Movie: House of 1000 Corpses

 

Production Year: 2003

 

Tubi Provided Summary: When searching the backwoods of Texas for urban legends of serial killers, two teenage couples end up the prisoners of a family of killers.

 

Film Can Be Accessed At: https://tubitv.com/movies/348937/house-of-1-000-corpses?start=true

 

Does This Movie Pass The Bechdel Test: Yes

 

Character Analysis:

  • Captain Spaulding: Loony, conventionally set up to be villain, mood oscillates quickly, cares deep down, mix of feminine and masculine traits
  • Otis: Cult leader, dominant, cold, uncaring, masculine
  • Baby: Hysterical, femme fatal, crazy, ditzy, high pitched voice and very sexualized, feminine
  • Mother Firefly: Highly sexualized, femme fatal, crazy, feminine
  • Jerry: Overly performative in his masculinity, pushy, highly inappropriate, stereotypical teenage boy, masculine
  • Denise: Intelligent, hysterical, crumbles under pressure, too trusting, strong-willed, mix of masculine and feminine traits
  • Mary: Little character development, catty with Baby, feminine
  • Bill: Very pushy, foreword, insensitive, easily seduced by Baby, masculine
  • Steve: Little character development, jumpy, masculine
  • Deputy Wydell: Intelligent, quiet, masculine
  • Tiny: No personality or character development aside from being deformed and disabled
  • Rufus: No character development, quiet, masculine
  • Grandpa Hugo: Crazy, hysterical, very vulgar, masculine
  • Don: Caring father of Denise, Feminine

Death Analysis

  • Bill: First to die, extended death scene, mutilated for art, killed by Otis
  • Deputy Wydell: Second to die, quick death scene, shot in the head, killed by Mother Firefly
  • Don: Third to die, quick death scene, shot to death, killed by Otis
  • Steve: Fourth to die, extended death scene, shot in the head with much anticipation, killed by Otis
  • Mary: Fifth to die, moderate death scene, tackled and stabbed to death, killed by Baby
  • Jerry: Sixth to die, moderate death scene, vivisected, killed by Dr. Satan

 

Survival Analysis

  • Otis
  • Baby
  • Mother Firefly
  • Tiny
  • Rufus
  • Grandpa Hugo

 

Final Statistics:

Character Sex Ratio: 4 Females: 10 Males

Character Survivor Ratio: 2 Females: 4 Males (not including ambiguous characters)

Character Death Ratio: 25% of Females to 50% of Males (not including ambiguous characters)

 

Final Takeaways: 

House of 1000 Corpses is a largely male-dominated film. The number of male characters more than doubles female with pursuers of violence and leaders often being the male cast members as well. Additionally, the female characters are often highly sexualized, use their sex appeal to their advantage, and are more catty or personal with their attacks. Female victims often are seen running from male pursuers and have little to no character development.

Aside from these observations, House of 1000 Corpses is surprisingly progressive for the horror genre. Male deaths vastly outnumber female deaths, and while this could be attributed to the gender disparity in the cast, the male deaths are highly gruesome compared to female deaths as well. Also, the film passes the Bechdel test, something slasher films do not often do. Because of this, House of 1000 corpses, while not a strikingly good film by any stretch, makes for an interestingly progressive watch. 

Shared by: Ariana Nichols
Image Credit: Wikipedia