The Devil's Rejects (2005) User Reviews

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

[boy_in_red · 7/10 · 2 September 2006]

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.

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

[slikrx · 7/10 · 29 June 2005]

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.

Great follow up

[jamie_likeskylie · 8/10 · 22 July 2005]

This movie has some classic ingredients for a great horror movie. Interesting characters, some really vile gore scenes, bad language, unnecessary nudity, and some familiar faces; Leslie Easterbrook (from the Police Academy movies), Ken Foree (the original Dawn Of The Dead), 80's pop singer/actress E.G. Daily and Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes) provide more than enough nostalgia for retro junkies, like myself.

The story isn't overly fast paced but the gore can be thick and pretty relentless and is at times implied rather than shown which I think adds to the experience. I really enjoyed Leslie Easterbrook as Mother Firefly (replacing Karen Black who was in the first movie, House Of 1000 Corpses). She does some wonderful overacting in her scenes, it's a shame she wasn't in it more, same goes for E.G. Daily who plays a sassy hooker. In fact everyone was great in their parts, let's face it this is not Shakespeare - this is a horror movie, I for one demand hammy over the top performances and a bit of camp! I don't want to give anything away but I will say my favourite scenes involved Mother Firefly and the sheriff, and Captain Spaulding and a mother and child. If you enjoyed House Of 1000 Corpses, this is a superior sequel in my mind and you wont be disappointed. If your idea of horror is a glossy PG-13 rated remake you might want to try weaning yourself onto this kind of movie with something a little less extreme.

It can't get much better...

[trailermonkeys · 14 September 2005]

OK, I loved "House of 1000 Corpses". I loved it for completely different reasons than I loved "The Devils Rejects". The mood in the first one is far more campy, almost cartoonish. The actual fear and horror mixed with that weird wink is perfect. "The Devils Rejects" on the other hand seems almost real. These people are out there...these people do not care about you or your children. Hell, they don't even care about your dog or furniture. The music, the angles, the complete disregard for the feelings of others. Blantant hedonism at it's best. Some folks walked out...I sat singing "Free Bird" till the screen went black. If it's for you, don't miss it. If you believe you are the least bit squeamish...go get that new direct to DVD Stitch movie!

Bloody brilliant. The definitive film of the genre--Cheap, gory low-budget campy Serial Slashers

[abyoussef · 7/10 · 19 March 2007]

by Dane Youssef

Rob Zombie is without a doubt one of the most versatile and true-to-his-genre artists out there. "The Devil's Rejects" is the kind of movie uptight censors and worried parents always warned you was gonna get made some day.

A movie where the leads are psychopathic murderers, the violence is excess and the gore is so voluminous, that you have to ask: "Does this movie satirize this kind of sadism... or celebrate it? Is it a fun campy parody... or a sign that we may have gone too far with our ultra-violent-based entertainment?" This movie actually defines the term "overkill." Three of the more interesting deranged killers from "House Of 1000 Corpses" get their own spin-off in the "Frasier" or "Jeffersons" tradition. The three, who are a family, actually (a father and his son and daughter) go on a mass killing spree and are racing out of the country to legal freedom on the other side of the border. They seem to echo the Manson Family.

Their sense of humor is the kind of acquired taste like the movie itself has. It stems from the experience you'd get from... watching slasher movies throughout a lot of your life. Like lime green Jell-O, anchovies, fish eggs and black licorice, this is not for all tastes.

The movie is actually a lot smarter and more complex than you might imagine, if you're unfamiliar with what Zombie's movies are about. It's akin to films like "From Dusk 'Til Dawn," "Vulgar," "Desperado" and "Freaked." If you like these types of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Friday the 13th" re-vamping in the video-geek traditions, here is a movie you may hold up as one for the history books. The dialogue is written a twisted brilliant way and the direction has a real retro-'70's homey-quality to it. In a way that doesn't feel contrived.

Sid Haig, Bill Moseley and Sheri Moon are all so perfectly demented in their roles, you have to wonder what they're like in real life. You pray they're nothing like they are here... and hope you never come across anyone remotely like this either.

Sheri Moon, wife of director Zombie, looks more like a typical American model-actress than the degenerate rank-skank she plays here. Moseley is real-life, was actually a columnist and Heig often played scuzzy thugs, but played the judge in Tarantino's "Jackie Brown."

I find it incredibly strange that some people seem to be COMPLAINING that the pursuing cop character (the sheriff, John Quincy Wydell) is as sadistic and mentally unbalanced as the family killers themselves. Why?

Yes, he is. But... why?

Why is that a bad thing? In any way at all?

Look, if there's anything history and government have taught us, it's that it takes one to catch one. Not just in the movies, but in life. And not just in real life, but in movies as well. You see, it's not just an opinion. It's a fact. It's the way of the world.

