Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

House of 1000 Corpses Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 2, 2019

Note: This film is also available as part of Two From Hell.

Rob Zombie has had the good fortune to succeed as both a musician and a filmmaker, though in the case of both media in which he has excelled, his efforts might be best thought of as “cult” items. That cult is arguably more numerous in terms of Zombie’s music career, one that has brought him both Grammy nominations and pretty outstanding sales at times. Zombie’s efforts as a would be auteur haven’t exactly been met with huge critical acclaim, and at times have not generated a ton of business at the box office, and in fact in the case of House of 1000 Corpses, encountered some difficulties at the studio level along the way. Both House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects received releases in the United States several years ago courtesy of Lionsgate, and Umbrella Entertainment has gathered both films together for this release aimed at the Australian market.

As stated above, House of 1000 Corpses had a domestic United States release several years ago courtesy of Lionsgate. Those wanting a plot summary are encouraged to read my colleague Martin Liebman's House of 1000 Corpses Blu-ray review of that Lionsgate version. Marty's review is also a good resource for screenshot comparison. In just the latest example of what I call "different reviewers, different opinions", my score for the overall film reflects my somewhat less positive reaction compared to Marty's.

House of 1000 Corpses Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

House of 1000 Corpses is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment with an VC-1 encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The old style "Lions Gate" logo in conjunction with the now outdated audio codec (see below) this release sports makes me think this is probably the same master that Lionsgate itself released several years ago for the United States market, but as Marty discussed in his review of that release, this transfer is surprisingly vibrant in this presentation. Zombie's prevalent use of both reds and blues pops quite impressively throughout. Detail levels are somewhat variable, but in many of the close-ups are excellent, to the point that you can almost make out individual flakes of powder adorning Sid Haig's face. The film is stuffed with archival video and tweaks to the contemporary shot footage, all of which combines to make for an intentionally heterogeneous appearance that can be fairly rough looking at times.

House of 1000 Corpses Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

House of 1000 Corpses sports the same DTS-HD HR 7.1 track that was on the American Lionsgate release. This forerunner of "modern day" DTS-HD Master Audio tracks gets the job done rather well, all things considering, though the low end might have had a bit more oomph, especially considering the head banging music that is part of the offering. Surround activity is notable throughout the presentation, especially once the mayhem gets really rolling. Dialogue is generally presented cleanly and clearly, though sometimes the cacophony of what's going on around it can tend to mask individual lines.

House of 1000 Corpses Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Rob Zombie


• Making Of (720p; 4:15)


• Casting Footage (720p; 2:07)


• Rehearsal Footage (720p; 6:54)


• Cast & Crew Interviews (1080i; 15:20)


• Interview with William Bassett (1080p; 20:31)


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:43)

House of 1000 Corpses Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you've ever wanted to see a film featuring the likes of Karen Black, Chris Hardwick, Michael J. Pollard and Sid Haig (to name but a few), this is your chance. House of 1000 Corpses is a kind of crazy quilt of horror tropes, but it's effectively gory and kind of goofily humorous a lot of the time, too. Technical merits are generally solid, and at least for those who like lots of carnage, House of 1000 Corpses comes Recommended.