The Curious Films … of Rob Zombie!

1. // House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

In the year 2000, Rob Zombie had spent over a decade making music; bursting out of the New York underground scene with his band White Zombie, before seeing success in the early – mid-90s as the band took MTV and the Metal scene by storm. In 1998, Zombie went solo with the record Hillbilly Deluxe, finding ongoing success while continuing to incorporate the imagery and samples of old Horror movies into his music. During his time in WZ and with his burgeoning solo career, Zombie also dabbled with his other passion – film-making – creating the weird and wonderful music videos that accompanied his music. Making a move into making full length Horror movies seemed like an inevitability …

After designing a haunted house attraction for Universal Studios in 1999, Zombie started developing House of 1000 Corpses which commenced filming in the spring of 2000. The movie should have released the following year, but it was ultimately dropped by Universal whose executives were less than enthralled with the wacky no-holds-barred Grindhouse-Horror Zombie had created. Following a couple of years of tinkering with his project whilst shopping the film around, he finally found distribution with Lions Gate Entertainment for a release in April 2003. The film grossed over $16 million at the box office, and created a cult following amongst Zombie and Indie-Horror fans.

Taking inspiration from classic 70s Horror films such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977); House of 1000 Corpses follows two young adult couples as they travel through mid-west America researching offbeat side road attractions for a book they are writing. In Texas, they come across the establishment of Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig); who provides gas, fried chicken, and The Museum of Monsters & Madmen. After taking a ride through his spooky and sordid attraction, Spaulding sends them on their way in search of the hanging place of notorious local serial killer Dr. Satan. But en-route they pick up a kooky hitchhiker Baby (Sherri Moon Zombie); and end up travelling back to her rural family home after their tyre is shot out by a mysterious hidden assailant.

From here, the shit really starts to hit the fan for the group of young travellers, as Zombie throws everything but the kitchen sink at them. They have entered a true house of Horrors, home to Baby’s sadistic extended family of murderers and torturers including her brother Otis (Bill Mosley), and matriarch Mother Firefly (Karen Black). The resulting abduction and bloodbath is as sick and twisted as you could possibly imagine, and it is filmed stylishly by Zombie with practical F/X, often vibrant colours, quick edits, abstract cuts and flashbacks. With House of 1000 Corpses, Zombie truly announced himself as an up and coming filmmaker to keep an eye on in the genre. KZ

2. // The Devil’s Rejects (2005)

Pleased with their theatrical return on House of 1000 Corpses, Lions Gate Entertainment offered Zombie the chance to create a sequel. And he immediately began working on The Devil’s Rejects; jumping at the opportunity to continue the story of the murderous Firefly clan. Set in 1978 – a year after the events in the first film – the movie begins with an armed police raid on the Firefly house. A seek and destroy mission on the family who are now known to be responsible for over 75 disappearances and murders in the region. The siege is led by Sheriff Wydell (William Forsythe), who is on a personal revenge mission following the death of his law enforcement brother in House of 1000 Corpses.

The opening siege scene is all out bombastic action in the style of Quentin Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez. An almighty gun battle that sees Mother Firefly arrested. However Otis and Baby manage to escape, with both Bill Mosley and Rob Zombie’s wife Sherri Moon returning to reprise their roles. After committing a violent carjacking, Baby calls her father … who we discover is Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig also reprising his role); and he instructs them to hide out and wait for him in a quiet motel.

At the motel, Otis and Baby take a touring county music band hostage in their room, and Zombie really pushes the boundaries of taste and decency in the ensuing carnage. Although it is clear that The Devils Rejects has a different tone and style to House of 1000 Corpses, playing much more like a violent crime drama than that of a slapstick Horror; it certainly does not let up in the gore stakes … and the unlucky hostages do not get out of their situation in one piece. Captain Spaulding eventually arrives, and the now trio of fugitives move on and seek solace in the brothel of an associate; Charlie (Ken Foree – Dawn of the Dead).

