HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES – Another one that fell from my shelf and into my hand after I noticed it getting a few plays from labbers recently… been around fifteen years since I watched my old DVD, so I went for it. I like the way it shifts from conventional, albeit carnivalesque backwoods mayhem to, by its final stages, something that hints at what Rob Zombie would probably like to think of as ‘his vision’. It’s not bad as visions go, a sort-of ghost-ride world peopled by undead cybernetic surgeons and the like, and rounds out what could’ve been just another B-movie with something a bit hallucinogenic. The nasty ‘Devil’s Rejects’ may prove to be peak Zombie in the end, although I prefer it when he does the weirder stuff, or the quieter - ‘Lords Of Salem’ is my favourite of his. As for ‘House of 1000 Corpses’, its loving dollop of gaudy and occasionally cruel grotesque still manages to raise a curdled smile (along with leaving me feeling misty eyed and frankly a bit old).
COLOR ME BLOOD RED – Speaking of old times… when did I last watch some HG? I hate this forty something nostalgia for stuff I thought I’d processed by my late teens, but… well, I can’t hate it that much, just look at my postings. Anyway, CMBR is not really full throttle Lewis, but it does mesmerise with its discombobulating set-ups, bad camera angles and dramatic hysterics. It’s basically Lewis’ version of ‘A Bucket of Blood’ ie “imagine the gore-related potential of the artistic process”… etc. I like it because of the intestine-milking scene, but equally because of those rad beatniks… daddio…
WRONG TURN – A solid enough remake that kept me entertained, although the one real impression I took away came through its attempt to humanise its ‘monstrous clan of outcasts’ beyond the usual cannibalistic tunnel dwelling archetype. Even so, how often do we see the ‘who are the real murderous lowlifes’-type coin being flipped…? So often it’s never really landed. ‘Wrong Turn’ basically just does that, although it does manage to insert a semi-medieval forest city into its socially conscious narrative. As for stylistics, atmosphere, graphic horror, it’s very much in line with ‘the now’. An alright diversion, just don’t expect it to lead you to anywhere amazing.
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