Thoughts on Rob Zombie

[RJ Bland]

Hey all

Doing a piece on my site about Rob Zombie. Thought I might include a few opinions from other horror fans on the page. I know he tends to divide opinion!
If anyone wants to contribute I'd be grateful :)

[Sentinel65]

His movies are nothing groundbreaking, but nevertheless entertaining. House of 1000 Corpses was a good enough throwback to the '70s style exploitation films. The Devils Rejects was much better to me, and had some more intelligence. It explored the idea of the antihero.

[Posher778]

His music is ok, I guess. Hellbilly Deluxe had a few good hits, but he's just another guy.

I absolutely hate House of 1000 Corpses AND The Devil's Rejects. They're boring, pointless, and are completely unscary (or even shocking).

His remake of Halloween was ok, I liked seeing Michael as a hulking monster instead of the slim figure, although the original is much more effective (stealth vs muscle), but the idea that Michael became evil because of child abuse and neglect is retarded. I usually just watch the second half and ignore the flashback bullshit.


Oddly enough, as stupid as it was, I liked Halloween 2 quite a bit.

[wizard of gore]

he has one or two songs i like,otherwise his music is shit.
his movies have been pretty good so far apart from halloween 2

[RJ Bland]

Cool - some interesting views there
Keep them coming people!

[neverending]

Without a doubt, Rob Zombie knows what horror as a genre is all about. He's educated in the field. The fact he named his band after one of the most iconic films from the classic era is telling.

His first film was an homage not just to classic horror films, but to the idea of horror in America. The tradition of the backwoods roadside horror attraction was used to great effect, as was the perverse look at the nature of the American family. There was a bit of a scattershot approach, but his influences were wide and varied, and that kept things interested.

It seems most fans prefer Devil's Rejects, but I don't. It's certainly a more focused, cohesive film, but I missed the insane storyline of the first.

His Halloween films I just plain HATE. I don't like his spin on the characters or the storyline at all. I don't think they add anything interesting.

In the future, I'd prefer to see him stick with original projects. I'm glad the proposed "reimagining" of The Blob fell through. I guess at this point his films are a mixed bag for me. I'm looking forward to what he does next.

[Dara]

His music is dire and all sounds the same.I dont mind House of a thousand corpses but cannot abide Sheri Moons infantile screeching and giggles~although I guess youre not supposed to like her!.
Id love for him to do a new version of Spider baby, as I think he'd put his own unique twist on it .Other than that he slips under the radar for me

[neverending]

Oh, good grief- that's one of the most vile ideas I've ever heard.

[roshiq]

Why another Spider Baby? I thought Spider Baby was one of the major films that influenced him to make HO1TC.

[ImmortalSlasher]

I thought there was a topic on this before. I like his music. At least a few of his songs. His movies I don't like that much. He is a horror fan but wants to put his spin on stuff too much I think. I barely remember House of 1000 Corpses. I do know that I didn't like it. The Devil's Rejects I passed on because it was a sequel. Even though I heard it was better. Halloween sucked. No real director should even attempt to remake one of the best horror movies ever. They just shouldn't. I might watch Halloween 2 one day but I doubt it. The way Halloween ended killed the possibility of a sequel. His best is probably the Werewolf Women of the SS short film in Grindhouse. In a way, both Eli Roth and Zombie did their best work for Tarantino and Rodriguez.

[realdealblues]

Like others I like 1 or 2 of his songs.

House Of A Thousand Corpses to me was let me rip off Tobe Hooper. Not pay homage too, but just plain rip him off and add nothing of my own.

The Devil's Rejects was him trying to do his own thing and pay homage to the exploitation films of yesteryear. It was ok in that respect.

The only thing I liked about Halloween was the girl who played Laurie. I thought she did a good job.

Halloween 2 was a total disaster and is one of the biggest wastes of time I have experienced.

I agree with Immortal Slasher in that Werewolf Women Of The SS was probably the coolest thing he has done. If you're going to go exploitation in this decade, go WAY out there with Werewolves, Nazi's and Fu Manchu.

[Dara]

Why another Spider Baby? I thought Spider Baby was one of the major films that influenced him to make HO1TC.I want to see how he'd spoil it trying to put a spin on it.

[Atraxi]

I like some of his music and really like the passion that he has for the horror genre, however I don't like his movies. I can't say whether or not they're bad because it's more that I just don't like the kind of movies that he makes and I've never watched his adaptations of the Halloween franchise. Again, I really like his passion, the fun he has with the genre and think he seems like a really cool guy overall but when it comes to his movies, they're just not really what I'm into.

[ferretchucker]

He has his own style and he sticks to it - it worked for his original films, but it didn't work for a remake. Zombie does trashy visual horror whilst Halloween was very much suspense-terror based and it just didn't work. Not a bad musician, not REALLY a bad film maker. He's mainly disliked because of a bad call.

[fortunato]

Without a doubt, Rob Zombie knows what horror as a genre is all about. He's educated in the field. The fact he named his band after one of the most iconic films from the classic era is telling.

His first film was an homage not just to classic horror films, but to the idea of horror in America. The tradition of the backwoods roadside horror attraction was used to great effect, as was the perverse look at the nature of the American family. There was a bit of a scattershot approach, but his influences were wide and varied, and that kept things interested.

It seems most fans prefer Devil's Rejects, but I don't. It's certainly a more focused, cohesive film, but I missed the insane storyline of the first.

His Halloween films I just plain HATE. I don't like his spin on the characters or the storyline at all. I don't think they add anything interesting.

