Rated: 2 out of 5

Synopsis: Heavy-metal singer Rob Zombie’s brilliant directorial debut “House of 1000 Corpses” is an acid-drenched shock-fest that attempted to restore horror films to gory glory after the genre was effectively ruined by “Scream” and its copycats in the mid 1990s. “Corpses” was almost universally panned by critics and filmgoers because of Zombie’s unconventional approach to filmmaking, over-the-top violence and bizarre characters.

Zombie’s uncompromising vision, however, has stood the test of time, and during the past few years the movie has become the very definition of a cult classic.

Featurettes: The brief behind-the-scenes featurette doesn’t go into enough depth to be of any real substance. A closer look at the special effects, makeup and set pieces would have been a particularly welcome addition. Additionally, a film with such unique visual presentation certainly deserves a featurette devoted to cinematography.

Deleted Scenes: Unfortunately, there are no deleted scenes. It would have been interesting to see what Zombie was forced to leave on the cutting room floor in comparison to some of the grotesque scenes of the theatrical release.

Commentary: Zombie’s commentary on the disc is both hilarious and insightful. The director takes time to detail what was going on in his mind during the filming, cracking plenty of wise-ass comments along the way. This look into Zombie’s twisted take on horror cinema mixed with his dry sense of humor is easily the disc’s best special feature.

Other: Audition and rehearsal footage, along with some brief interviews, trailers and a stills gallery don’t add much to the overall package. One of the film’s best features, however, is the interactive main menu featuring Sid Haig as the murderous Captain Spaulding. The demented clown berates viewers with a variety of crude insults until they select an option from the menu.

The Bottom Line: What “House of 1000 Corpses” lacks in special features, it makes up for in demented fun. The barrage of crude humor, sickening violence and visuals that could have only been induced by a truckload of bad drugs makes Zombie’s horror opus another Halloween essential.

– Joshua Haun