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Blu-Ray : Highly Recommended
Ranking:
Sale Price: $80.98 Last Price: $ Buy now! 3rd Party 80.98 In Stock
Release Date: April 11th, 2023 Movie Release Year: 2003

House of 1000 Corpses - 20th Anniversary Edition

Overview -

House of 1000 Corpses arrives for its 20th Anniversary on Blu-ray with Captain Spaulding, Baby, Otis, and Dr. Satan in tow to wreak havoc on anyone who crosses their path. Still, two decades later, this manages to thrill and fulfill all of those entertainment and comedy needs. The 1080p HD video and DTS-HD 7.1 audio track are the same as its previous release. There are also no new extras, but it seems like every bonus feature on previous iterations has been imported over to this Collector's Edition. Highly Recommended! 

 

 

When Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses slashed its way into theaters 20 years ago, 1970s-style horror -- and camp -- returned with bone-snapping, scream-inducing vengeance. Zombie's directorial debut, this first film of a trilogy introduces the Firefly family, backwoods sadists who plunge two young couples into a nightmare world of torture, satanic ritual, and cannibalism. With a killer cast including horror legends Sheri Moon Zombie, Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, and Karen Black, House of 1000 Corpses is both a homage to a golden era and a scary good time from an innovative, unrivaled shock-master.

List of Special Features:

  • Cast & Director Interviews
    • Rob Zombie
    • Sid Haig
    • Bill Moseley
    • Sheri Moon
    • Karen Black
    • Rainn Wilson
    • Chris Hardwick
    • Erin Daniels
    • Irwin Keyes
    • Jennifer Jostyn
    • Wayne Toth
  • Behind The Scenes
    • 5 New Segments of Never-Before-Seen BTS Footage
    • Dr. Satan Test
    • Professor Test
    • Electronic Press Kit
    • Teaser Trailer

OVERALL:
Highly Recommended
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p AVC/MPEG-4
Length:
88
Aspect Ratio(s):
1.85:1
Audio Formats:
English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles/Captions:
English SDH
Release Date:
April 11th, 2023

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

Has it really been twenty years since the theatrical release of House of 1000 Corpses? Rob Zombie has certainly made a name for himself in the horror movie genre over the years since his directorial debut in 2003. Zombie has been a big success in both the music and movie worlds. He's one of those filmmakers that has literally put in the hard work and effort to be a top-name director. This is the film that started it all.

Zombie earned his success as a musician, but over time started directing his own music videos, along with pitching and writing horror scripts for Hollywood that went nowhere. Then in the late '90s, Zombie curated a haunted house for Universal Studios that revitalized their Halloween Horror Nights celebration which is one of their biggest annual attractions to this day. The studio was so pleased with this outcome that they finally started paying attention to him as a filmmaker and gave Zombie his first big break with House of 1000 Corpses

It's become studio lore over the years that the film had a tough time being released due to its graphic gorry nature. The movie was made in 2000 but wasn't released for three years due to the MPAA demanding heavy cuts to the movie. But after all the edits, Universal getting cold feet with Lionsgate picking up the release rights, the movie was finally unleashed and fans clamored for the chance to see this movie. The movie went on to be a success that prompted two sequels and cemented Zombie's career as a filmmaker, where he eventually directed original horror tales and revitalized a classic horror franchise. 

House of 1000 Corpses is his segway from music into film. Whether or not it works visually and as a narrative is up to the viewer, but one thing is for sure - Zombie has a great artistic eye for showcasing some frightening terror while bringing in some wonderful dark comedy. Also, Zombie has created some of the best and funniest modern-era pop-culture icons with the invention of Captain Spaulding, Baby, and Otis - three vicious characters that fans across the world would not only be terrified of but fall in love with. 

Its sequel Devil's Rejects plays out like a gritty western that could be siblings with Natural Born Killers. But House of 1000 Corpses incorporates a fun music-video extravaganza of carnage, mayhem, and blood-curdling sequences that serves as a jumping-off point for Zombie. There had been nothing like it before, and twenty years later, it still owns up to its thrills, entertainment value, and brilliantly creepy characters. If the opening ten minutes doesn't conjure up scares and some laughs, nothing else will. 