It soon becomes apparent, that the devout Christian Sheriff Wydell is about as unhinged as the family he is chasing down, He violently dispatches of Mother Firefly whilst she is incarcerated, and he hires a couple of bounty hunters Rondo (Danny Trejo) and Billy-Ray (Diamond Dallas Page) to help capture the fugitives. He then threatens Charlie into double crossing the Fireflys by covertly providing them access to the brothel in order to take them by surprise. From here, the movie hurtles towards its climax as Wydell turns the table on the Rejects in a final act set back at their former house; allowing Zombie to show another side to his film-making as he creates something far more gritty and humourless than on his first film. KZ

3. // Halloween (2007)

“The darkest souls are not those which choose to exist within the hell of the abyss, but those which choose to break free from the abyss and move silently among us,”

(Dr. Samuel Loomis)

Following the indie success Zombie achieved with his first two films, he was rewarded by being handed the keys to the hugely popular Halloween franchise by Dimension Films; and tasked with remaking John Carpenter’s classic 1978 slasher-flick. Zombie was encouraged by Carpenter to create Halloween his own image. And he would do just that; adding his unmistakable style in both tone and language. He pulled together an impressive ensemble cast including Danielle Harris (Halloween 4 & 5), Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) and Brad Douriff (Child’s Play) – as well as a whole host of regulars from his first two movies; including Bill Mosely, Sid Haig, Sherri Moon Zombie, Danny Trejo, and Ken Foree.

It’s October 31st, Haddonfield, Illinois; and in the opening scene Zombie presents the dysfunctional Myers family as they bicker over the breakfast table and are subjected to a tirade of verbal abuse from the despicable Ronnie White (William Forsythe). His ten-year-old stepson Michael Myers is shy and withdrawn, and takes solace from the verbal tirade behind a clown mask … before we then see him being horribly bullied at school. His mother (Sherri Moon) is called into the principal’s office where she is introduced to child psychologist Dr. Samuel Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) who presents her with the body of a dead cat found in Michael’s locker; along with a series of polaroid photos showing mutilated animals.

Michael runs from the school in his mask, and beats one of his bullies to death with a bat. Later that evening while his mum is out working in a strip club, he brutally murders his abuse stepfather, his older sister, and her lover; sparing his young baby sister. Michael is taken into custody where Dr. Loomis is charged with being his psychiatrist in the Smiths Grove Sanitarium. From here, Zombie makes the artistic decision to explore Michael’s incarceration and attempts at therapy by Loomis. Humanising ‘The Shape’ in a way that drew criticism from many; John Carpenter included. As Michael grows up, he becomes maniacally depressed with not being able to go home, develops an obsession with making and hiding behind masks; and eventually withdraws completely and becomes mute.

One day he snaps and kills a nurse, and with any semblance of her little boy gone, his mother takes her own life. As we then know all too well, fifteen years later Michael escapes from the sanitarium, returning to Haddonfield on Halloween night to embark on a stalking and slashing killing spree … as he begins searching for his now teenage baby sister Laurie (Scout Taylor-Compton). From here, Zombie creates a relatively faithful remake of the original, but in true Rob Zombie fashion; which means a shed load of blood, gore, sex, nudity, and foul language. Critics panned this remake when it released, but despite this, the combination of Zombie and Halloween would make over $80 million … turning a sizeable profit for all involved. KZ

4. // Halloween II (2009)

Rob Zombie didn’t have the best of times creating Halloween and working for a group of producers which included the notoriously difficult Weinstein brothers. But money talks, and the success of his movie at the box office meant he was in demand to helm a sequel. After initially refusing an offer to return, Zombie would eventually relinquish his stance with the understanding that he would be given complete creative control to produce a sequel on his terms. And with Halloween II the shackles were let loose, and Zombie was able to move beyond the story set out in Carpenter’s classic original.

Thematically, Zombie wanted to deeply explore the trauma and PTSD of Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton), making her the focal point of the story as she pieces together her life following the horrific events of the first film. He also wanted to create a movie that was more visceral, taking the violence inflicted by Michael Myers to whole new level … and it’s fair to say he succeeded! In the opening act of the movie, Zombie pays homage to the original Halloween II (1981), by setting a brutal action sequence in a hospital; as Michael comes for Laurie once more.

However, and frustratingly for some, this whole opening section of the movie turns out to be Laurie dreaming … it is in fact one year later, and Laurie now lives with Sheriff Brackett (Brad Douriff) and his daughter Annie (Danielle Harris) – who is also a survivor from a brutal Myers attack in the first film. We see Dr. Loomis as he pursues a successful career as an author, writing about his years spent working with Michael Myers. While ‘The Shape’ himself – whose body had never been found following Halloween – has been living as a nomad this last year … waiting for Halloween night, so he can return to bring carnage to Haddenfield.