People... do we all not remember Tommy Lee Jones in "The Fugitive"? His I-Will-Catch-him-By-Any-Means-Nessicary-Law Enforcer way was one of the true milestones in the movie, and it got him an Oscar. Would we want any of the other major characters to be far less interesting than the leads?

When you eat a meal of any kind, you don't just want a rich main course and the side dishes to be as tasteless as styraphone. You want a whole meal you can taste.

And the stuff with the sheriff and the rest of the cops IS something to see. Why? Because he isn't any kind of undeveloped character. Zombie made him (and everything else) just as big, broad, colorful and energetic as the '70's genre that this one stems from.

There's some humor with the Kentucky-Fried Sheriff and the rest of his "Good Ol' Boys" in Blue. It goes without saying that in a small town, the cops are all red-necked. The way the stereotype of the small-town cop in a campy-slasher pic is handled with more laughs than usual. And there's a great moment where they call in a specialist, a film historian (see: uber film geek) to help them with the investigation and this film critic.... well, suffice to say, he insults the name of God in the house of the Lord and that's all I'm gonna say.

We all know Zombie is a neo-talent outside of the music biz. He did the LSD effect in "Beavis & Butthead Do America."

The end may justify the means, in this case. The hick cops and the colorful killers... in the end, it's an ending we all knew we deserved.

Speaking of Zombie, his film debut "House of 1000 Corpses," was a film I found to be embarrassingly bad. I'm a fan of those types of rock-horror camp movies in the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "House Of Wax" vein. SEVERED vein, in this case. But everything was played out so campy, so cheaply, so maudlin, so without suspense... that Zombie, I felt, made a movie that seems to be an insult, rather than a tribute to those horror-show camp classics.

But he's redeemed himself with this one. He's working without a net and it all could have gone horribly, pathetically wrong. So I give him props. BIG, BIG PROPS.

As I'm writing this now, he's currently re-making "Halloween." Though I wish he wouldn't, really. Why re-paint the Mona Lisa? Give it eyebrows, what? Will that REALLY be an improvement?

Brace yourself. Not for all tastes. Procceed with caution. Use extreme care.

NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED, SQUEAMISH, PRUDISH... OR TOO MORAL.

by Dane Youssef

Deep fried Southern Terror

[pughspencer · 7/10 · 5 September 2022]

What makes this film rob's best is for one his formula works. The trashy redneck nature & modern western approach is welcomed with characters that feel like individuals with personalities instead of cartoon characters like in 1000 corpses. The dialogue while still vulgar feels more authentic. Everyone stands out in this movie, especially William Forsythe as the sheriff. The other best thing about this movie is how it toys with your emotions. These are horrible vile characters you just wanna see get what they deserve, but than theres scenes like them getting ice cream where you kinda hate yourself for laughing along them. Also gotta compliment the soundtrack. Southern rock Classics with the best use of free bird in a movie I've ever seen.

This isnt a masterpiece tho. Its still a pretty vulgar, shock value, cheesy fueled movie. Also i know rob based the characters names off Groucho Marx movie characters but why reference that in the movie if it doesn't lead to any kind of answer? Pretty unneeded scene.

No doubt rob zombie improved as a director after 1000 corpses. I don't think it's one of the greatest horror movies ever made but definitely one of the standouts of the 2000s.

Zombie gets it right!

[INCESSANT · 10/10 · 7 August 2005]

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!"

Worth Seeing, But Check Out "House..." First

[mstomaso · 6/10 · 24 July 2005]

Rob Zombie took the same characters he created for House of a Thousand Corpses and gave us a higher-budget, flashier, and more commercialized murder-shocker - The Devil's Rejects. This is certainly a prettier and more polished film, with better production values, occasionally brilliant camera-work, and better acting (despite having the same principal cast). The same elements of the original are mostly intact - a psychotic serial killing family, vaguely satanic sadism, comedy, torture and a lot of blood. What's missing are the ambiguities, the darkness and the outright psychosis which appear in "House". And to compensate the audience for the loss of some of the elements which made "House" a good film, Zombie throws in sex - the most over-used plot device in cinematic history. Of course, its not just sex, but sexual violence mixed with torture, blood and nightmares.

In other words, where 'house' was a dark, campy, creepy murder flick, "Rejects" is a light-drenched, raw, fairly (but not entirely) serious murder flick. No problems with the script, the acting, the concept, or even the plot - but, some definite problems with the entertainment value of the film. This just isn't terribly original and drops the idiosyncrasy of "House" for a typical Hollywood approach.

Rejects starts out with a police raid on the house of a thousand corpses. Most of the family escape through a tunnel in their basement (why the police were unable to find this tunnel is a mystery). The police nab the mother, who plays up the satanic expectations of the police interrogating her and infuriates the sheriff (well played by William Forsythe) into an obsessive, vengeful state (his brother had been murdered by the family years ago). The Fireflies leave a trail of terror and murder in their wake and Forsythe follows it, until he is able to set his trap. I won't go any further with the plot outline because I do not want to write a spoiler, but I do want to elaborate on Forsythe's intense performance. His rage and self-righteous wrath blur the boundaries between cops and criminals quite effectively as the story progresses. If you want to know what I mean, you'll have to see the film.

