While backing up my iTunes library, I remembered that I had missed "Living Dead Girl" by Rob Zombie by the time I got to the 'S' section. I knew the 'L' section was missing something. I had first heard the song when I watched Bride of Chucky, the fourth entry in the Child's Play series, a while back. It played throughout the opening credits. It didn't take long for me to explore more into Rob Zombie's career; music wasn't his only contribution to the horror genre.
Back when Fear Net was still on Comcast's On Demand, I would spend nights reaping the free movies they had. There was one night, I think I was in eighth grade when I watched House of 1000 Corpses (2003), Zombie's first directorial debut. I watched it a couple more times over the years. My opinion of it didn't seem to change in the slightest. It wasn't a bad movie; in a nutshell it was really a mediocre torture porn. It primarily focused on a family of serial killers living in the backwoods torture and kill a group of traveling teenagers. The movie cast included Bill Mosely, Sid Haig, and Sheri Moon Zombie (Rob Zombie's wife) all of whom would later go on to be regulars in his films. For the young age when I first saw it, I was a bit shocked more then scared because of all the sadistic torture scenes. Now, I look back at it with somewhat more of a positive outlook. At least it didn't go to overboard and it was something original. Think about it, not too many horror films in the millennium are original, its usually remakes and sequels.
Speaking of which, a sequel was released two years later; The Devil's Rejects (2005). This one received much more praise then the original, in fact it was far better. It follows three members of the Firefly family as they run from the law. After all they're wanted for over 1000 counts of murder. It falls into more of the crime genre, but I still managed to enjoy it. Bill Mosely and Sid Haig's performances placed them among the famed actors in the horror genre, like Kane Hodder who played Jason Voorhees. There was even a petition to have Mosely nominated for an Oscar because of his performance. It was an instance where the sequel was better then the original.
Rob Zombie would go under my radar until 2007, where he directed a remake of John Carpenter's Halloween, one of the prime slasher films in horror history. Now, I didn't see it until it was out on DVD. The movie itself was really more of a tribute to the original; the Halloween theme plays (far too much if you ask me), scenes from Carpenter's version are remade verbatim, and not a whole lot is changed. The way I saw it, it was really Zombie waving a flag around while yelling, "Hey! Hey! I just got the rights to Halloween!" It did offer more of an exploration of Michael Myer's (the killer) origin through a lengthy opening. John Carpenter's version had Myers more in the role of an entity/demonic presence, that gave the film charm and a theme. Now, Zombie tries to make him more human and relatable, not the best thing to do to the antagonists from a horror film.
Like the original Halloween, Rob Zombie's also got a sequel; Halloween II (2009). I saw this while it was in theaters with my dad since the first one kind of fascinated me. All the other slashers were getting reboots at this time like Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Halloween II, I kind of like to ignore it like its the plague. The main focus is again Michael Myer's mission to kill Laurie Strode, but this time it gives much more insight on why. Apparently Myers is acting on his dead mother's will, who he sees throughout the movie, from the afterlife I guess. In the Zombie version, Michael never killed his mother like in the original. Instead she committed suicide while he was in the asylum. Laurie is established as his younger sister (something that actually did happen in the original series) and its sad that the entirety of the Myers family must die. There wasn't a whole lot appeal to this movie, if anything it really wasn't necessary. The original Halloween II was required because the first one ended in a cliff hanger, it was necessary to continue the story. Zombie's is almost the same as the first, its just Michael trying to kill Laurie again. Carpenter's sequel took place in a hospital right after the first one and had a new atmosphere. The newer one never really changed setting. I do remember that not too many people left the theater happy when I went with my dad.
The same year he directed a direct to DVD animated movie for adults, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto. I've only seen bits and pieces, but it is very funny and references horror films throughout. For now, I've kind of jumped off the Rob Zombie bandwagon. I know that in 2013, he directed Lords of Salem (which I haven't seen) and in 2016, a movie called 31 will be released. 31 really does sound interesting. It focuses around the dark carnival theme with demented clowns, that really appeals to me, so I might end up seeing it in theaters when it comes out.
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