Opinions on Rob Zombie's music?

[Lynchenberg]

I'm not a big metal head, but if you grew up in my generation, it's unavoidable to hear at least a select number of Rob Zombie's songs. And considering I'm a big horror fan and enjoyed his films, I also delved into his music a little more than I would have otherwise. Even though Zombie's movies are far from perfect, he has a director's eye, works well with actors, and cares about characterization. That last point alone places him above most of his contemporaries. *Cough*Eli Roth*Cough.* But in terms of the sonic landscapes that slip through headphones reaping Rob Zombie rhymes, how would you say he holds up?

[Vindicator]

Hmm I am not quite sure what the last the thing you said means but In Twisted Metal 4 for the PSX his Music did make me wanna rock even though I couldn't hear that well and he was a playable character in that game...not a good ending for him in TM4 too boring and well he wasn't fun to play but in the Right moments his Music can catch the mood...what was that band he was in before he went Solo?

[Lynchenberg]

White Zombie.

[Neon Black]

When I was in my early teens I was a big fan of his music, from all the White Zombie-era stuff up till The Sinister Urge solo album - after that though I kind of fell out of touch with the entire schlock-horror thing he had going and never bothered to check in again. From what I've heard on and off since, the quality of his musical output hasn't fallen off a cliff or anything, but it's not really an aesthetic I really care for anymore.

As far as his movies go, I've only ever seen House of 1000 Corpses and remember my impression being that it was a pretty dreary, dreadful film (I haven't seen it since it came out in 2004 or so, mind). I do hear his subsequent films are better.

[Lynchenberg]

I didn't like House of 1000 Corpses the first time I saw it either, and it's not technically a good film. That said, the last time I watched it (which was a few years ago,) I found that the disjointed story, bizarre editing and abrupt changes in tone/film stock created a dreamlike quality that was quite unnerving. It's like the nightmares that start off normal, then you wind up in an awful situation, and logic breaks down so you can't ever get out of it. That wasn't the result of deliberate artistic intention though, it was because Zombie had to finish the movie on his own with a hand held camera when Universal decided they didn't want to release it. My enjoyment (to varying degrees) of his subsequent movies since might also be colouring my revised opinions of it.

I'd recommend Devil's Rejects, as it's his best overall film. It's not as accessible as his Halloween remake, which is a pretty straightforward studio production, and it's not as disturbing or deliberately bizarre as The Lords of Salem. It's kind of a happy medium between the two, and I'd tell someone to watch it over House to see if his film work is for them. He's never made a truly great horror movie in my opinion, but I feel he could if he had the right script. When you watch his movies from The Devil's Rejects onward (particularly Halloween 2,) you get the sense he really does care about his characters as people. If you don't watch a lot of horror movies, you may not pick up on it as strongly as I did, but most of them treat people like slabs of meat in a butcher's shop. Zombie at least attempts to give them an inner life.