The Firefly family, through most of the film, consist of Otis a lank tall man with long stringy gray hair, Captain Spaulding, an intimidating evil and merciless clown and Baby, Spaulding's daughter, a cute blond particularly fond of torturing her male victims. The characters are more or less consistent with their portrayals in "House", but I have to admit, I think Shari Moon Zombie's Baby was very inconsistent from film to film. In "House" she is completely and utterly insane and fearless - using her shrill psychotic laughter especially well. In 'Rejects', she screams a lot, does a lot of running-away, and is actually fairly rational compared with her sadistic, torture-loving murderous kin.

Finally, I don't think you can really 'get' this film if you haven't seen 'House'. So if you have any reason to want to see it, see "House" first. Some of the behavior of the characters will make little sense to you without their back-story.

Bottom line: Weakly recommended for horror fans.

A depraved, sick and brutal film.

[sidewinder572 · 10/10 · 22 July 2005]

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

Delivers for what it is

[okpilak · 7/10 · 13 March 2023]

This movie didn't pull any punches. You have two psychotic killers, who are surrounded by police in a raid, and it is all out mayhem. A textbook example of how to foul everything up. They escape, and team up with one of their buddies, a clown. And the sheriff shows he can be as psychotic as they are in trying to capture them. So one has three on the run, and they have no problem in taking delight in killing others. This is a movie one either will appreciate for the campy slasher movie that it is, or one is offended by the characters. If the latter, why are they still watching? Excessive violence, but by both sides. The characters are truly original.

Really Disappointed With This Storyline.

[DevilPaul · 3/10 · 11 October 2006]

I can't remember being so bored and disgusted during a movie in a long time. "The Devil's Rejects" picks up where "House of 1000 Corpses" left off and the family finds themselves under the assault of the local police in a shoot out right at the beginning. The assault is led by Sheriff Wydell who happens to be the brother of another Wydell killed by the family in the first movie. Mother Firefly is arrested but Otis and Baby escape the shoot out and are soon joined by Captain Spaulding at a seedy motel after they take a traveling band hostage. Then the movie takes great pains to show us how depraved these people are. They torture and humiliate their hostages just because they can. Why? I don't know, perhaps there is a point to it in the end. After they finish with the hostages Captain Spaulding takes them to his brother Charlie's whore house while Sheriff Wydell tortures Mother Firefly back at the police station. Do you remember Billy Dee Williams' "Lando Calrissian" character in "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back"? Well that's exactly what Charlie is: a businessman under threat by a higher authority to give up his friends in order to save his own ass. That's what he does and Wydell get Spaulding, Otis, and Baby with the help of two hired thugs. From there on, Wydell pretty much exhibits the same respect for the trio as they do for their hostages. I'm not saying who wins or loses but in the end the audience is treated to the entire Lynryd Skynyrd "Freebird" song to some slow motion bloodshed.

What can I say? This is about the most pointless movie I've ever seen. As an audience, we don't empathize with Baby, Spaulding, or Otis at all. We think they are disgusting and morally depraved but there is no answer as to why we should even care about them which is essential for keeping the audience emotionally involved in the story. During the humorous parts I couldn't even laugh because the characters were just people that I hated. I kept thinking, "I hope someone puts a bullet in all three of their skulls soon. I don't know how much longer I can watch this." I felt as tortured as their victims since I was essentially watching an hour and a half of three people who I hated from the beginning. In "House of 1000 Corpses" I really liked Sid Haig's "Captain Spaulding" character and thought he was the high point of the movie. In "Devil's Rejects" I couldn't stand him. If you've seen Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers" then you've seen "The Devil's Rejects" except that in this movie the characters aren't really that entertaining.

Seeing how bad this movie was is a shock since I liked "House of 1000 Corpses" even though it was a little rough around the edges. I expected, coming into this film, that Rob Zombie would have honed his craft and whip up something even better than his previous effort. The truth is that his new film is much, MUCH worse than I could have possibly imagined.

Folks, this ain't even worth a rental!

Perfect 70's Style Killing Spree!

[fireheart412 · 10/10 · 21 July 2005]

I had the pleasure of previewing this movie a few days before its official release. While I enjoyed "House of 1,000 Corpses" I think this follow-up sequel was far better. "House of 1,000 Corpses" was more like a carnival freak show with supernatural and unbelievable scenarios, whereas "The Devil's Rejects" was quite realistic and very brutal.

