Review of The Devil's Rejects (2005) by Theresa H — 15 May 2012

Morally irresponsible and indefensible, and just the way I like it. Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects is a perversely joyous follow up to his House of 1,000 Corpses, loaded with filmmaking electricity.

You won't see parents jumping at the chance to see Captain Spalding (B-movie icon Sid Haig) and his Satan-loving serial killer family--son Otis Firefly (Bill Moseley) and daughter Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie, the director's wife) going on a spree of killing and torture through Alabama's backroads.

The scene of Otis gun raping a woman in front of her husband is not for the faint of heart. Devil's Rejects brims with fanboy appreciation for Tobe Hooper's 1974 classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with little brother Tiny being a total homage to Leatherface.

Things only take a mega twisted turn when Sheriff Wydell (William Forsythe, terrific) enacts his own revenge on the murderous clan. He starts with Mama Firefly (Leslie Eastbrook) who he has holed up in a cell.

But there's wicked humor too, as when the sheriff hires a film critic to figure out what fascinates Captain Spaulding so much about the Marx Brothers. Complemented with a great soundtrack that includes songs form Buck Owens and Lynyrd Skynyrd, which plays over the bloody finale.

Here, Zombie's hand is far more assured. It's an excellent entry in the scuzzy horror genre.