The Devil's Rejects (2005) Reviews

• The Devil's Rejects is not always an easy film to watch

  boy_in_red2006-09-02

  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.

• Zombie gets it right!

  INCESSANT2005-08-07

  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!"

• I wantd the sheriff to shoot all of 'em rather than blah blah

  Fella_shibby2016-07-31

  I first saw this on a DVD in 2006. This was way better than its predecessor House of 1000 Corpes. It was sleazy, gruesome, and actually funny at times. Otis, Baby, and Captain Spaulding r the outlaws pursued by William Forsythe (The rock, Once upon a time in America) aka Sheriff Wydell as he is hellbent on revenge. While the first one was in one area n one house mostly, the 2nd one is more outside n on the go. This can b termed as a road/revenge/western movie. Now coming to the clichés usually found in most horror flicks. 1)Characters outnumbering a villain who is only armed with a knife, and yet not making any effort to attack the villain. 2)Waiting forever to steal a gun from the villains, then waiting forever to shoot the villain. 3)Villain is down on the ground but not attacking n giving the villain plenty of time and opportunity to get up n attack. 4)N of course the gun is not loaded. 5)Talking a lot before attacking the villain n losing the opportunity. 6)Crying n running helter-shelter n running straight into the arms of a member not realizing that he is part of the gang. Most of the same star cast r continued in this flick. A new addtion is Ken Foree (Dawn of the dead-both new n ol) n the above mentioned sheriff.

• A depraved, sick and brutal film.

  sidewinder5722005-07-22

  Alright, I never bothered with "House of 1,000 Corpses." Mainly due to the poor reviews and the fact it looked like a "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" rip off. As a matter of fact I wasn't that interested in this movie at first. But the early buzz raised my interest and I went out and saw it. "The Devil's Rejects" is a sick, ruthless, grab you by the throat and don't let go horror movie. Which is exactly what it sets out to do and it succeeds brilliantly. While the movie is sadistic and violent, the characters are extremely well developed and the movie is extremely well written. I've always felt that Rob Zombie would make a good horror director and while "Corpses" wasn't so well received it was only his first film. This is something else altogether. A genre masterpiece and the best movie I've seen all year. If Zombie keeps this up he will become a force to be reckoned with in the horror genre

• A solid movie NOT FOR EVERYONE!!! (but great if you like this stuff)

  slikrx2005-06-29

  I went into a screening of this movie completely blind. I hadn't seen 1000 Deaths, and I haven't even seen any of Rob Zombie's videos. (I do like his music,BTW) I had essentially no idea what to expect.This movie is what "Natural Born Killers" *TRIED* to be. It's "Kill Bill" without the nod and wink that this is campy/funny. This movie is intense, violent, gory, gritty, harsh chilling and creepy. The only movie/scene that can compare the intensity to is "Saving Private Ryan", particularly the scene where Mellish is slowly stabbed by a German near the end of "Ryan". This movie can/will take your breath away. That being said, if you like this sort of thing, the movie is VERY well written, directed and acted. The casting was beautiful. Captain Spaulding, Otis, Lady Firefly are brilliant. Others were also great. I saw this at a private screening with a Q&A with Rob Zombie afterward. The audience experience was odd. Sometimes there would be cheers, only to have them choked off by the next few seconds. This movie kept you on the edge of your seat. There were moments of funniness, and well done comic bits, but this is NOT a comedy. During the Q&A, a gentleman (who said he liked 1000 corpses) described the movie as "the worst, most violent depraved movie I have ever seen. It glorifies violence..." This comment received some cheers. Rob replied VERY professionally (quote/paraphrase) " I think you might have had the perfect response. ...if you want truly depraved, see Cannibal Holocaust or Man Bites Dog... this movies does not glorify the violence, it shows how ugly and nasty it is... I don't want people to cheer the bad guys..." Bottom line? This movie makes you uncomfortable. It is absolutely, positively NOT FOR EVERYONE!!! It takes a long, hard, ugly look at the exploits of some truly horrible human beings and their affect on their surroundings. It was also done extremely well. If you like this genre, it gets a solid 9. However, due to its general limited appeal, I have to drop it to a 7 overall.