This film is in the vein of "Helter Skelter", and 'Otis' pays homage to Charles Manson, even hauntingly resembling him. "The Devil's Rejects" is full of bloody carnage, perversion, filthiness, vulgarity, and the characters are sadistic and relentless serial killers. It is not for the feint of heart or the squeamish. There are some clever and quite humorous lines in the movie, along with some very disturbing ones as well. Sherri Moon Zombie gives a stellar performance as 'Baby' that is quite unforgettable. It was great to see P.J. Soles (Halloween) in this film, still looking beautiful as ever. Leslie Easterland, 'Mama Firefly', really gives an excellent performance as the perverted and disgusting mother of the clan. All of the actors did an amazing job in this movie and were very convincing as their characters.

The cinematography of this film was really brilliant, and uses the 'swipe' and 'freeze-frame' methods, sometimes resembling a comic book adventure. The music was classic seventies rock, and fits well with the road trip theme. The gore was spectacular and realistic, and sometimes even disgusted me at times, which is hard to accomplish. I gave this movie a "10 out of 10" because it is full of spectacular, clever, and gruesome horror-movie fun! It contains scenes which seriously make the viewer cringe and feel sympathy for the victims, while hating the serial killers. I've never felt so much hatred and disgust towards the villains as I did during this film, and that goes to show you how convincing this movie really is! If you like Rob Zombie, seventies slashers, and a good horror movie plot, with edge of your seat/nail-biting scenes, then this is the movie for you! Check it out, its jaw-droppingly great!

Bad-Ass!

[namashi_1 · 7/10 · 23 October 2013]

A sequel to the 2003 film House of 1000 Corpses, Rob Zombie's 'The Devil's Rejects' is Bad-Ass! A Brutal, Unforgiving, Gruesome Horror Flick that works in most parts.

'The Devil's Rejects' Synopsis: The murderous, backwoods Firefly family takes to the road to escape a vengeful police force which isn't afraid of being as ruthless as their target.

'The Devil's Rejects' is NOT meant for the faint-hearted. Its extremely dark, brutal & gruesome. But for those who enjoy violent films, 'The Devil Rejects' does deliver enough moments to earn itself a viewing. The characters are evil, their journey is unforgiving, but Rob Zombie's execution is well-done & appealing.

Performance-Wise: Sid Haig, Bill Moseley & Sheri Moon Zombie are repulsive, but effective. William Forsythe is superb as the brave sheriff. The Late Matthew McGrory is decent.

On the whole, 'The Devil's Rejects' is sadistic but fun.

Vile, ugly and pointless

[khan-16 · 1/10 · 11 November 2005]

I am a horror fan. There is something about a stylish thriller that I think we all enjoy. However, anyone that appreciates a good thriller appreciates the style, suspense and craft that goes into a worthwhile film. I checked this film out on IMDb before I rented because I hated "House of 1000 corpses". Now that I have seen it I am stunned that it got a 7.0. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE??? This is simply an exercise in sadism. There is nothing enjoyable or suspenseful about cruel, nasty material done in an ugly way. I almost turned the "movie" off after the sickening humiliation of Priscilla Barnes, but I figured if I was going to express an opinion I should see the entire movie. What a mistake that was! Everyone involved in this sickening, vile mess should be deeply ashamed. Please...Someone tell me the point of this repugnant pile of self-serving crap! How does this get made??? How does this get financed??? And REALLY, how do you people find anything entertaining about this nasty exercise in brutality??? This "film" wallows in its own grotesque ugliness. There is no point, no art, no entertainment, no craft, no suspense and no reason. Rob Zombie has now assembled two of the most pointless, nasty, ugly, vile excuses for a movie ever made. I seriously don't want to be in a room with anyone who really enjoyed this rancid, pathetic piece of trash. There is real craft out there. Seek it out. This is the kind of thing that makes me lose all faith in people. This speaks volumes about how the rest of the world sees us in this country. It is my hope that Rob Zombie will never again have the finances at his disposal to construct another affront to the sensibilities of everyone but the criminally insane. If you are a real fan of horror stay clear of Mr. Zombie's sick masturbatory daydreams and seek out some masters of the craft. I suggest some Dario Argento. I sincerely hope that my comments don't make someone want to see this trash. I can imagine someone thinking "If it's that bad I have to see what all the fuss is about". Don't bother. You will just feel like you are covered in a thick slimy film that can't be washed off.

Much Better Than Expected ....

