The Devil's Rejects Movie Review:


For this sequel to his 1970s-style horror film House of 1000 Corpses, writer-director Zombie shifts into 1970s grindhouse territory. This is a violent, body-strewn road movie. And unless you're a fan of this kind of camp viciousness, it's pretty unbearable.

Shortly after the events of the first film, Sheriff Wydell (Forsythe) closes in on the notorious Firefly family, killing some and arresting Mother (this time played by Easterbrook). But Otis and Baby (Moseley and Moon) escape, heading for a rendezvous with the evil clown Captain Spaulding (Haig), who turns out to be intimately connected to the Fireflys after all. They then embark on a trail of torture and murder en route to a safe haven at the brothel owned by Spaulding's brother (Foree).

Where Zombie's previous film had a kind of hippy-druggy slasher movie feel, this one is dusty, bleakly brutal and even more unhinged. The look is exactly right--rough, hand-held edginess with sun-drenched landscapes and dingy, cluttered interiors. There's also some clever writing, plus witty visual nods to the genre and a cast packed with B-movie stars. But this isn't enough to make the film watchable to anyone beyond grindhouse devotees.

The story is virtually incomprehensible, with little plot or character development beyond the fact that everyone's driven by sadism or vengeance. Much of the acting is stiffly overwrought. And Zombie's attempts to be shocking soon become tedious; the film's increasingly grisly and nasty, it's Zombie tries so hard to make us squirm that it's actually boring. Many scenes are unnecessarily cruel, putting unclothed women at the mercy of merciless killers who gleefully inflict as much pain as they can. It's porn violence, combining sex and bloodshed in a way that's gruesome but never remotely sexy.

It's mildly watchable as an homage to these kinds of films from the '70s, and Zombie assembles a terrific vintage song score. But by the end when even the heroes turn into relentlessly cruel predators, we wonder if it will ever end. And the concluding hint that there might be a Part 3 is what really sends chills down our spine.



Rich Cline

As the police close in, Baby (Moon Zombie), Captain Spaulding (Haig) and Otis (Moseley) escape and are on the run. Discovering their house full of bodies and other human remains, Sheriff Wydell (Forsythe) learns that his brother was also one of the victims. When he interviews the captured Mother Firefly (Easterbrook), he swears to her that he will have his revenge but the trio that escaped continue their killing spree, as the media label them ‘The Devil’s Rejects’.

Musician turned writer/director Rob Zombie continues the story of ‘House of 1000 Corpses’ but can he improve on his last homage to all things horror?

‘House of 1000 Corpses’ was an amalgamation of many different horror movies and styles but lacked any real narrative or substance. The first film was missing any resemblance of a story and was simply a collection of macabre and bloody scenes joined together by the flimsiest of plots. This didn’t stop it from becoming a cult hit however.

Much of this was due to the man behind the film, writer/director Rob Zombie. The heavy metal star made a film that he wanted to see and suited his persona and style he projects to the fans but he simply doesn’t know how to write a cohesive story. What he can do however is create some cult horror characters. The first movie was a success because of Baby, Otis and Captain Spaulding and taking this into account, Zombie has abandoned the usual ‘from the victims point of view’ approach to horror and made the sequel all about the villains.

Now we follow Baby, Otis and Captain Spaulding as they try and escape from the police and the revenge of Sheriff Wydell. This makes a refreshing change to your usual horror premise and makes the sequel much more watchable than the first. While in ‘House of 1000 Corpses’ you were guessing which one of the young stars would die first, this one is takes the approach of which one is going to kill somebody first. Bloody and brutal, the trio take not prisoners as they do anything and kill anyone who gets in their way or has something they want. While the three are true representations of evil and insanity, there are moments were you laugh, when, if you think about it, you really shouldn’t and you end up hoping that these satanic killers actually get away.

The reason for these characters been such cult horror figures are the performances of Sid Haig, Bill Moseley and Sheri Moon Zombie. Bill Moseley brings a satanic devilry to the role of Otis. He is truly a frightening piece of work and probably the most gruesome of the trio of main characters. Sheri Moon Zombie brings even more craziness to Baby. She may look innocent but she would stab you as much as she’d look at you. Stealing the show is the brilliant Sid Haig as Captain Spaulding. Again he has all the best lines and thankfully this time, has twice as many scenes.

The support is also good, with Leslie Easterbrook completely manic as Mother Firefly, Ken Foree suitably sleazy as brothel owner Charlie and William Forsythe rightfully vengeful as Sheriff Wydell. There are also some good performances in smaller roles from Danny Trejo, Geoffrey Lewis and Priscilla Barnes.

While the movie obviously pays homage to the 70s serial killer movies and is filled with some great music from the decade, the slightness of the story really lets the film down. Rob Zombie has concentrated too much on character and not enough on plot, as the whole film is devoid of any kind of structure, reasoning or motivations for the characters to act in this way. Again we have no real back-story, with just insanity and pure evil used as reasoning for the way these characters act. It is however a visual treat, with Zombie and his cinematographer and editor really having fun with the look of the film.

‘The Devil’s Rejects’ is a much better film than ‘House of 1000 Corpses’ but suffers from many of the same flaws. Brutal, uncompromising but surprisingly enjoyable, this is a popcorn horror flick that you watch with your brain switched off, which is a shame as the characters have the potential to deliver so much more.

Jamie Kelwick

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