Zombie once agains explores the vulnerabilities of the killer – for better or for worse depending on your view point – and includes fever-dream visions that he has of his mother and a white horse; his semblance of normality. In addition to this, Laurie’s dreams become increasingly dark and surreal, with this being the most ‘alternative’ entry in the Halloween cannon. The film absolutely split the fanbase (which extends far beyond that of Zombie’s own cohort) straight down middle. You either love Zombie’s Halloween II … or you hate it. And we aren’t afraid to admit that we’re firmly in the former camp. KZ

5. // The Lords of Salem (2012)

Another personal favourite of ours in the Zombie catalogue; The Lords of Salem is a dark and twisted tale of witchcraft and satanic rituals that doesn’t hold back in either tone or imagery. From the opening flashback scene of a coven of naked old hags dancing around a fire while cackling in unison and displaying their obedience to Satan (who then appears to them as a black goat) … you kind of know exactly what you’re in for with this one! In present day Salem, the film then introduces us to Heidi (played of course by Sheri Moon Zombie), a troubled recovering drug addict, and a local rock radio DJ who lives alone with her dog.

After a typical nights show with her two co-presenters, Heidi is sent a mysterious record in an antique wooden box. She first plays the record at home, and as her speakers emanate ominous sounding tribal percussion and ritualistic chanting, Zombie cuts back to the coven – a despicable group of witches who Heidi is now seemingly seeing in a vision. She next plays the record by – The Lords of Salem – on air, and it seems to have a hypnotic effect on the women of the town who are listening the broadcast … things are clearly about to get very strange!

In one creepy as hell scene, we see a decomposing witches corpse hanging from the wall in Heidi’s apartment; unseen to her but clearly watching her every move. While we are given the early impression that the interest her cooky landlady and her two sisters are showing in Heidi is not going to end well. Heidi begins to experience a succession of increasingly disturbing dreams and visions, all linked to the town’s violent history that descends her mind into a surreal nightmare.

The Lords of Salem is a distinct entry in Zombie’s filmography, as he pays homage to the likes of Mario Bava’s Black Sunday, Roger Corman’s classic Edgar Allen Poe run of films, and Hammer Horrors in his period sequences. While he also invokes feelings of David Lynch, Ken Russell, and Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby. The Lords of Salem brings together a fine supporting cast featuring genre legends such as Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead / The Beyond), Dee Wallace (The Howling / Cujo), and Meg Foster (They Live / Masters of the Universe); and well … it might just be Zombie’s bizarro masterpiece! KZ

6. // 31 (2016)

As unique and as good a film as it was, The Lords of Salem did not really make any money. And for his next movie, Zombie decided to make a return to the style and themes of the first two films he made his name with. 31 opens with a sadistic monologue by the despicable Doom-Head (Richard Brake); spoken to a captive priest with a performance which clearly takes inspiration from Brad Dourif in The Exorcist III (1990). We quickly learn this is a character that there is no reasoning with, a man who we also later learn likes to have sex while watching F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922).

Zombie sets 31 on October 31st in 1976, once again drawing on the grindhouse style and aesthetics of the 70s era. He leans heavily on the kind of depraved dark humour we saw in House of 1000 Corpses, only this time the overtly sexual side of Zombie’s screenwriting is ramped up to eleven as he introduces a motley cast of characters. To no surprise, Sherri Moon Zombie returns to lead a group of carnival workers travelling across the mid-west in a camper van. Zombie generally likes to rely on a close knit group of actors, and here we see Jeff Daniel Phillips (Halloween II / Lords of Salem) and Meg Foster (Lords of Salem) both join the film-maker once more.

We get to know the travellers in the first act as they shoot the shit in the camper van; but after they stop for gas in a quiet rural backwood, they are ambushed by a gang of mask wearing sicofants. Some of the travellers are murdered, while the rest are captured and taken to a dingy industrial warehouse where they are told they will be playing a game called 31 … and must survive twelve hours of being stalked by a group of murdering carnival savages. It is here that Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange / Zombie’s Halloween) makes a scene stealing appearance as Father Murderer – one of the sadistic game’s orchestrators,