[sabsco · 6 February 2006]

Not the kind of movie I would normally even consider, but after recommendations from a couple of people who's opinion I trust, I rented the movie this weekend. Writer/Director Rob Zombie is obviously a great fan of 70s drive-in fare like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "The Hills Have Eyes" and has learned his lessons well. He has a solid directorial style and a great ear for comically profane dialog - the banter in this movie reminds me of "Goodfellas" with maniacal Southern rednecks rather than East Coast Italian mobsters. And with a cast that includes William Forsythe, Sid Haig, Geoffrey Lewis, Ginger Lynn Allen, Priscilla Barnes, Steve Railsback, P.J. Soles, Mary Waronov, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, and Michael Berryman, and a Super 70s Soundtrack featuring The Allman Brothers, The James Gang, David Essex, and Lynyrd Skynyrd among others - you know Zombie has his pop cultural/cult movie references in order. I enjoyed this movie more for the humor than the for the "horror". The characters are all named after various Marx Brothers characters and while the gore is graphic and there are some truly chilling images in the movie, Zombie just misses the "beat" to put some of these sequences over the top, while the acting performances by a couple of the leads - namely Zombie look-alike Bill Mosely and Zombie's utterly babe-o-licious wife Sherri Moon Zombie - are less than stellar (although in Ms. Zombie's case it doesn't really matter - major eye candy!). So, a "qualified" recommendation for those who don't normally go for this kind of movie but who think they might enjoy it based on the description above. I thoroughly enjoyed it myself and think Rob Zombie is a genuinely talented filmmaker who will eventually hit one out of the ballpark if he keeps at it, which I'm sure he will. He comes pretty darned close with "The Devil's Rejects".

Rob Zombie's salute to slasher grindhouse flicks leaves something more to be desired; somewhere Groucho Marx is spinning in his grave

[george.schmidt · 7/10 · 25 July 2005]

THE DEVIL'S REJECTS (2005) **1/2 Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon, William Forsythe, Ken Foree, Matthew McGrory, Leslie Easterbrook, Geoffrey Lewis, Priscilla Barnes, Kate Norby, Lew Temple, Danny Trejo, Diamond Dallas Page, Elizabeth Daily, Tom Towles, Michael Berryman, P.J. Soles, Ginger Lynn Allen, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Mary Woronov, Daniel Roebuck, Robert Trebor. Madman Rob Zombie's sordid sequel-of-sorts to his drive-in horror fest valentine to the '70s slasher flicks "House of 1,000 Corpses" showcases the definitely demented homicidal "Firefly" family (all the characters are inexplicably – well except for one attempted sequence anyway – named after Groucho Marx cinematic aliases) ensuing a trail of dead bodies, carnage and a nightmarish hellzapoppin existence while vengeance seeking sheriff Forsythe (in full gritty resolve) is out to settle a personal score for his slain sibling Towles. Giddy pleasure in playing name that iconic '70s guest star (Hey isn't that the chick from "Too Close For Comfort"?! and "Hey, check it out , it's the ghoul from "The Hills Have Eyes" !) Grotesque and ugly (in every sense of the words) with some truly unsettling sequences that get under the skin scores some genuine ick quotient squirrelly behavior and gut-wrenching violence yet the in cohesive plotting (I know, why nitpick a grindhouse fright fest right?!) and grandiose ending with "Freebird" scored by Sam Peckinpah gives one to wonder what Senor Zombie would truly do if he had a real screenplay than the one he summoned from this dark soul?

Devil's Rejects...Mildly Disappointing

[ibanez747 · 7/10 · 25 July 2005]

***May Contain Spoilers*** I, like many other fans of the horror genre, had extremely high hopes for this one. Looking back on it, maybe too high. Devil's Rejects is a horror/exploitation film done in the 70's maverick mode. Though it works for the most part, it takes away from the horror. This was a movie that could have been a lot better had there been more focus on the actual hunting, chasing and physical destruction of victims and less on how much the killer family loves each other.

The movie starts out with a raid on the compound from House of a 1000 Corpses. There is a shootout and Madame Firefly is arrested by police, while Otis and Baby escape. They later rendezvous with Captain Spaulding at an obscure motel. Otis and Baby arrive and take a group of hostages, a traveling cover band. The scenes involving the hostages and some of their deaths are cool. I think the use of guns, though, hurts the horror aspect. I think knives or blunt objects should have been incorporated much more than it did. In other words, too many shootouts and too many easy deaths. The fact they were hostages at gunpoint is not scary. This is a cliché of action films not horror. I think the focus was on the vile nature of the event with comedic twist. There were some funny interactions between and among the characters.

There were long drawn out parts that really were kind of a waste. I go straight to the ice cream scene in the van. This part really annoyed me. I'm still puzzled to the question why. After witnessing their disgusting acts, why would I feel anything at all for these people? Am I supposed to go "Awe, that's nice. Look they're having a family moment together"? This exemplifies my whole state in the movie. I was waiting for the movie to pickup. It never did. So that was my feeling after the movie...Unfulfilled, Disappointed.

William Forsythe made the movie for me. Since he was the most gifted actor on the set, he really came through as the psycho cop. He was seemingly more brutal and more insane than the family he was hunting down. The focus of the movie was his hunt for the family as they were constantly on the run. He was dark and sadistic as well as humorous. Loved his character.

