FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
Directed & Written by: Rob Zombie. Produced by: Michael Ohoven, Marco Mehiltz, Andy Gould & Mike Elliott. Director of Photography: Phil Parmet. Edited by: Glenn Garland. Music by: Tyler Bates. Released by: Lions Gate. Country of Origin: USA. 101 min. Rated: R. With: Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie, William Forsythe, Priscilla Barnes & P.J. Soles.
In the press notes, Rob Zombie wants to make it perfectly clear that The Devil's Rejects
is not a sequel to his 2003 debut House of 1000 Corpses. Sure, it
follows the same family of sociopathic redneck serial killers, but the new
film's psychosis is amplified to such an extreme point of celebration that
Zombie's earlier effort now seems tame by comparison. Working with a much tighter script this time
around, Zombie transforms the Firefly family from a collection of sideshow
oddities into a band of comic book mercenaries looking for their next
blood-soaked encounter.
The film follows this family of outlaws as they flee their circus
shack in search of refuge from the ever-approaching Sheriff Wydell
(William Forsythe). In a performance that deserves its top billing, Sid Haig
is having the time of his life as the foul-mouthed head of the family,
Captain Spaulding. The sarcastic killer clown has thankfully been promoted
from a mere supporting character as Zombie takes complete pleasure in
showing us Spaulding the Unfaithful Husband, Spaulding the TV Salesman, and
Spaulding the Coke Head in addition to Spaulding the Homicidal Maniac. Bill
Moseley gives a surprisingly complex portrayal of Otis, the Firefly son
whose typically all-business mentality makes his deranged detours all the
more fascinating.
As a director, Rob Zombie takes more risks here than he did with
Corpses, but it's likely that they'll go unnoticed since the script
is such an improvement. On more than one occasion the camera references
classics in the horror/crime genres (nods to The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre [1974] and Bonnie and Clyde [1967] are among the most
obvious). And Zombie never lets us forget that he started out directing
music videos; there are at least a half dozen moments where he allows
Southern rock to do the narrating. The Devil's Rejects should also be
recognized for its twisted sense of humor, which was missing from
Corpses. While most of the gags work (a cameo by horror cult favorite
P.J. Soles is always a welcome surprise), there are a few that are simply
dead weight (an inexplicably annoying Marx Brothers-obsessed film critic). What
remains clear is that Zombie has improved his skills as a filmmaker, proving
his characters were not merely the underdeveloped misfits they were
originally made out to be. House of 1000 Corpses may not have
warranted a continuation, but its follow-up certainly does. Michael Belkewitch
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