(Review) HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES 20TH Anniversary Edition (Best Buy Steelcase Exclusive) Is It Worth Upgrading Or Not?

Posted on April 17, 2023 by chrishammond54 in Blu-Ray Releases // 0 Comments

By: Chris Hammond

Twenty years have passed since Rob Zombie made the jump from music and directing music videos to his first feature film. Now fans can rediscover HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES in Lionsgate’s 20th-anniversary edition Blu-Ray release.

The Best Buy exclusive version of HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES comes housed in an outstanding steel case that features new artwork (on the inside and outside of the case) by artist Vance Kelly. The Best Buy exclusive also comes in a slipcover to protect the case. Just like the premium edition, there are two discs and a complimentary digital copy of the film.

The plot is simple and really isn’t groundbreaking:
“Two young couples traveling across the backwoods of Texas searching for urban legends of murder end up as prisoners of a bizarre and sadistic backwater family of serial killers”. -imdb.com

Film

The film explodes on the screen with characters that are so original that even some of the actors didn’t fully realize them during the included interviews in this set. Heck, actor Irwin Keyes who plays “Ravelli” refers to Sid Haig’s character as Kernel or the kernel (hopefully as production went on someone told him it was “Captain”, not Kernel).

Presented in 16×9 (1.85:1), the picture quality is a step up from the DVD and original Blu-ray release from 2010. The colors are vibrant and really jump off the screen in all their blood-soaked goriness. The film still has the same 88-minute runtime. I had hoped that they may be able to add some of the footage that was cut, but it doesn’t take away from this new set at all.

Although the sound options available on this set are the same as on the original Blu-Ray release (English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and English 5.1 Dolby Surround EX). They both really pop, but there are many benefits to the 7.1 DTS-HD version. personally, it brings a more cinematic experience to the film, which is one I never had a chance to see in theaters.

Extras

Some of the extras on these discs include:

Disc 1

Director Commentary
Making-of Featurette
Casting Footage
Rehearsal Footage
Cast and Crew Interviews
Theatrical Trailer

Disc 2

Cast & Director Interviews
Behind the Scenes
Teaser Trailer

Disc One features much of the same extra footage as the original releases, and Disc 2 has new, never-before-seen bonus content such as interviews with cast/crew, and VFX behind-the-scenes content.

The Rob Zombie interview footage still shows a very hopeful first-time director in the midst of his 25-day shoot. Universal is still mentioned in some of the footage also. He also wears a really inappropriate t-shirt, which Sherrie Moon Zombie comments on and makes a quip to the reporter about.

There are a ton of interesting extras for fans to dig through, which is sure to show the inner workings of how films are made, especially a Zombie film.

Verdict

So is the new 20th anniversary release a welcome and needed one for horror fans, in my opinion, you bet your ass it is. It offers a nice selection of never before seen interviews and behind-the-scenes material that are sure to please fans of Zombie and the film. The picture quality of the film on these discs is great, not 4k great, but worth the upgrade.

Get a copy of the 20th-anniversary edition of HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES out now at all retailers (Bestbuy version here).