 

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray

House of 1000 Corpses 20th Anniversary kills its way to Blu-ray + Digital Code via Lionsgate. The two Blu-ray discs are housed inside a hard, blue plastic case with a thick hard cardboard book that opens up. The artwork on the cardboard book is brand new and illustrates the main, iconic characters of the film. It looks amazing. The plastic artwork is the same. Additionally, this Collector's release comes with a newly illustrated fold-out poster of the cast of characters, a new booklet of set photos that Zombie curated himself, and a set of postcards with director's notes and artwork on them. There is also a digital code that is not Movies Anywhere compatible.

Video Review

Ranking:

This 20th anniversary of House of 1000 Corpses comes with a 1080p HD transfer that looks to be the same image as its previous release. There doesn't seem to be a brand new transfer or scan, or even a 4K option for this release as of yet. Luckily, this 1080p HD picture looks dynamite still and revels in the bright and vibrant colors that Zombie utilized during his production.

While the story is dark and twisted, Zombie used tons of bright colors throughout and it showcases them all beautifully here. Black levels are inky and the uses of blue and red lighting are fantastic. The detail is sharp and vivid too, revealing those scraggly facial hairs and brilliant practical makeup applications. This is still a great-looking video presentation, even if it isn't new. 

Audio Review

Ranking:

This release comes with a DTS-HD MA 7.1 audio mix, which is the same track as the previous release. Back when it first came out on Blu-ray, the 7.1 option was fairly new and it still sounds amazing to this day with all of its music cues and violence penetrating the speakers. 

For the full Audio review, CLICK HERE!

Special Features

Ranking:

There are 252 minutes of extras located on both discs in this set. Sadly there are no new features on disc minus the packaging and goodies, although the material here is definitely worth watching again or for its first time. For those who redeem their digital code, or already have it in their digital collections, there is a new solo Rob Zombie audio commentary. The track covers some of the same ground as the previous one, but it's nice to hear Zombie's thoughts about the film and making it two decades removed.

Disc One

  • Audio Commentary - The archival commentary track from Rob Zombie is still a blast because Zombie doesn't hold back on his stories or how everything came to be during production. This is one informative and fun listen. 
  • HOTC Zombietron (HD) - A video game that can be played featuring zombies and more. 
  • Making of Featurette (SD, 5 Mins.) - An EPK feature with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage that is in extremely rough shape. 
  • Tiny Fucked A Stump (SD, 3 Mins.) - The three main characters all tell a similar joke with the same punchline. 
  • Behind the Scenes Footage (SD, 3 Mins.) Some on-set footage of the shoot is located here. 
  • Casting Footage (SD, 2 Mins.) - The hilarious audition for Grandpa. 
  • Rehearsal Footage (SD, 7 Mins.) - Three separate rehearsals with different actors in their respective scenes. 
  • Cast and Crew Interviews (SD, 15 Mins.) - Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, Sheri Moon, and Wayne Toth are all dressed as their characters and talk about working in horror and on the film. 

Disc Two

  • Cast and Director Interviews (SD, 116 Mins.) - There are twelve different segments with almost everyone in the film, including Rob Zombie to Karen Black and Rainn Wilson, and more. These interviews last anywhere between 5 and 13 minutes long and discuss working on the movie, the characters, and more. 
  • Behind the Scenes (SD, 100 Mins.) - This bonus feature can be viewed all as one segment or in eight separate vignettes. Most of this shows various elements of the production from on-set footage, rehearsal takes, makeup application, costumes, and more. There are makeup tests, and an EPK available. This is a lot of fun.
  • Trailer (SD, 1 Min.) - Trailer for the film.

Streaming

  • NEW Audio Commentary - Rob Zombie flies solo again for a new commentary track. it covers a lot of similar content as the previous one, but it's distinctly from the lense of a filmmaker looking back at their first film 20 years later.

Final Thoughts

House of 1000 Corpses is still a fantastic thrill ride full of comedy and iconic characters twenty years later. It deserves a 20th-anniversary release. There's nothing new about the video or audio transfers, nor are there any new extras on disc - there's a new streaming exclusive Zombie commentary but that's it - but they are all combined in one place in this set with brand-new packaging, artwork, and goodies. Highly Recommended!