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Rob Zombie, the Brand: Crafting the Convergence-Era Horror Auteur

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Rob Zombie, the Brand: Crafting the Convergence-Era Horror Auteur Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 4-22-2015 12:00 AM Rob Zombie, the Brand: Crafting the Convergence-Era Horror Auteur Ryan Stam The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Joe Wlodarz The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Film Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Arts © Ryan Stam 2015 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons Recommended Citation Stam, Ryan, "Rob Zombie, the Brand: Crafting the Convergence-Era Horror Auteur" (2015). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 2744. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/2744 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ROB ZOMBIE, THE BRAND: CRAFTING THE CONVERGENCE-ERA HORROR AUTEUR MONOGRAPH by Ryan Stam Graduate Program in Film Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Ryan Stam 2015 ii Abstract This thesis adopts an industrial approach to auteur study, engaging in a detailed analysis of the extratextual crafting of metal-musician-turned-horror-filmmaker Rob Zombie’s auteur image from the year 2000 to the present day. It proposes the existence of a new authorial archetype in the twenty-first century American horror market, the convergence-era horror auteur, whose manufacturing and mobilization is tied explicitly to the niche-oriented marketing efforts of media industries. Positioning Zombie’s career as an instructive case study, this thesis ultimately demonstrates how critical discourses of horror auteurism have been co-opted by studios, filmmakers, and other industry parties as (self-)branding strategies designed to confer subcultural prestige upon horror properties and secure the loyalty of horror fans in an increasingly fragmented and diverse media landscape. Keywords Rob Zombie, auteur, auteur theory, convergence, film industry, media industries, media branding, cult cinema, horror auteur, horror films, horror fandom, House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects, Halloween, Halloween II, The Lords of Salem, film violence, Splat Pack, franchise reboot, DVD, director’s commentary, social media, Lionsgate, Dimension Films, Henry Jenkins iii Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Joe Wlodarz, without whose incredible insight, patience, guidance, and support this thesis would not exist. Thank you for constantly pushing me to make my work the best it could be and for showing confidence in my abilities even when I did not. To Jen Tramble, for all your help over the course of this project and the past three years. To Caitlin Foster, Alex Brundige, Joanna Smith, Sean Volk, and Charlotte Warr, who always made it so that going into the office never felt like going to work. To Kyle Brunet, for letting me put our ambitions on hold while I pursued this degree, but never letting me lose sight of them. To Kyle Tabbernor, for the countless phone calls and conversations, for never hanging up on me, and, most of all, for providing constant encouragement throughout the entirety of this graduate program. (I’m still tracking down the Tenth Doctor as a thank you.) To Brodi Jewell, for standing by me through the most challenging months of this project. Watching you pursue and achieve your dreams has been a constant source of inspiration for me to work harder to achieve my own. And to my parents, Mike and Cathy Stam, for tirelessly supporting me through all the highs and lows of my academic career, at the graduate level and otherwise, and for teaching me the importance of working hard and pursuing what you love. Words cannot express my gratitude to you both. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iv List of Figures .................................................................................................................... vi Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1 ........................................................................................................................... 21 Building Rob Zombie’s Cinematic Brand: Extreme Violence Generic Authenticity, and the Origins of a Convergence-Era Horror Auteur ........................................... 21 1.1 “An Uber-Celebration of Depravity”: Hollywood vs. House of 1000 Corpses .... 23 1.2 Resurrecting Corpses ............................................................................................ 30 1.3 Reject-ing the Mainstream .................................................................................... 41 1.4 The Media Branding of Zombie as a Horror Auteur ............................................ 48 Chapter 2 ........................................................................................................................... 54 Legitimating Rob Zombie’s Halloween: Convergence-Era Horror Auteurism and the Franchise Reboot .................................................................................................... 54 2.1 Rebooting Horror at Dimension Films ................................................................. 56 2.2 Rebooting Halloween............................................................................................ 62 2.3 Legitimating Halloween........................................................................................ 70 2.3.1 Press Strategies ............................................................................................ 72 2.3.2 On-Screen Strategies .................................................................................... 75 2.3.3 Online Strategies .......................................................................................... 77 Chapter 3 ........................................................................................................................... 82 “Thank God for the Director’s Cut”: Rob Zombie’s Halloween II on DVD.............. 82 3.1 Auteurism at Home: Selling Zombie(’s Films) on DVD ...................................... 85 3.2 Halloween II, the Unrated Director’s Cut ............................................................. 91 v 3.2.1 Affective Sales Tactic 1: The Director’s Cut ............................................... 93 3.2.2 Affective Sales Tactic 2: The Director’s Commentary ................................ 98 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 109 Convergence-Era Horror Auteurism in the Age of Social Media ............................. 109 References ....................................................................................................................... 117 Filmography .................................................................................................................... 133 Curriculum Vitae ............................................................................................................ 138 vi List of Figures Figure 1: Rob Zombie at his annual “brand fest,” Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare, in October 2014 ..........................................................................16 Figure 2: Gory images, bold red font, and violent slogans as grindhouse marketing tools: House of 1000 Corpses (2003), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), and I Spit on Your Grave (1978) ...................................................................34 Figure 3: Zombie’s gore aesthetic: Jerry (Chris Hardwick) undergoes a brutal operation in House of 1000 Corpses (2003) ..................................................................37 Figure 4: The Firefly clan (Sid Haig, Sheri Moon Zombie, Bill Moseley) take one last stand against the law in the blood-soaked finale to The Devil’s Rejects (2005) ............................................................................................................46 Figure 5: Incorporating extreme violence into the Halloween franchise ......................67 Figure 6: Masked crusaders, hometowns, and the dawn of a new franchise: Evoking Batman Begins (2005) in the marketing of Halloween (2007) .....................68 Figure 7: Evoking Uncle Sam in the recruitment poster for “The Legion of Michael” 79 1 Introduction Fan culture is...related to the commercial interests of the culture industries... There are thus contradictory functions performed by cultural commodities which on the one hand serve the economic interests of the industry and on the other the cultural interests of the fans. John Fiske1 I feel like I’m the most successful cult person ever. I mean, I feel like everything I do is sort of in an underground cult way but has had mainstream success... It’s weird. I’ve always liked underground stuff – underground filmmaking, underground-type
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