Also I enjoyed Ken Foree. It seems like this horror movie vet has gotten some more phone calls and a subsequent career resurgence. His role was perhaps his most prominent since Texas Chainsaw Massacre III. He plays a 70's pimp and looks like he could have been right out of "Dolemite".

Overall it wasn't an awful film. It was more original than the first one. It had better acting and it looked more focused on where Rob wanted to take the story. I felt despite the shortcomings of the first one; I felt the first one was a better "horror" movie of the two.

6.5-7.0 out of 10

Great movie for the true horror fan

[barbie800 · 9/10 · 7 May 2006]

Only certain people can appreciate a movie like this. This was better than Rob's "House of 1000 Corpes". It was sleazy, gruesome, and actually funny at times. Otis, Baby, and Captain Spaulding really do make this movie. The crazy thing is that I was actually rooting for them in the end. Maybe this is sick but this is how the movie portrayed them. Come on, Baby likes tooty fruity ice cream. You can't help but to root for her. This movie also had the feeling to it that it was filmed in the 70's. It's hard to explain but it had that Texas Chainsaw, Friday the 13th, The Hills Have Eyes feel to it. All around a great flick for the horror fan who can appreciate it.

Don't watch this alone

[Flagrant-Baronessa · 7/10 · 31 October 2006]

Not because it's "too scary" to watch alone in the dark, but simply because watching it with a group of friends will definitely enrich the whole twisted experience that is 'The Devil's Rejects', particularly the gruesome unrated version. This is hard-boiled, hard-edged, vile, gritty, gory and graphic gorefest at its finest.

Hype and occasional missteps aside, I think Rob Zombie has created something quite unique and fun in the genre – a sort of clear-eyed but grossly over-the-top white-trash tits 'n' torture freak-show of gore, sex and violence en masse. What is most admirable is that Mr. Zombie actually seems to know what he is doing with the content instead of dishing out gore galore to create headlines. The fact is that the narrative, the characters and the no-nonsense approach all function by remaining clear-cut and down-to-earth while the madness of the story exponentially increases.

So what is the story? It is a modern day Bonnie & Clyde in which the fugitive family Firefly indulge in orgies of gore and killing sprees on a road-trip in the South. All the while the Texas State Police contingent headed by Sheriff John Quincy Wydell (a raspy-voiced William Forsythe) slowly close in on the family – capture the offenders at any cost, even if that means enlisting gruesome bounty hunters. In this way the police are neither the pro- nor antagonists in the film and Forsythe aptly brings that delicious moral ambiguity to his Sheriff character.

Conversely, the Firefly family certainly offer no moral safeground. They kill like they mean business – a sort of sick, seedy and sadistic business, true, but still business – and indeed you hold more disgust than sympathy for the quartet even though you are highly absorbed by them. On that note, Sheri Moon delivers the best performance by a playboy model I have ever seen. Danny Trejo also looks right at home in a sleazy thug character that pops up at one point in 'The Devil's Rejects' and the remaining cast look equally comfortable as hard-edged whitetrash.

What undoubtedly contributes to the perpetual sense of immediate danger in the film is the kinetic, dizzying camera-work that Zombie opts for. It can be a cheap-shot to quicken the pace in films (I'm looking at you, Tony Scott) but in 'The Devil's Rejects' is all fits with the violent action style. But the film is not all action and certainly there is an underlying horror vibe that often bubbles up underneath the bottled lid and gives rise to truly frightening scenarios such as Forsythe chasing after someone with an axe. It ticks off some horror clichés during the way but always with humour and rawness as opposed to the unimaginative run-of-the-mill teen horrors that treat the same scenarios as dutiful inclusions.

Ultimately The Devil's Rejects is mostly flashy and fun and would possibly fall apart at closer analysis. But Mr. Analysist himself – Roger Ebert – gave the film two thumbs up which should serve as a mark of its high entertainment factor. Its cast and content both tread a fine line between straight and camp and tip over into both categories at several points. Finally, the end scene is one of the strongest I have ever seen, no hyperbole, and it elevates Rejects even further above generic gross-out formula.

7 out of 10

Zombie Redeems Himself

[brainofj72 · 9/10 · 27 August 2005]

Let me start off by saying I was very, very disappointed with "House of 1000 Corpses". It was overly-fast-paced to the point where it seemed like the only people who could enjoy it were those with ADD. It was also suffering from a lack of gore and carnage, something rather surprising from the horror aficionado that Mr. Zombie is. On top of that, it was a complete rip-off of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974), which is a much better film anyway. All Zombie did differently was add neon lights.

So, my expectations for "The Devil's Rejects" really weren't very high. But I began hearing reviews from people who saw the film before it was released saying that it was very different and much better than "House". And then I saw the previews, which looked promising. So, my expectations went up just a little. However, I was still pretty weary. I just wasn't sure if I could trust Zombie. But I went into the theater with an open mind. The lights dimmed. And what I saw was the glorious return of the true horror film. Rob Zombie more than redeemed himself with this brutal, funny, and utterly spectacular film. He worked out all the pacing kinks of "House", took away the flashy neon-light look, and replaced them with a gritty, violent masterpiece of terror.