31 is a Zombified version of the survival game genre, taking inspiration from the likes of Battle Royal, The Running Man and the like. But Hunger Games this isn’t, and the Murder World arena is littered with Nazi imagery, a sadistic Hitler-esq dwarf, demented chainsaw wielding clowns, creepy carnivals, and dingy decaying landscapes. The Saw and Hostel films also clearly provided inspiration for Zombie while he was writing this one … and 31 is just about one of the most depraved and gory Gonzo Action-Horror flicks you are ever likely to see. KZ

7. // 3 From Hell (2019)

It had been a wild ride for Zombie’s film-making career since he burst onto the scene with House of 1000 Corpses in 2003; before continuing the story of the Firefly family in The Devils Rejects (2005). And after maintaining his life as a Rock Star, making two Halloween movies, The Lords of Salem (2013) and 31 (2016), he decided it was time to return to his roots and complete his Firefly trilogy with 3 From Hell. Picking up a decade following the events of The Devils Rejects, the Firefly family have received a cult-like status, and we meet an ageing Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) being interviewed on death row prior to his execution by lethal injection.

Sid Haig was due to have a larger part in the film, but his ill health – which is clear to see in the one scene he recorded – dictated the script to be rewritten; and the cult genre actor would sadly die shortly after the movie released. We next reunite with the Charles Manson esq Otis (Bill Moseley), before he is sprung out of prison by his half brother Foxy (Richard Brake). The pair put together a plan to free an increasingly unhinged Baby (Sherri Moon Zombie), who has been refused parole and is having a tough time on the inside. Otis and Foxy kidnap the prison warden’s family and friends, forcing him to help break their sister free.

Once she is freed, the fugitives decide to head down to Mexico. They end up holed up in the hotel of a small town during the Day of the Dead festival celebrations, where Otis and Baby begin to get philosophical about their plight before heading out on the town to get “fucked up!” Zombie shows a human side to the trio as they party in a bar, with some inventive kaleidoscopic shot photography; but the next morning the past comes to catch up with the three murderers … and Zombie delivers one final action packed bullet-laden showdown for the Firefly family.

3 From Hell does feel a little unnecessary at this point in time, and is largely a retread of The Devils Rejects. The Firefly story may have been best served as a trilogy were this made ten years earlier and immediately after The Devils Rejects. But Zombie of course was tied up with Halloween and this is how things turned out. This film is one perhaps for diehard Zombie fans only; there is little crossover appeal and it doesn’t really work as a standalone picture. And while there maybe weren’t too many people out there calling for a third Firefly instalment, for Zombie completists … this one is fine enough. KZ

8. // The Munsters (2022)

Although his association with reviving this beloved television series from the 1960s had long been rumoured; Rob Zombie making The Munsters for Universal Studios still throws something of a curve ball in his reputation built out of making gross-out extreme Horror. It’s not that the trademark aesthetic Zombie has crafted for himself during his career doesn’t fit with a colourful version of The Munsters; but for the most part, the campy Halloween humour really just doesn’t land with this one. Both in the script, and the sound design.

Sherri Moon Zombie plays Lilly, who’s vampire father The Count (Daniel Roebuck) is trying to marry her off into money. Following a disastrous date with Orlock (Daniel Brake) – a nice nod to his Nosferatu scene in 31 – she is despondent in love. However, the Frankenstein-esq Dr. Wolfgang (also played by Richard Brake) is working on creating life by placing the brain of a genius into the body of a perfect specimen. Herman Munster (Jeff Daniel Phillips) is born, and although he doesn’t quite turn out as planned due to a mix up in the brain department … he will prove to be the man of Lilly’s dreams.

After a short courtship set to the background of them singing ‘I Got You Babe,’ Lilly and her “Kookie Bear” plan to get married … much to the displeasure of her father, who just doesn’t like Herman. However, get married they do, and after an eventful honeymoon in Paris, the newlyweds are forced to uproot from their Transylvanian home – with The Count – after Herman loses their castle in a dim-witted business deal. Lured by the prospect of making it in show-biz, the family move to California.

The Munsters has the colour palette of a Tim Burton film on acid, and visually Zombie has created something that is pleasant on the eye as he throws a never ending succession of vibrant purples and greens at the screen. But the script, oh my the script on this one, needed a similar level of passion that just isn’t there. When compared to the excellent Addams Family films of the 90s, well, it just doesn’t really. It is a stylistic car crash … BUT … it is what it is; Rob Zombie doing The Munsters. And while comedy may not be his forte … it certainly is nothing if not unique. KZ

Words By Mark T. Bates