In the future, I'd prefer to see him stick with original projects. I'm glad the proposed "reimagining" of The Blob fell through. I guess at this point his films are a mixed bag for me. I'm looking forward to what he does next.

Yeah, I'm basically totally with NE. Really really enjoyed his first two films as going-all-out everything-in-a-blender homages to decades of horror cinema.
The Halloween remakes were total garbage (or at least the first; I never bothered with the second).
Looking forward to Lords of Salem, with it being an original project. I think he'll do well with a dig on the hard rock horror films of the 80s, which is what the movie sounds like.

[wizard of gore]

i actually think if the blob didn't fall through it could have been really good,its already been remade and the remake was better that the original IMO.

[RJ Bland]

Cheers guys, the overriding consensus seems to be that some of you liked his first two films but pretty much everyone is in agreement that his take on Halloween was a failure. I'll put some of these views on the site. Thanks again.

[VincentBateman]

Rob Zombie should have not touched the Halloween franchise.

[Straker]

I thought House of 1000 corpses was decent, but to be honest I kinda find the whole over- acting shtick pretty unconvincing. You can throw as much fake blood and violence at me as you want, but asking me to sit through Sheri Moon trying to act is a step too far. Here's a clue Rob, noone else is hiring her....

I quite liked some of the shots in Devil's Rejects and we got a glimpse of how to act from Geoffrey Lewis, so it wasn't all bad I guess. I'm not in a rush to watch the rest of his flicks though.

[Anthropophagus]

Rob Zombie,one of the most over rated hacks in the industry.Both House and Devils where shite beyond belief,the Halloween remake was ok,nothing great and certainly not as good as the original.

I dont listen to his music and if it is anything like his movies than i will stay well clear.

Horror does not need people like this.Just because he injects bad language in every sentence of every scene does not make a great flic.Stick to your music Zombie and leave the horror to someone who gives it the justice it deserves.

[Atraxi]

I appreciate that he makes horror movies because he genuinely loves the genre and has fun doing it, not because he feels that if he makes just any horror movie, horror fans will throw money at it and that's how I feel some directors/writers are.

[ImmortalSlasher]

One of the best things I heard Rob Zombie say was on that "Slasher Going to Pieces" special. At least I think it was on there. He said someone not signing something for a fan is the most a$$hole like thing to do. So I guess someone didn't sign something for him and he is a horror fan. But some fans do think they can make a better classic movie just because they are fans. It is extremely rare to see a director pull this off. Usually they create a classic movie or TV show before remaking, rebooting, making a sequel, etc. And even then it is still rare.

[Sentinel65]

I appreciate that he makes horror movies because he genuinely loves the genre and has fun doing it, not because he feels that if he makes just any horror movie, horror fans will throw money at it and that's how I feel some directors/writers are.
Same here. His movie collection is the largest I've seen, his house is literally filled with horror posters. Whether you like his movies or not you can't deny that he greatly supports the genre.

[ImmortalSlasher]

Same here. His movie collection is the largest I've seen, his house is literally filled with horror posters. Whether you like his movies or not you can't deny that he greatly supports the genre.

When/where did he show his horror poster and movie collection?

[Sentinel65]

Cheers guys, the overriding consensus seems to be that some of you liked his first two films but pretty much everyone is in agreement that his take on Halloween was a failure. I'll put some of these views on the site. Thanks again.
http://www.youvegotredonyou.co.uk/#/rob-zombie/4569092564
Nice page man, thanks for letting us be part of it.

[Sentinel65]

When/where did he show his horror poster and movie collection?
He was on MTV Cribs.

[ImmortalSlasher]

He was on MTV Cribs.

Oh. I thought it was on one of the DVD bonus features. I'll check youtube. I never really watched MTV.

[Sentinel65]

Oh. I thought it was on one of the DVD bonus features. I'll check youtube. I never really watched MTV.
http://www.mtv.co.uk/shows/cribs/episode/cribs-rob-zombie
This is where I watched the clip. I never really watch MTV, if I do it surely isn't the current stuff. I just heard he was on it and found this.

[RJ Bland]

Cheers Sentinel65, much appreciated.
Thanks to everyone else who contributed too.
:)

[ImmortalSlasher]

http://www.mtv.co.uk/shows/cribs/episode/cribs-rob-zombie
This is where I watched the clip. I never really watch MTV, if I do it surely isn't the current stuff. I just heard he was on it and found this.

After watching Zombie's house it's even more shocking and disappointing that he could somehow make that crappy Halloween remake. Unless the house was setup around the time of the remake to help promote the film. The guy has a huge VHS, Laser Disc, DVD, and I assume Blu-ray collection going by his surround sound setup. Yet somehow he makes one of the worst remakes/reboots of a classic horror film. He even has a wife who lives there and I would assume likes horror yet she doesn't stop him but aides him in making that crap movie. To make things worse, Zombie has all those classic horror movie posters. Yet he couldn't influence the studio to make a classic poster for his Halloween movies. A true disappointment since the guy is a bigger horror fan than I ever thought.

[InfernusChickx]

I have many friends who love his music etc....I like it but don't listen to it much. As for his movies...I liked the first one House of a Thousand Corpses, but not so much the Devil's Rejects x

[roshiq]

http://www.youvegotredonyou.co.uk/#/rob-zombie/4569092564
Nice page man, thanks for letting us be part of it.

Just checked out your site, RJ. Pretty cool site. Liked the interview of Oriol Paulo.