"The Devil's Rejects" follows the three surviving members of the psychotic murderer family from "House of 1000 Corpses", who have been given the nickname "The Devil's Rejects" by the locals. They're on the run from the police, and along the way, they just happen to engage in murder, blasphemy, and sexual abuse. The exploitation fan inside of me rejoiced. In a twisted away, I loved everything I was seeing. And on top of all of this, Rob Zombie managed to put together just about the best mix of snappy dialogue and music I've witnessed since "Pulp Fiction". He even made me dig "Freebird", and I REALLY dislike Lynyrd Skynyrd.

This has been a truly wonderful summer for horror fans. First, the French terror masterpiece, "High Tension", then George A. Romero's excellent return to form, "Land of the Dead", and now, Rob Zombie's truly glorious coming-into-his-own-as-a-filmmaker, "The Devil's Rejects". Let's just hope Lion's Gate has the balls to give him another film.

9/10

Could have been so much better

[LeonardPine · 6/10 · 6 August 2005]

First of all lets get this films major flaw out of the way. There's no-one in this film to root for! Is the audience supposed to side with the cruel sadistic psycho family? And if so, why? They humiliate and torture an innocent family of Banjo players, and then when the sheriff does the same to them, we're supposed give them sympathy! Yeah right.

The film starts brilliantly with the opening shootout between the psycho gang and the cops, unfortunately it can't keep up the momentum for the duration. Director Zombie hasn't a clue about pacing and as a result the film kind of limps to its conclusion. What should have been a heart-racing final 20 minutes (chainsaw anyone?) is swapped for a rushed and silly climax. Also the film stops to many times for Tarantino-lite dialogue. Conversations about Chicken f*****g, Princess Leia fantasies, and Groucho Marks are all very well, but not when they grind the film to a halt.

Zombie certainly likes to riff on his favourite horror movies.There's plenty of similarity with TCM, Last House on the Left, and The Hills Have Eyes. The film IS very violent and some of the more sadistic scenes will have some viewers heading for the exit. One scene in particular has the character of Baby forcing two women to hit each other for her amusement. Its a nasty and distasteful scene, one that this particular viewer found quite sickening.

On a plus note the film looks great, with a washed out gritty look to the photography. Zombie really captures the 70's horror vibe, making it rather frustrating as its obvious the film could have been so much better.

The acting in the film is superb considering the content, with William Forsythe stealing the film as the God-fearing sheriff on a rampage. Director Zombie can obviously handle actors well, and his film looks great, its just a shame the rest isn't up to scratch. It'll be interesting to see what he comes up with for his 3rd movie.

The Devil's Re-treads

[vvalenscu · 1/10 · 14 May 2006]

OK. I saw "House of 1000 Corpses" and thought it an utterly useless, TCM rip-off. But I heard better things about this one, so I went in with an open mind. Unlike Rob Zombie, who does not seem to have an original, or even fresh thought in his head. Otis the crackhead psycho from "House" becomes a Charlie Manson wannabe in this one, and Sheri Moon is the least convincing "bad" girl I have ever seen.

This film first rips off "Last house on the left" with the humiliation/rape/murder scene in the Hotel, with the vapid Sheri Moon ordering one of the female captives to hit the other in the face, hard. Lady, you ain't no David Hess. You are not fit to lace up Jeramie Rain's Keds, for that matter.

We meander to an out of the way bordello, so that we may crib from "From Dusk til Dawn". The film tries to marry '70's grind to films such as "Natural born Killers", with flat attempts to mimic Tarantino-esquire witty repartee. Bill Mosely might have been up to that task, but remember, he's channeling Charlie, and has proclaimed himself the Devil. I guess he's too hardcore for humour.

We have a sheriff who seems to be a direct rip-off from the cop gone bad from NBK, and the Dennis Hopper religious, insane Texas Ranger from the funny TCM sequel (Forget which one, hope you get the point.) We also get a Pimp, a "Bandito", and other stock Tarantino characters.

Finally, this crap ends in a "Bonnie and Clyde" style shootout. Sheri Moon is also no Faye Dunaway.

Every thing Zombie did in his two movies was ripping off every thing you have seen before. Some call it homage. I call it complete lack of talent.

There's a good deal of gore, and of course violence, but Zombie tries to paint his villains as anti-heros, and fails utterly, so the grind is all for naught. Oh, and Rob? Thanks for ruining "Freebird" for me.

Zombie's movies seem like an excuse to give his old lady some work. I grew weary of seeing her posterior. Sheri Moon, you ain't no Tiffany Minx, but porn is surely where you belong.

Caveat Emptor on this one.

