Bill Moseley

Many may associate the lean, frequently menacing actor Bill Moseley with his repeat work for goremeister Rob Zombie, in whose efforts House of 1,000 Corpses (2002), The Devil's Rejects (2005), and Halloween (2007) he starred, nearly always as a deranged, homicidal lunatic. In truth, seasoned horror aficionados will realize that Moseley had already attained iconic status long prior to his affiliation with Zombie -- particularly given his prominent billing as the maniacal cannibal Chop-Top, opposite Dennis Hopper, in 1986's horror comedy The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. This role (the actor's third) effectively put Moseley, then in his late twenties, on top; in successive years, he did occasional work in features from other genres, such as the 1992 family comedy Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and the Richard Gere-headlined romantic psychodrama Mr. Jones (1993), but remained most commonly tied to horror. Memorable efforts in this vein included The Blob (1988), Silent Night, Deadly Night 3 (1989), Night of the Living Dead (1990), and The Convent (2000). Moseley's affiliation with Zombie began when the two met at a Haunted City Walk in Los Angeles in 1999 and immediately struck up a rapport. They remained friends, and not only worked on the said three features (with Rejects, in particular, benefiting enormously from Moseley's long-haired presence -- his gaunt, weapon-wielding appearance was used as a major selling point for the film), but collaborated on the Zombie-directed featurette to Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse, Werewolf Women of the S.S. (2007). Also in 2007, Moseley starred in the horror outing House, the tale of a bunch of Satanists who keep two couples captive. In addition to his film work, Moseley's professional activities include performing as a musician in the band Cornbugs. He is not to be confused with the actor William Moseley, active in Britain at about the same time.

~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide