http://366weirdmovies.com/capsule-house-of-the-dead-2003 Celebrating the cinematically surreal, bizarre, cult, oddball, fantastique, psychotronic, and the just plain WEIRD! Wed, 23 May 2012 00:42:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://366weirdmovies.com/capsule-house-of-the-dead-2003/comment-page-1#comment-6698 366weirdmovies Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:47:46 +0000 http://366weirdmovies.com/?p=6743#comment-6698 I know my opinion on <em>House of the Dead</em> is a minority one. I agree that if you consider it as a horror movie, it deserves to be ranked among the worst films ever. Looking at it as a weird-ish curiosity, though, I find it's more interesting than that. The movie is so relentlessly dumb that it very nearly works as a satire of pop-culture. With its ridiculously huge piles of exploding zombie heads, spent bullet casings and loose boobs, coupled with an absolute minimum attempt at storytelling, it's almost as if Boll is saying "I have so much contempt for you as a culture that I believe that you will find this entertaining." Now, I'm fairly sure that Boll didn't mean this interpretation, but I don't consider the artists' intention to be very relevant when deciding on the value of a work of art. I never found it <em>boring</em>, and that's the main thing! I know my opinion on House of the Dead is a minority one. I agree that if you consider it as a horror movie, it deserves to be ranked among the worst films ever. Looking at it as a weird-ish curiosity, though, I find it’s more interesting than that. The movie is so relentlessly dumb that it very nearly works as a satire of pop-culture. With its ridiculously huge piles of exploding zombie heads, spent bullet casings and loose boobs, coupled with an absolute minimum attempt at storytelling, it’s almost as if Boll is saying “I have so much contempt for you as a culture that I believe that you will find this entertaining.” Now, I’m fairly sure that Boll didn’t mean this interpretation, but I don’t consider the artists’ intention to be very relevant when deciding on the value of a work of art. I never found it boring, and that’s the main thing!

]]> http://366weirdmovies.com/capsule-house-of-the-dead-2003/comment-page-1#comment-6672 goregirl Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:33:28 +0000 http://366weirdmovies.com/?p=6743#comment-6672 I have to agree with the masses on this one. I will be adding Mr. Boll's 'House of The Dead' to my worst horror films of the decade list. I usually cut zombie films more slack than other horror sub-genres, but not here. The clips from the video game throughout the movie are just a ridiculous addtion. It must have looked much better in his head than the final result on screen did. Like many horror films, there are abnoxious and annoying characters you can't wait to see die. But I must say, this one was extra irritating. The dialog is beyond bad. You mentioned Michael Bay (one of my least favorite directors on the planet) and that is appropriate since they seemed to be going for more of an action thing than a horror thing. There was little to no zombie mystique. Just mentioning Romero's name isn't going to legitimize this mess. It was all shooting and more shooting. And the surviving ravers sure were acrobatic and athletic and were able to perform all sorts of incredible feats. I guess that was a nod to the video game. Except of course you never get to be athletic in the game, it is a first person shooter. Perhaps it was a nod to another video game?! What kind of rave of the century was this anyway?! There was a few portable toliets, a stage and a tent or two! I would rather watch a Youtube video of some 16 year old playing House of Dead on their Xbox than watch this film ever again. I have to agree with the masses on this one. I will be adding Mr. Boll’s ‘House of The Dead’ to my worst horror films of the decade list. I usually cut zombie films more slack than other horror sub-genres, but not here. The clips from the video game throughout the movie are just a ridiculous addtion. It must have looked much better in his head than the final result on screen did. Like many horror films, there are abnoxious and annoying characters you can’t wait to see die. But I must say, this one was extra irritating. The dialog is beyond bad. You mentioned Michael Bay (one of my least favorite directors on the planet) and that is appropriate since they seemed to be going for more of an action thing than a horror thing. There was little to no zombie mystique. Just mentioning Romero’s name isn’t going to legitimize this mess. It was all shooting and more shooting. And the surviving ravers sure were acrobatic and athletic and were able to perform all sorts of incredible feats. I guess that was a nod to the video game. Except of course you never get to be athletic in the game, it is a first person shooter. Perhaps it was a nod to another video game?! What kind of rave of the century was this anyway?! There was a few portable toliets, a stage and a tent or two! I would rather watch a Youtube video of some 16 year old playing House of Dead on their Xbox than watch this film ever again.

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