House of 1000 Corpses
House of 1000 Corpses is a 2003 American exploitation horror film written, co-scored and directed by Rob Zombie in his directorial debut. The film stars Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon, and Karen Black as members of the Firefly family. Set on Halloween, the film sees the Firefly family torturing and mutilating a group of teenagers who are traveling across the country writing a book. The film explores a number of genres, and features elements of the supernatural. Zombie cited American horror films "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" (1974) and "The Hills Have Eyes" (1977) as influences on "House of 1000 Corpses", as well as other films released during the 1970s.
The Corpse
The script was originally known as "The Velvet House" and was based on the film "Les Diaboliques". In the US it was released as Crucible of Horror. The money was raised from distributors London-Cannon Films. Walter Eastwood's son and daughter were played by actor Michael Gough's real life son and daughter-in-law. So husband and wife played brother and sister on screen. The film was featured in Season 2 Episode 13 of the late night TV show "Elvira's Movie Macabre".After it's brief theatrical runs in the UK and US, the film has had sporadic official US VHS releases and several bootleg DVD releases. The 1st VHS release came from Goodtimes in 1987, utilizing a battered and cut down 16mm print with the US "Crucible of Horror" title. This release was unlicensed, as it was presumed the title had fallen into public domain by that time. As MGM had assumed The Cannon Group catalog after Crédit Lyonnais took full control from Pathé Communications, MGM/UA Home Video put out an officially licensed release in 1993 and reissued in 1998, utilizing a transfer made from an original film element with the US title. Despite being in a cropped 1.33:1 ratio, this release was considered the best available version to date and was the source for DVD releases put out by Trinty Home Entertainment and bootleg outfit Mr. Fat W Video.