A Review by Phil Calabro
2005, Lions Gate Films, Dir. Rob Zombie - Starring Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie, William Forsythe, Ken Foree, Matthew McGrory, Leslie Easterbrook, Geoffrey Lewis, Priscilla Barnes, Dave Sheridan, Kate Norby, Lew Temple, Danny Trejo, Dallas Page
I think the biggest problem with 'The Devil's Rejects' is director Rob Zombie's attitude towards the film. It's obvious that after the mild success of his debut film 'House of 1000 Corpses', he's pumped up the writing and action for the slam-bang sequel. But he grows too big for his britches - he's expecting the movie to automatically be a success, that he leaves the audience dry on any sort of emotional factor. By the end of the movie, I felt a few things - I was tired of the endless violence, I was tired of the storyline pieced together by hangnail characters and events, and tired of that terrible cheesy Americana rock soundtrack. The movie has some occasional comic relief, and it works for a while, until the sadism kicks in. Here we have another episode in the nihilistic gore-glorifying fantasies of Rob Zombie, scribbled straight off the notepad and put onto the silver screen - an unattractive crock.
We open where 'House' left off - the police have finally found the Firefly's corpse complex and are going to stage an automatic siege against it. The family try and protect themselves, but it ends up in shambles - Rufus Firefly (Tyler Mane) is killed and Mother Firefly (Easterbook) is captured. But there's a twist on this capture - in charge of the investigation is Sheriff Wydell (Forsythe), the brother of Liutentant George Wydell (Towles) who died pursuing the Fireflies in 'House'. Wydell is revenge-driven, to the brink of insanity. Meanwhile, Otis (Moseley) and Baby (Moon-Zombie) are on the run, and plan to meet up with king clown Captain Spaulding (Haig). But along the way while seeking refuge from the police, they have a little fun with some unsuspecting guests at a roadside hotel. But little do they know that Wydell has got more than the police force chasing after these serial murderers.
Sid Haig gives the best performance overall as the wise-cracked madman Captain Spaulding, simply because his facial expressions and ho-hum delivery can contrast perfectly the lunatic character of Otis Driftwood. Haig's large complex and leadership features make him a headliner for the movie, but that's not saying all too much. Bill Moseley is by far the most frightening of the trio, so much that he managed to intimidate me at several parts of the movie. Much of his character reminded me of bit parts in Wes Craven's 'Last House on the Left', which used sadist measures for scare tactics - he has his way around a lot of the supporting characters, especially those he tortures. He carries out most of the 'devil' in this movie. Sheri Moon is lousy, just simply awful. She's got the persona of an 8-year old girl who hasn't got her candy fix recently. With a high-pitched voice and the looks of Christina Applegate, she's a walking waste of time, and annoying at that. William Forsythe is entertaining, but most of the movie's fault lies within his character.
But how so? Well, it's a personal belief of mine that when I see a movie, it should usually tilt to one side or another. It's not fair or understanding that Rob Zombie demonizes both sides of this story - the serial killers and the man who's out to get the serial killers. It would normally make sense that the sheriff would be the classic hero, but Zombie (and my colleague was smart to point this out) inserted his own social commentary on the lawmaker, turning his personal anger into a violent force. It seemed almost as tortorous as when the killers were on the hunt for innocent prey. Who are we supposed to like in this movie? The trio who are riddled with bullets, pierced with nails and staple guns, and knifed in the belly (who never manage to die), or the police officer whose revenge goes a step further to the point of losing his mind and getting nothing accomplished? That's the thing, nothing gets accomplished.
The point ends with a bang, literally. Who dies, I won't say. But all I can say is that I'm happy it's over. What could've easily been a clean finale for his ugly saga became a slow and painful trod through the distorted mind of an aging heavy metal rocker. But when the day is done, there's always something I tell myself - at least it isn't 'Glitter'.
