Rob Zombie Confirms There’s No Unrated Director’s Cut of House of 1000 Corpses in Existence

Musician Rob Zombie‘s debut film House of 1000 Corpses suffered multiple delays with its release due to the film’s graphic nature, but the filmmaker recently confirmed that recovering the cut footage would be too difficult and that a director’s cut of the film doesn’t exist. That’s not to say the filmmaker wouldn’t be interested in recovering the footage, but from a practical level, he doesn’t know where the cut footage physically exists, which would make it difficult to recover. Zombie did note that he once recovered unseen footage of the cast giving interviews, but nothing was substantial enough to warrant a new home video release, though it could be revealed at some point.

“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.”

Zombie filmed the movie in 2000 but, when initially screened it, was told it would earn an NC-17 rating in its original form, preventing it from earning a major release. The filmmaker ultimately purchased the rights to the film himself and shopped around for distributors, with Lions Gate Entertainment ultimately offering to release it. The film still had to undergo cuts to earn an R rating, eventually landing in theaters in 2003.

Part of the reason the footage is lost is due to the project shifting hands so often.

“Because we bounced around so much and stuff. It’s amazing that they lose these things. But they do,” Zombie pointed out. “So all that stuff’s lost.”

Despite the cuts it earned, House of 1000 Corpses inspired the 2005 sequel The Devil’s Rejects, which earned both a theatrical cut and an unrated director’s cut. Hitting theaters next week for a three-night event is the third film, 3 From Hell, which has earned an R rating, but could get an unrated director’s cut in the future.

When all three films are finally available on home video, it’s possible a trilogy set could be released with added special features, such as the interviews from the set of House of 1000 Corpses he discovered.

“The only thing I discovered, which is not footage, is one time I found a bunch of VHS tapes that had interviews with the cast on set while we were shooting,” Zombie shared. “They could be a special feature, maybe, but yeah… no.”

3 From Hell lands in theaters next week. Stay tuned for details on Zombie’s various upcoming projects.

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