there was no Williams, it wouldn't really be anything great, particularly if it was an actor that couldn't live up to basically having to disappear in a role like a chameleon. He has a mannered patience here that captures awkwardness and solitude with quality quiet makeup and instinct that generally helps in keeping a balance between would-be object of pity or something darker without needing to be wrapped in either classification too easily. Vartan and Nielsen don't really have much to do, but they do play fine to essentially paper chemistry that also share interesting moments when paired with Williams in art of the awkward glance. Cole and La Salle make adequate authority figures for a feature that seems to emphasize perception and cold loneliness more than anything, complete with carefully picked color palates (where Williams seems to blend into the background at times, and the bright lighting for the SavMart sequences are especially apparent in that effect). It is a modest movie, with only one real quibble that I had, which mainly involves having the film begin with him being photographed for booking - regardless of how much is there to predicted with ease or not, it really didn't need to be told to us like this to really set up the film on a chilly path. The ending however does fine with sticking out the lasting decisions that can be made by someone filled with calmly-smiled desperation in the part intended for a soul that perhaps leads one to think a little closer about just who is that person who knows about details from the photos you take. It was a modest hit at the time with audiences by making back its $12 million budget four times over, and it is pretty easy for me to see why. With a fairly interesting premise built on introspection and chills beside the usual resort of blood (except for perhaps one shot, which I love) or excessive twists to go with a solidly subtle Williams, One Hour Photo is a neat little gem worth checking out for the small scares that come from what you see in and outside the picture.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.