With the release of Three From Hell later this year, House of 1000 Corpses will officially be the first installment in a trilogy, but back in 2013, director Rob Zombie had a very different idea for how he could build on what he created with his 2003 horror film.
In an interview with Larry King, Zombie argued that House of 1000 Corpses was just the sort of crazy, campy work that could make for a good Broadway musical:
“As crazy as it sounds, I feel that my first film House of 1000 Corpses – which is kinda campy in a weird way, which is why at the time I wasn’t that thrilled with it – I think would make a great Broadway musical. Because it’s very much – when you go to Broadway now it’s like Spider-Man, it’s The Addams Family, it’s Spamalot, you know? So that movie would translate well, I think because it’s just ridiculous.”
Say what you will about the suggestion of turning Zombie’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre-indebted directorial debut into a spectacle of song and dance, but we’re pretty sure you can find crazier ideas than this in his own movies.
Regardless, while House of 1000 Corpses never got its Broadway reimagining, it did manage to land a sequel in the form of 2005’s The Devil’s Rejects, which is finally getting its own follow-up with the forthcoming Three From Hell. The film will serve as the third outing for Captain Spaulding, Otis and Baby – played by Sid Haig, Bill Moseley and Sheri Moon Zombie, respectively – and going by the various set photos that Zombie has shared, the story will see the trio finally on trial after two movies’ worth of sadistic deeds.
As it stands, Three From Hell has yet to land a release date, though Zombie offered an update last week that the film is “beginning the final stages of post production.” While plot details are in short supply, the director has mentioned previously that the pic will be very different to House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects, though going by Mosely’s comments to Rue Morgue back in September, one thing we can still depend on is that the movie will be “chockablock with gratuitous violence.”