The screenplay for Rob Zombie’s feature directorial debut House of 1000 Corpses (watch it HERE) can be found online, and is quite different from the film that made it to theatres in 2003. Not only was Grampa Hugo revealed to be Dr. Satan, but there are scenes in the script that were filmed and cut – and Zombie has no access to the footage, as it was lost while the movie was passed from studio to studio. Among the differences is an alternate ending… and Zombie took to Instagram to share a rare still from the film’s original ending! In this image, we see Captain Spaulding’s Museum of Monsters and Madmen truck:
The movie ends with Captain Spaulding giving final girl Denise a ride in a convertible. Otis rises from the backseat with a knife – and then Denise wakes to find she’s in the underground lair of Dr. Satan. You can watch that scene HERE. As originally written, Captain Spaulding gives Denise a ride in his truck and the scene would have shown his buddy Ravelli attacking Denise instead of Otis. As Captain Spaulding and Denise are riding along, “Boom! The metal door leading to the back of the truck slides open. Ravelli grabs Denise and pulls her back into the back of the truck. SLAM! The metal door shuts.” Then we’d see the truck pulling up to the titular house with jack-o-lanterns glowing in the windows.
House of 1000 Corpses has the following synopsis:
Two young couples take a misguided tour onto the back roads of America in search of a local legend known as Dr. Satan. Lost and stranded, they are set upon by a bizarre family of psychotics. Murder, cannibalism and satanic rituals are just a few of the 1000+ horrors that await.
The film stars Sid Haig, Karen Black, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie, Rainn Wilson, Erin Daniels, Dennis Fimple, Walton Goggins, Chris Hardwick, Jennifer Jostyn, Irwin Keyes, Matthew McGrory, Robert Mukes, Walter Phelan, Michael J. Pollard, Tom Towles, Harrison Young, and Jake McKinnon.
Zombie has described his first movie as a “calamitous mess“. Are you a fan of House of 1000 Corpses, and would you like to see the lost footage? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
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