Why Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses Took Years to Get Released
House of 1000 Corpses, the directorial debut of Rob Zombie, is a cult classic now, but the film met unexpected adversity in trying to get released. Before becoming a filmmaker, Zombie had of course already been quite famous for his musical career, first as the frontman for the rock group White Zombie and then as a solo act. He continues to make new music and tour today, but his films have only helped to increase his following.
Zombie has so far written and directed seven live-action films, all in the horror genre. That's not entirely surprising, as Zombie is a huge fan of horror, and the genre has been and continues to be a big influence on his music and stage persona. Zombie's most beloved directorial projects have involved the Firefly Family, a group of redneck serial killers that debuted in 2003's House of 1000 Corpses, returned in 2005's The Devil's Rejects, and most recently starred in 2019's 3 From Hell.
House of 1000 Corpses introduced the world to eventual horror icons Otis (Bill Moseley), Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie), and Captain Spaulding (the late Sid Haig), and marked a grand start to Zombie's horror movie resume. However, it didn't at all have an easy road to getting released.
House of 1000 Corpses completed filming in 2000, and didn't arrive in theaters until spring 2003. That's quite a long gestation period, especially for something that was hardly a big budget blockbuster. Despite Rob Zombie's insistence that he told Universal exactly what type of grindhouse-style, hardcore horror film they would be getting when they agreed to distribute House of 1000 Corpses, the studio balked at the finished product, and feared it would receive the dreaded NC-17 rating. Instead of simply demanding the film be toned down, Universal decided not to release it at all.
After a few months on Universal's shelf, Zombie bought the rights to House of 1000 Corpses back, and went on the hunt for a new distributor. He landed at MGM, which planned to release the film in October 2002. Unfortunately, Zombie had a falling out with MGM, and they too decided to drop the movie. Zombie toyed with releasing House of 1000 Corpses independently, but eventually ended up at Lionsgate, who finally released the film. However, Zombie did end up having to edit it down to earn an R rating from the MPAA. Still, those who've seen it can attest that the R-rated cut is still very intense, foul-mouthed, and violent. Sadly, Zombie's director's cut has yet to surface.