Release Date:
07/22/2005
During a break from the relentless bloodletting in Rob Zombie’s follow-up to his debut horror romp House Of 1000 Corpses, Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) tells another character, “I set my standards pretty low so I’m never disappointed." Approach The Devil’s Rejects similiarly and you'll have a nail-cracking, flesh-crawling, chicken-fucking good time.
While this is yet another terror trip heavily influenced by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Zombie shows considerable directorial talent and an astute knowledge of what audiences for this kind of slasher flick crave: gore, gore, and some gore to wash it all down. The Devil's Rejects isn't necessarily a sequel to 1000 Corpses, but it does feature several members of the same rednecked psychopathic Firefly clan including Otis, Baby, Mama, and Tiny. This time around, the Fireflys are hunted by a sheriff seeking vengeance for his brother’s death. Played at a feverish, operatic pitch, Zombie leaves little to the imagination as the Fireflys (all named after characters in Marx Brothers movies) do their thing against a soundtrack of Southern-fried rock classics. (Cheers to the strikingly well-edited finale—a murder orgy set to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s "Freebird".) Zombie isn't commenting on what’s wrong in American society, or even trying to create something of redeeming social value here: He just makes a good, head-banging, family film that any Manson would find heartwarming.
While this is yet another terror trip heavily influenced by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Zombie shows considerable directorial talent and an astute knowledge of what audiences for this kind of slasher flick crave: gore, gore, and some gore to wash it all down. The Devil's Rejects isn't necessarily a sequel to 1000 Corpses, but it does feature several members of the same rednecked psychopathic Firefly clan including Otis, Baby, Mama, and Tiny. This time around, the Fireflys are hunted by a sheriff seeking vengeance for his brother’s death. Played at a feverish, operatic pitch, Zombie leaves little to the imagination as the Fireflys (all named after characters in Marx Brothers movies) do their thing against a soundtrack of Southern-fried rock classics. (Cheers to the strikingly well-edited finale—a murder orgy set to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s "Freebird".) Zombie isn't commenting on what’s wrong in American society, or even trying to create something of redeeming social value here: He just makes a good, head-banging, family film that any Manson would find heartwarming.