The Devil's Rejects

Reasons to watch this film (one or more may apply):

• If you love Rob Zombie's work
• If you have seen House of 1000 Corpses
• If you like, love, or at least can tolerate mindless, brutal, sadistic violence, sometimes in a sexual manner
• You are not judgmental of Rob Zombie's personal character at all
• You are in a morbid mood
• You have yet to see it and feel like you're so desensitized to graphic cinema
• You hate roadies
• You like dark, dark, DARK comedy
• You love the F-word
• You're a fan of the actors
• You're not yet sick of Free Bird
• Sheri Moon Zombie turns you on (just don't tell Rob!)
• The constant depiction of how horrible people can act towards another, with a complete lack of empathy or good will, does not bother you

Reasons NOT to watch this film:

• If graphic violence upsets you
• If you hate clowns on any level
• If you have seen other live-action works by Rob Zombie and absolutely hated it
• If you can't handle (and seriously, no shame if you can't) profanity, anti-religious acts by fictional characters, a cinematic void of anything uplifting and good, and the theme that no one is pure and that all mankind is inherently downright evil.

• If suggested necrophilia is a deal-breaker
• If you cannot understand that the actors, along with Rob Zombie, are actually normal people who are pretty cool to their fans
• If depictions of physical AND mental torture just isn't your thing
• If the slightest bit of violence gives you nightmares (seriously, if you can't handle a character suffering from a paper cut, you haven't a chance to handle this movie)

This movie has some classic ingredients for a great horror movie. Interesting characters, some really vile gore scenes, bad language, unnecessary nudity, and some familiar faces; Leslie Easterbrook (from the Police Academy movies), Ken Foree (the original Dawn Of The Dead), 80's pop singer/actress E.G. Daily and Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes) provide more than enough nostalgia for retro junkies, like myself.

The story isn't overly fast paced but the gore can be thick and pretty relentless and is at times implied rather than shown which I think adds to the experience. I really enjoyed Leslie Easterbrook as Mother Firefly (replacing Karen Black who was in the first movie, House Of 1000 Corpses). She does some wonderful overacting in her scenes, it's a shame she wasn't in it more, same goes for E.G. Daily who plays a sassy hooker. In fact everyone was great in their parts, let's face it this is not Shakespeare - this is a horror movie, I for one demand hammy over the top performances and a bit of camp! I don't want to give anything away but I will say my favourite scenes involved Mother Firefly and the sheriff, and Captain Spaulding and a mother and child. If you enjoyed House Of 1000 Corpses, this is a superior sequel in my mind and you wont be disappointed. If your idea of horror is a glossy PG-13 rated remake you might want to try weaning yourself onto this kind of movie with something a little less extreme.

The Devil's Rejects is not always an easy film to watch. It has a genuine savagery that makes recent films such as Hostel or Saw II, non spectacular though they were, appear rather tame.

I think part of the reason the film is such uncomfortable viewing is through Rob Zombie's creation of a strong sense of ambiguity as to who we are supposed to sympathise with- who are the antagonists and the protagonists? Initially things seem quite clean cut- psychopathic killers= evil, Sheriff on a vigilante mission = good, but then the lines blur. The Sheriff turns nasty, yet we the audience take joy in his sadism- are we as bad as these killers? And at the same time we the audience feel flashes of sympathy for the killers too- through glimpses of their own, warped domestic bliss. This is interesting and

one that gets under your skin and disturbs.

I have to mention the humour also- which is also a nice contrast to darkness, though some of the humour is very close to the edge- you DO need those moments of light relief, to prevent the proceedings becoming completely grimy and depressing.

The only main downside of this film is it does at times feel overly long, almost deliberately drawn out,and that can distract from the intensity of things.

Personally this film marks a huge improvement for Rob Zombie after the debacle that was House Of 1000 Corpses, a masturbatory fan boy effort which had an okay build up but quickly descended into cartoony drivel. With The Devil's Rejects Rob Zombie seems to have shifted focus from being a kid with a film camera and a budget, and shifted focus on telling a story, and making the audience FEEL something, and he actually does a pretty good job of it too.

Special mention has to go to Sheri Moon. A real delight to watch. I can't help but smile when I see her on screen- I wouldn't be at all surprised if she finds herself with a huge gay following. A lovely mixture of sassiness, innocence and an edge of something slightly darker. I like her a lot- well at least when she's not making racist playground chants fashionable again.

I'm actually excited now about Zombie's remake/ reinvention/ prequel of Halloween. Okay so the term "remake/ reinvention/ prequel" fills me with an underlying sense of dread, but I'm going to breathe out and try trust Rob Zombie on this one. If nothing else, I know it'll be anything but bland.

I went to this movie having seen 1000 Corpses which I thought was a great retro B style horror in the Texas Chainsaw massacre genre.

This movie FAR exceeded any expectation I had. Zombie NAILED it in this one. Classic Freeze frames, awesome soundtrack(used with purpose)-Just enough gore with out going over the top.. the essential random nudity shots that we B fans have come to expect. Suspenseful through-out.

I realize that what makes all of these components work:

A- This movie (Unlike 99% of all B Horros) is not predictable. You do not know what is going to happen next.

B- Zombie builds characters. You learn history and connections, and see things from their view.

C- Slight comedic aspect added.

Summary: MUST SEE, MUST OWN

in the words of my horror loving awe-struck friend "This is hands down the best B horror I have ever seen!"

OK, I loved "House of 1000 Corpses". I loved it for completely different reasons than I loved "The Devils Rejects". The mood in the first one is far more campy, almost cartoonish. The actual fear and horror mixed with that weird wink is perfect. "The Devils Rejects" on the other hand seems almost real. These people are out there...these people do not care about you or your children. Hell, they don't even care about your dog or furniture. The music, the angles, the complete disregard for the feelings of others. Blantant hedonism at it's best. Some folks walked out...I sat singing "Free Bird" till the screen went black. If it's for you, don't miss it. If you believe you are the least bit squeamish...go get that new direct to DVD Stitch movie!