3 from Hell

I guess you just can't go back and re-capture that magic and honesty of House of 1,000 Corpses and the superior The Devil's Rejects. I give kudos to Rob for giving it a go but this movie just plain fell flat. All the ingredients were there...Gore, blood, guts, filth, profanity, humor, revenge. I just was not able to get excited scared or involved with the film. It wasn't slow, it was just meh. Granted, I have never been a fan of Sheri Moon and I think she has taken every movie down a notch or two that Rob insists on including her in. Verily, her scenes are like some sort of music video with her prancing around all "evil" and cutesy in slow motion. She's clearly the centerpiece here and that's a shame because Bill Moseley is the king of horror and although he does his best with the material at hand, he can't salvage the script and the overall "story". New guy, Richard Brake the "brother in law" does a decent job filling the gap left by Sid Haig (who does have a brief appearance in the film), but it all feels very forced and lacks overall conviction. It's just "meh" and I really wanted it to be Rejects part 2.

I realize we aren't dissecting the works of Shakespeare here. It's a Rob Zombie horror film. Those that love everything he does, will love it. I personally think he got it right with House of 1,000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects, but ever since then...he's been trying to recapture that glory and has failed to do so.

Even before the film begins, you are immediately told by the director himself Rob Zombie that there was no intention to create a third film in the series. His masterpiece had come and gone 15 years ago and yet the too often need to relish in past greatness came back to haunt him. The film is nothing like its predecessor's. Its pacing is slow and even annoying at times. Worse the film becomes derivative as it goes on taking useless over amassed tropes to new heights. He could have done so much better and I know that in my heart. But two hours later, like me you'll know why this was only a "3 Day Event".

I was lukewarm on House of 1,000 Corpses, but The Devil's Rejects remains one of the most interesting horror films of the past 15/20 years, so I was eagerly awaiting to see what Rob Zombie would do to bring his Firefly clan back. Pretty soon into the film, I realized that, sometimes, it's better to end on a high note than to drag things out past their expiration dates.

After their 70's killing spree, the Firefly clan have been sent to prison. They quickly write out Captain Spaulding (due to Sid Haig's poor health) and bring in a character we've never even seen or heard of before that's supposed to be some sort of half-brother of Otis and Baby (played by Richard Brake). He helps them escape and pretty soon they're back on the run, murdering and causing havoc wherever they go.

Structurally, 3 From Hell is more Devil's Rejects than House of 1,000 Corpses, but the problem is they copy that structure to a T. Once the gang's back, there's a siege upon two couples that's very much like the siege upon the country band in The Devil's Rejects. After that, they all get in a van and end up in Mexico which feels just like the scenes in Ken Foree's ranch in that same film. There's also a character who wants to avenge a family member who died at the hands of the Firefly family like in that film. It feels like Rob Zombie took the structure of that film and just barely changed a few details to make it seem different enough to greenlight.

3 From Hell feels like one of those great TV shows that's managed to overstretch itself out into 2 or 3 more mediocre and unnecessary seasons where the actors and writers we used to love are mostly going through the motions. It feels oddly passionless and pedestrian throughout as if everyone was just trying to play it safe enough until they could get their paycheck. There are a few highs here and there, but it's far from a return to form or a necessary addition to the series.

I'm one of the biggest Fans of the the original 2 movies. I know the first has all sorts of problems, but it's still great. The 2nd TDR was one of my favorite horror sequels because they were not unstoppable they were human and you felt that on many levels. The ending perfect. Then this comes along. It's extremely uneven. Also the use of CGI was excessive and very noticeable. I really don't know how I feel about it. I look at as a stand-alone film. Watch it for your self and make your own opinion. Richard Brake was great as Foxxy. Just didn't feel right without Captain Spaulding and that comedic relief. RIP Sid...

Zombie is a very talented person and I'm a extremely big horror buff but I can't say many good things about this movie. Let's start with the good. Theres a lot of Blood and profanity BUT no matter how much of that you toss into a movie it doesn't make it any better. This is by far one of his worst movies ( and that's coming from someone who found enjoyment in 31 and lords of Salem ) Here's the bad. The plot has little to no meat on it, the zoomed in angles makes it hard to enjoy the violence cause all you see at times is a cheekbone, then blood, palm, then blood and so on. The characters you want to see more of have little to no screen time, and everything is so exaggerated that you really have to suspend ALL DISBELIEF while watching.

Save your money and rent it in a couple of weeks cause yes......this is a straight to DVD kinda movie that stole people's money for a 3 day release.