Flawless cinema

[cryptor-39871 · 10/10 · 1 September 2023]

Horror films inevitably fail to get the recognition they deserve as 'cinema art' (ok, most aren't, for sure) so anything over a 6 is pretty respectable.

Personally, I find it hard to fault this film. The acting is absolutely second to none and Leslie Easterbrook's portrayal of Mother Firefly would be up for an Oscar if this were a more Hollywood-friendly offering (certainly a comparable performance to Nicholson's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, albeit as supporting actress rather than main).

The cinematography is simply gorgeous at times, and the psychedelic shooting sequence to Terry Reid's To Be Treated Right (YouTube it!) is simply out of this world.

Rob Zombie manages to take all of the cinematic cliches and make them work in a literal modern masterpiece - albeit one of drugs, gore, brutal killings and psychopathic (lovable) characters.

Anyone with a stomach for hard-hitting 'horror' NEEDS to watch this film!

Provocative film with questionable politics

[The_Eighth_Passenger · 7/10 · 12 May 2013]

Rob Zombie launched himself onto the main stage as an important voice in modern horror with his sophomore effort The Devil's Rejects. Continuing the exploits of the Firefly family, last seen in House of 1000 Corpses, the film follows the family on the run after a police raid on their den of torture and murder. The local Sheriff has a personal grudge to settle and as the film develops we are asked to side with the family as they become the victims.

Zombie's influences are clear from the outset with an opening narration and on screen text in the style of a documentary giving the back story in a clear reference to Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The 70's setting and overall style of the film constantly hearkens back to genre classics such as Craven's Last House On The Left. The film never reaches the artistic heights of Chainsaw (partially due to a sexually juvenile and leery tone that undermines the other great work being done) but it can stand shoulder to shoulder with the vast majority of grindhouse movies.

There are many who accuse Zombie of being a Charles Manson sympathiser and it is easy to see why. The character of Otis, played by Bill Mosely, is clearly based on the most famous of mass murderers and I don't think it's a push to look at it as a homage. Zombie is clearly more interested in his killers than their victims, as he would go on to confirm in his remake of Halloween in which he made Michael Myers' inner psyche the central focus. Being encouraged to sympathise with killers as sadistic and brutal as the Firefly family in The Devil's Rejects doesn't work for me and I am constantly on the side of Sheriff Wydell. Obviously each viewer will bring their own personal politics and baggage with them and is free to form their own opinions but personally once I have witnessed a man rape a woman with a pistol I don't care how much he may love his sister, I look forward to his painful demise.

Whatever Zombie's agenda and wherever his sympathies lie, there is no denying he has made a powerful film and any movie that can get people debating about these issues has got to be doing something right.

It is astonishing, given the violence being portrayed, how many times I burst out laughing watching the film. From Sid Haig as father figure Captain Spaulding to Ken Foree as a pimp, the film is full of great character actors and genre favourites turning it up to 11 and spitting out Zombie's hilarious, twisted dialogue with relish. Even Rob's wife, Sheri Moon Zombie, turns in a great performance which surprised me massively because she is awful in Halloween.

A definite recommend to all viewers with even a passing interest in horror/grindhouse flicks.

oh dear

[qholway · 1/10 · 6 November 2005]

sorry, this is not a good film. simply setting up a bunch of people for violent, miserable death and torture, zombie has no tale to tell and no point to make. as far as i remember nobody survives, not that it matters, which seems to be the point of this childish, inept exercise in ersatz nihilism. (actually, i may be wrong there... can't quite recall, but isn't there some hulking deformed fellow who comes to the director's wife's rescue and then... ohh, i really can't be bothered.) a lot of superannuated infants would have one believe that this film is 'sick' and 'depraved' to it's credit. it's not. while it is definitely deserving of both those adjectives it is still no good whatsoever.

torture, humiliation, smashed-in heads and a clattering, numb-skull soundtrack might be your delight, i don't know, but i hope it isn't, for your sake. and naming these things as credits is just silly.

it's a film that makes you feel bad, not for it's characters but for the world we live in and that we will be shortly leaving to our children. a world where watching supposed versions of ourselves being ripped apart, both literally and figuratively, is regarded as entertainment.

horror has a place, sure, and good horror films are good films first. that they horrify means they've succeeded, but they have to have quality in the first place to do that. merely dealing out death and misery and pouring cancerous moral bleakness into our parietal lobes succeeds in nothing but fulfilling only the needs and curious desires of those blank-headed children mentioned earlier - the ones who slow down to see who got caved in in a multiple pile-up but who would, presumably, prefer not to suffer the indignity of being the crushed person being so voyeuristically studied.

don't ask me what makes a good horror film, specifically - if i knew that i would be making one rather than typing this - but it's clear for (nearly) all to see what makes a bad one. this film could be a textbook for those looking to do just that.

but do go see it if you like this kind of thing. it is, after all, aimed directly at you.