House of 1000 Corpses Boardgame Pulled Off Kickstarter Over Intellectual Property Claim

Rob Zombie’s directorial debut House of 1000 Corpses may have marked its 20th anniversary last year, but the flick has recently jumped back into the headlines for the creation of a crowdfunding campaign to get an “officially licensed” board game off the ground. I put those quotation marks up because apparently, not every bit of the intellectual property was secured and it’s since been axed harder than one of the Firefly family’s victims.

Though the game’s page is inaccessible, we know that it was a co-op game where you play as the film’s villains, bringing hapless tourists from around the property to various locations to be mangled by the Firefly family. At least, that’s what was described on the game’s official Twitter page:

“Rob Zombies House of 1000 Corpses Board game from Trick or Treat Studios is NOW LIVE!!!

“Join the Firefly family in a cooperative game, and decide the fate of the intruders, in a unique take where you play as the villains. The victims are scattered around the property, and need to be dealt with!⁠

“In this co-operative game, 1 to 4 players will take the part of the Firefly family, trying to deliver enough people to Dr. Satan before the cops make things difficult. Manage your action cards and adrenaline meters well.

“Check out the Kickstarter that is live NOW, and take a look at the exclusive unlocks and stretch goals!”

The initial Kickstarter went live on Febraury 29 with a goal of a measly $5,000, which enthusiastic fans quickly shattered. Stretch goals were being announced and met, but with the DMCA complaint being filed this past Monday, it all came to an end.

If you go to the Kickstarter page today, you’ll be met with a rather ominous message stating that the game was pulled because it’s “the subject of an intellectual property dispute and is currently unavailable.” By checking the copyright notification publicly posted by Kickstarter, it’s quickly apparent that the main issue was the use of actress Karen Black’s likeness.

So it seems like because someone might not have secured all of the rights associated with House of 1000 Corpses, the game is donezo for now and the backers are left wondering what comes next. Depending on the result of the dispute, the project could come back or it could end up stuck at the bottom of a well.