God bless Rob Zombie.
I never imagined I would say those words years ago. Not even when his first movie House of 1000 Corpses, which I liked, came out. But now, I have to say thank you Rob Zombie, with all my heart, for finally delivering an American horror movie with balls.
What Zombie has accomplished here is nothing short of amazing. He has transformed from a director with a Tarantino-esque affection towards 70s horror movies to someone who genuinely embodied the spirit of 70s cinema. Whereas House of 1000 Corpses was a rolicking, cartoony, music video way of looking back on movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (I liked it despite its unoriginality, for presenting a fun modern spin on a familiar tale), The Devil's Rejects IS one of those movies. It's not just full of homages and inspired by those movies; this movie will not feel out of place at all belonging in the 70s bastard horror classics line-up.
The most impressive aspect of the entire movie is by far the cinematography, which surpassed anything I'd ever expected. Zombie combined the modern professional colors and lighting of today with the super-grain and flat look of cheap 70s horror. He captured that style so perfectly, down to the messy handheld and the awkward compositions, that I will bet you anything not excluding BOTH my testicles... if you stumbled upon this movie on TV late night and you didn't know any better, you'd think this was a movie made 30 years ago.
Much like Wes Craven and John Carpenter when they were first starting out, Rob Zombie makes no apologies for the things he shows, and he has a damn good time showing them. I'll say this to you gore-hounds: don't expect cool gore effects, because there aren't any. It's not what this is about. It's not a zombie movie, and it's not crazy Asian cinema. This movie doesn't glorify its violence in that way. Instead, it makes every cut and wound dirty, dusty and disgusting. Remember that part in Taxi Driver when Travis Bickle shoots Sport's henchman in the face and the guy's face pops like huge zits? It's like that for the entire movie.
The vile and disturbing events that happen in this movie are not justified, and it's proud of its own sick little joke. Take, for example, the Firefly family. They're sick bastard serial killers; nothing more, nothing less. They're completely psychotic, and we see no reasonable cause for the effects they inflict upon their victims. Yet they're the people we're supposed to bond with. And boy, did I want to bond with them. The Firefly family is so funny and charming and a delight to watch that you just have to nervously laugh and shake your head when you see these characters torture and mutilate innocent people. There is a point in the movie when I realized how much Zombie succeeded in this, and that is when I said to myself, "Man, why can't those cops leave the Fireflies alone? Give them a break already." and then realizing half a second later that that would mean letting them torture and kill more unsuspecting people. And I'm okay with that.
Part of what makes it work is the superb acting and writing, far exceeding what was shown in House of 1000 Corpses. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, showcase such awesome performances that you'd bang your head to a wall pleading for them to be in more movies. The only one questionable is Sheri Moon Zombie's, who's actually not bad at all, but not up to par with the others. At least she's smoking hot and kills people. The dialogue they spout are so funny and memorable that they serve as a counterpoint to all the carnage being shown. It's bleak, dark humor at its blackest, and if you can find that nichepoint in the movie where you're comfortable enough to take it all in and laugh, you'll have the time of your life.
And let's not forget the amazing soundtrack. It has probably the best soundtrack in a long, long time. The stylistic choices Zombie goes for makes the movie much more endurable, and all the more fun, because he found a tone that suits his story... which is like a horror version of Easy Rider. The ending, set to Lynird Skynird's "Free Bird," is so appropriate and poetic that it makes you want to stand up and cheer. Not just for the movie, but also for these heinous scumbags that are our protagonists.
God bless Rob Zombie.
"The Devil's Rejects" opens July 22, 2005 and is not rated. Horror. Written and directed by Rob Zombie. Starring Bill Moseley, Brian Posehn, Danny Trejo, Sheri Moon Zombie, Sid Haig.
