No joke, I thought this was one of the best movies of the year. You could also make a valid argument for it being one of the worst movies of the year and I wouldn't fault you. What I can't see is a viewer just sorta liking it. The thing with The Devil's Rejects is that it's one of those movies - like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Last House on the Left - that produces a real visceral reaction. It's going to repulse you so much that you think it's either a great piece of filmmaking or the work of somebody who's spent too much time dissecting snuff films and serial killer bios...or perhaps both.

It's not going to do you a lot of good to describe the plot. The plot itself isn't very original. It's the stylistic choices and devices that are employed that separate it from more pedestrian horror films. In a nutshell, it's about a group of people who are kidnapped, brutalized and murdered by a depraved family hell-bent on inflicting as much pain on themselves as they do others. That alone should tell you whether or not this is a film for you.

As a performer and director of music videos, I really like Rob Zombie. As the director of House of 1000 Corpses, I wasn't satisfied with his work. It was akin to watching a kid in a candy store taking a little bit of everything and leaving with a bellyache. He tried every little directorial and editorial trick in the book, and it amounted to a mess of a movie that could have been a better film in the hands of a more experienced director. He was inspired by the great, gritty horror films of the 70s and that proved to be a distraction. It became a movie that was about its influences.

This one picks up at the end of Corpses, and is also heavily influenced by 70s horror. I was reminded most of The Hills Have Eyes. The difference this time is that this film is about the characters in the film and not just a mad hodgepodge of the grotesque. Certainly it's a gory, violent and brutal film, but it becomes what was presumably intended as a circus of gore. I don't think enjoyable would be a word I'd use to describe this film. Nonetheless, I really was impressed with Zombie's work this time.

It doesn't hurt that he picked a great lot of songs for the soundtrack; they add some amplitude to its authenticity. The film's climax benefits greatly from his choice of songs, and it has a kind of crazed beauty deep within its disturbing vortex (some of this can also be attributed to some sound editing choices). Thank God the film has a sense of humor, because it ran the risk of drowning in its subject matter. Additionally, it's got a great villain in Captain Spaulding. He's a nasty son of a bitch. This is go for broke horror, and as a horror fan I was satisfied.

I'm hoping others will see it and tell me how much they loved it or hated it!
[Edited 7/24/05 11:48am]

I can't wait to see it...I've seen Rob's House of 1000 Corpses...I didn't know what to think....I laughed and thougth WTF on that movie.....but I can not wait for this new one...

'Devil's Rejects'

....I'm going to see it! I love Rob Zombie!!

There is NO WAY I could ever watch this movie.

no


way


ever



From previews alone I had an immediate strong reaction of repulsion. The aesthetic in particular just, well, turns me off. I'd call it ugly even.

But a strong reaction, he has achieved, so take that for what its worth.

CarrieMpls said:

If you got that reaction just from the trailer, then, yes, avoid it at all costs!

DR. SATAN!!!! I'm seeing it tomorrow....with a free movie ticket, hehe. House of 1000 Corpses was awful and thank god I didn't pay to see it at the movies. You know I actually wanna see Hustle and Flow too believe it or not. Normally movies like H/F turn me off, but it's been getting decent reviews.