History of Horror S02 E01: Things we learned from Houses of Hell
Sinister
This Scott Derrickson film has its roots in Psycho, The Haunting and The Beyond with the idea that a simple, normal house can be filled with unimaginable horrors.
When a fading true crime novelist moves his family into a “murder house” without telling them, he becomes embroiled in a mystery that leads him to discover a gruesome series of killings by children who are possessed by the evil spirit of Bughuul.
Interesting Trivia:
- David Lynch’s Lost Highway is the inspiration for the 8 mm snuff films that Ethan Hawke’s character finds in his house.
- Apparently, Derrickson liked the idea of Lynch’s Mystery Man (Robert Blake) shooting grainy video footage of the inside of Fred (Bill Pullman) and Renee Madison’s (Patricia Arquette) Hollywood Hills home without their knowledge.
House of 1000 Corpses
Rob Zombie willingly admits that House of 1000 Corpses is directly influenced by Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He wanted to meld the goriness of that feature with the over-the-top performances in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
What We Learned:
- Bill Moseley who played Otis in the film revealed that Zombie wrote his character as a bad a**.
- Unsure if he could measure up, he found his stride in the “Run, Rabbit, Run” scene. This is where he had his epiphany that the trick to playing crazy in films is believing that you are the only sane character.