The Devil's Rejects (2005)

October 24, 2022 9:09 AM

The sequel to House of 1000 Corpses... the Firefly family are ambushed at their isolated home by Sheriff Wydell and a squad of armed men guns blazing ... yet only Otis and his sister, Baby, manage to escape the barrage of bullets unharmed. Hiding out in a backwater motel, the wanted siblings wait to rendezvous with their errant father, Captain Spaulding, killing whoever happens to stand in their way.

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, Page Falkinburg Jr, Elizabeth Daily, Tom Towles, Michael Berryman, P.J. Soles, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Ginger Lynn Allen, Mary Woronov, Daniel Roebuck, Duane Whitaker, Steve Railsback, Tyler Mane, Brian Posehn, Michael 'Red Bone' Alcott, Chris Ellis, Kane Hodder, Jessica Helmer.

Written & directed by Rob Zombie.

55% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Currently streaming in the US on HBO Max, Shudder, Vudu, Tubi, Pluto, and Plex. JustWatch listing.

posted by DirtyOldTown (2 comments total)

This is grim and ugly, with unseemly threads of horniness and ultraviolence. But it's also maybe the best Ropb Zombie has ever done at presenting that aesthetic, and it's perversely watchable in this case. His writing still is pretty shaky, but his ability to conjure memorable scenes and characters, as well as a nightmarish vibe was never better than here.

I wanted to take a shower immediately after seeing this.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:11 AM on October 24, 2022

Not a big fan of horror in general or this movie in particular, but I think about it often, mainly the scene where William Forsythe tortures the Rejects. My brain loves it when there's a perspective or narrative shift, where the protagonist role pivots to another character (A good example, god help me, is in Family Guy when Quagmire tells off Brian). In the torture scene Forsythe becomes the monster, but it doesn't really work - he's still a thousand times less monstrous than those bags of shit who get to go out in an undeserved blaze of triumphant glory. Maybe I'm too moral?
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:29 AM on October 26, 2022