Zombie Camp - The Many Faces of Rob Zombie Fans
For those just joining us: I, Horror Department host Todd Ravenface, interviewed Rob Zombie last night for our latest episode.
We've been discussing the movie Halloween here, but this is where we'll talk about the man behind it.
I had my own thoughts on Rob Zombie before the interview was even a possibility, and discussions with people I know and reading articles about him show there seem to be roughly four camps. Careful, they range from blind worship to green-faced hatred.
The mottoes of those camps are:
He's totally cool-looking, and I like his music, so of course he should be making movies. He's introducing me to a lot of stuff for the first time.
He's "one of us" getting a chance at the big time. A fan getting to make movies. I like the same things he likes, and I would do what he's doing if I had the opportunity. He's always been unafraid to wear his influences on his sleeve, bravely promoting what he thinks is cool and unashamedly emulating it. I trust him because he's honest.
He fits into what those clueless Hollywood-types think of as "alternative," so he's the go-to guy for projects they don't know what else to do with. He doesn't deserve these opportunities. Plus, I can't name any of his alleged songs. His stuff is ok, but they should get a proven guy to do the projects he's been given.
Coasting on a reputation earned when music and culture weren't sure which direction to go in (the post-grunge era) he rips everything off and makes weaker, diluted versions of the movies he claims to worship. A better show of appreciation would have been to leave them alone. His movies are insulting.
For my own thoughts, take the leap.
My tent is in the camp that shows appreciation for his ability to work within the system to work on whatever projects he wants. There have to be hundreds of thousands of people who want to make horror movies and want to be a rock star, and he's done it.
Plus, he did it without "selling out." You might say accepting a large budget and working with a major studio is selling out, but put down the Hator-ade, he cast it with all his B-movie buddies (Sid Haig, Ken Foree, etc) and unknowns. If he were sucking up or selling out, we'd be seeing Justin Timberlake under the mask and he'd be chasing some chick from 7th Heaven around.
I think House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects are imperfect and maybe have too many "homage" shots that pull me out of the story, but there are enough memorable images and situations to keep me interested. He has a cool eye. I think he's got enough experience now to make his next movie truly worth our time. He's worked low-budget and big-budget now and kept his integrity.
I don't like his music. I didn't ask him about it.
These were all my thoughts before the interview. Stay tuned for the post-interview and during-interview thoughts.
excellent points all, simon.
Who is simon? I, Todd Ravenface authored this article!
Thanks, though!
i actually agree with some of what you said Todd. i think he is a big genre fan, and does know a lot about horror, but he still puts that hollywood idiot juice into the movies and music, i think if he would just go out and do something 100% alone his way, then it might turn out a little better. plus he stated a while back he hated remakes and would never do one but a few years later hes remaking halloween.
Rob Zombie. I first discovered White Zombie in the mid 90's when I picked up the Thunder Kiss '65 ep remixed by KMFDM. You see I'm what you call a rivethead, a huge fan of industrial music and I bought virtually anything by bands like Ministry, KMFDM, Skinny Puppy ad nauseum (honestly I still do), so I checked it out. I liked it. So I bought La Sexorcisto, and well I liked it, and that continued, although I haven't bought his last two records, more out of lack of disposable income than lack of interest, but Rob has always captured very nicely the things I like. Horror, exploitation and Sci-Fi sound bites thrown into industrial laden rock music. I like it. I liked House of 1,000 Corpses, but was really disappointed that it wasn't better. I liked The Devil's Rejects, but again thought it could have been better. I like Rob, I like what he has to say a lot of the time. I think he is a genre fan and I think he does love his fans and the movies he emulates. But Rob, like all of us, is human and he makes mistakes and says things that come back to haunt him. I will give him the benefit of the doubt on Halloween. So my camp is, Rob is an artist and I enjoy seeing what he does next whether it succeeds or fails at least he has made his dreams come true and I respect that. One final thought, I once asked Martin Atkins of Pigface, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Killing Joke, PiL fame about selling out and he said this "there is no such thing as selling out, I'm an artist and I create to share with an audience, I don't create to sit in my bedroom and tell myself how cool I am."
now white zombie i am a fan of! i wish he was the same way today as he was in the 90s, im not saying rob zombie's music and movies are horrorible, but they could be better. sometimes i think the older he gets the wrose his music is, anybody who is a long time zombie fan and picked the last album, educated horses, then they'll understand.
Finally A Decent Re-Make Of A True Horror
I have to say I was extremely pleasantly surprised with Rob Zombies masterful work on his re-make of the horror classic Halloween. I have never been a fan of Rob Zombies movies so I went to the theater with doubt. Maybe this was a good thing, because was I surprised and entertained beyond belief. The back-story of Michael Myers was genius, and his dark larger then life appearance made me very quiver. I know it's virtually impossible to re-make classic movies, such as the Omen, When a Stranger Calls, The Fog, the list goes on and on. But, I have to say Mr. Zombie hit the nail on the head. Bravo!! I read a few critic reviews, and they were harsh and very unfair. All I know is that on this particular evening the theater was full, and a lot of screaming and squawking went on. When the movie was finished the audience did clap. Doesn't that count for something? Who are the critics anyway, it's we the people that matter! This may be the kind of movie that has a bigger influenced impact on a larger screen, so I don't know how well it will do on DVD? Sort of like War of the Worlds, great in the theater but missed something on the small screen. All I have to say to Mr. Rob Zombie is this, keep up the great work, I loved your movie, and less is more. Meaning, less blood and violence please.