Love him or hate him, Rob Zombie came out of the gate with his gritty, self-consciously tasteless take on the horror genre fully formed. House of 1000 Corpses was Zombie’s first feature film as a director, and it establishes many of his pet themes: Murder clowns, true crime, homicidal backwoods families, Spirit Halloween aesthetics, and the camera ogling Zombie’s future wife Sheri Moon are all essential elements of this cult classic splatter flick. Even more mean-spirited than contemporaries like House of Wax and Platinum Dunes’ Texas Chainsaw remake, House of 1000 Corpses will take you back to the last time violent nationalism and ultra-low-rise jeans were on the rise in American culture.