Rob Zombie’s debut feature film House of 1000 Corpses underwent a number of struggles before it earned a theatrical release, due not only to the graphic nature of the experience but also due to behind-the-scenes studio shakeups, though Zombie recently took to social media to show off an unseen glimpse at the film’s original ending. In the two decades since the film was released, this is one of the only looks at that original ending that has emerged, and with Zombie previously detailing how that excised ending was seemingly lost to time, it might be one of the only looks at that ending we’ll ever get.
“Super rare still of Captain Spaulding’s truck from the original ending of House of 1000 Corpses,” Zombie captioned the image on Instagram.
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In the theatrical release of the film, after escaping the villainous Firefly family, Denise Willis (Erin Daniels) is picked up by Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) in his car, only for Otis Driftwood (Bill Moseley) to emerge from the backseat to confirm Denise’s doom. Reports regarding the original ending of the film instead featured Spaulding picking up Denise in his truck, only for his henchman from the film’s opening to overtly grab her to confirm her grisly fate.
Zombie filmed the movie in 2000 and his initial cut would have earned it an NC-17 rating. At the time, the theatrical market would have been the only avenue for a film to turn a profit, as the direct-to-video landscape wasn’t entirely promising and streaming platforms were more than a decade away. Between making cuts and filming reshoots, Zombie ultimately purchased the rights to the film himself to allow for more creative control and partnered with Lionsgate to distribute the film in theaters in 2003. The filmmaker still had to make changes to the film to earn it an R rating, with him revealing in 2019 that the arduous process of releasing the film meant that the cut footage had seemingly vanished.
“There’s nothing,” Zombie shared with Bloody Disgusting of the lost footage. “I mean, I don’t know where anything is. I gotta be honest. Nothing’s ever been discovered.”
He continued, “Because we bounced around so much and stuff. It’s amazing that they lose these things. But they do … So all that stuff’s lost.”
Stay tuned for updates on future Rob Zombie projects.
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