The Devil’s Rejects (2005)

Directed by: Rob Zombie | 109 minutes | action, horror, crime | Actors: Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie, William Forsythe, Ken Foree, Leslie Easterbrook, EG Daily, Matthew McGrory, Geoffrey Lewis, Priscilla Barnes, Dave Sheridan, Kate Norby, Lew Temple, Danny Trejo, Dallas Page, Brian Posehn Tom Towles, Michael Berryman, PJ Soles, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Ginger Lynn Allen, Jossara Jinaro, Chris Ellis, Mary Woropov, Daniel Roebuck, Duane Whitaker, Michael ‘Red Bone’ Alcott, Juanita Guzman, Sean Moran, Jordan Orr, Kelvin Brown, Glenn Taranto, Jessica Helmer, Nicholas Marino, Steve Railsback, John H. Tobin, Robert Trebor

The story of this film hints at an old-fashioned slasher movie in the tradition of ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, or more recently ‘Wrong Turn’: inbred characters wreak havoc in remote areas of the southern United States. This is essentially what the viewer is presented with, but ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ has more to offer than just that.

‘The Devil’s Rejects’ is sort of a sequel to 2005’s ‘House of 1000 Corpses’. Sort of, because director Rob Zombie hates so-called sequels. Although he has the main characters from ‘House of 1000 Corpses’ return in this film, ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ differs from its predecessor in style and story. The emphasis is more on the mutual bond between the main characters than on their crimes. And where ‘House of 1000 Corpses’ was surreal and campy, ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ is a lot more realistic. The end result is a pretty sickening horror movie, not least because of the sadistic psychological games the Fireflies play with their victims.

Director Rob Zombie (real name: Robert Cummings) is a colorful cult figure, best known in his home country of the United States. In addition to directing films, he is also a musician, illustrator and scriptwriter. His wife Sheri Moon Zombie (born Sheri Skerkis) has featured in virtually all of Zombies heavy metal band White Zombie’s music videos, and has starred in both ‘House of 1000 Corpses’ and ‘The Devil’s Rejects’. She also had a supporting role in Tobe Hooper’s ‘Toolbox Murders’ (Hooper made his name with films such as ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ and ‘Poltergeist’). The beautiful Sheri, like her husband, has achieved cult status among fans of both metal music and horror movies in the US.

What is particularly striking about ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ is that the film is more intelligent than the average slasher. The killers aren’t mindless, axe-wielding, masked psychopaths, but flesh-and-blood people. For example, we see the Firefly family enjoying an ice cream together. And the ultra-violent Otis also turns out to be a sharp guy with strong one-liners. Nevertheless, the Fireflies do not arouse much sympathy, and at the end of the film they also get what they deserve.

‘The Devil’s Rejects’ is an excellent genre film, and it is sure to have a long life in video stores and private collections. For the general public, this film is probably just a bit too much of a good thing.