I’ll be honest: Rob Zombie’s first foray into film was a complete mess. House of 1,000 Corpses was chaotic and made very little sense. I was quite dismayed and worried when I learned that Lion’s Gate felt House was successful enough to merit a sequel.Boy was I wrong. Rob Zombie redeems himself with The Devil’s Rejects, a sequel that really stands on its own as a film. You don’t need to wallow through the predecessor to figure out what’s going on. Between reading the movie information on the back of the DVD and the first 10 minutes of the film, you should be able to figure it out. If not, check your pulse- you may be dead.
Don’t get me wrong- this film still isn’t that great. Plenty of the silliness and nonsensical happenings are left over from the first film, but they aren’t as prominent. Zombie scales it all back to create a less ADD tale of a brutal family of killers on the run. The Firefly family are anti-heroes and it’s always tough to sit through a movie where you’re supposed to hate the main characters.
Surprisingly, Zombie does tug on the heartstrings a bit. The Firefly clan is shown to be tight knit and they look out for each other. In some ways, they’re a stronger family unit than most families out there today. The interesting twist with The Devil’s Rejects is that the tables get turned on the murderous family and get a taste of the suffering they themselves dish out to victims. Conflicting emotions of joy and sadness hit you at these moments.
The ending of the film is possibly the best part. A final standoff occurs between the cops and the Fireflys as they drive down the highway. No sound is heard except for Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Freebird.” The scene and the music fit together so well that it becomes one of the rare fusions that you will never forget.
If you’re a fan of the horror genre, this film is fairly adequate and should be seen. If you’re not so horror-savvy, this film may shock and appall you, but it’s also a guilty pleasure, because you do kind of get a kick out of seeing these people torture others and get tortured. At least I did.
RATING: 2.75 out of 5
