The Devil's Rejects

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A Love Letter To Horror Fans

My impression of The Devil's Rejects is that it's a love-letter, signed & sealed by Rob Zombie and delivered straight to all the old-school horror fans. Just as sheriff Wydell states in the movie, "I've been walking the line my whole life, until I seen there is no line", this story simply tells it like it is, and sticks to the facts of what essentially is a showdown between good & evil, only everything ain't OK at the corral, in Rob Town.

Somewhere in the presentation of this dynamic lies the film's saving grace. Because what it manages to slyly pull off is invite the discriminating viewer to put forth a judgment on the proceedings. "Slyly" because that is the one thing the filmmaker never does (make a judgment). The Devil's Rejects is not what many (who haven't seen it, ironically) will have you believe it is -- an alleged "celebration" of violence or evil; but rather, it is merely an in-depth examination of the characteristics of both evil & good, and how the line that would be drawn between them is either incredibly elastic or may not even exist at all. (If there was ever a rape scene, it was thankfully cut.)

The movie is at once a horror film based on the structure of a classic western, and if viewed as a monster movie, it can be noted that the monster wears a mask of the human face. I found the movie to redeem itself from the accusations of those who refuse to see it, for the very reason that it has baited them into committing the mistake of judgmentalism -- the very act it refrains from indulging in, itself. The movie succeeds in the simple respect of telling a straightforward story. The fact many audience members find themselves actually rooting for the outlaws (yet not necessarily sympathizing with them) rather than the clan of cops who have sunk to their level in retaliation, becomes one of the most striking aspects of Rob Zombie's achievement.

If you like horror films, monster movies, or westerns, this movie was made for you. Signed, sealed, & delivered with a deadly kiss, from Rob Zombie to all of us.


DVD notes

Picked this up for only 9.99 - had to -- & watched it (again) Sat night, and I have to reiterate, Rob Zombie has delivered as close to an american slasher/classic as we could expect from him. There are at least 3 if not 4 or 5 classic sequences in this film: There's the "Fuck Charlie Chaplin!" scene when Sheriff Wydell defends The King; there's the howling-mad-Mother-Firefly-when-she's-in-prison scene; there's William fuckin' Forsythe in several classic scenes as Sheriff Wydell (he alone practically carries this movie); there's Ken Foree as Charlie Altamount, playin a classic pimp down to a T; you got Danny Trejo in here as a hardened Mexican hired assassin; you got Geoffrey Lewis (originally seen in the first Salem's Lot TV movie); and who can forget Bill Moseley's chilling portrayal of the star killer Otis, half Charlie Manson / half Jesus's evil twin ?

This is one badass of a killer horror film, that one-ups its predecessor by eliminating the camp entirely in favor of a realistic, but not without its sense of comedic relief, serial killer movie. What makes this one so remarkable of course, is how easily Rob Zombie manages to elicit a degree of sympathy from the viewer for the Firefly family, accomplished by making the character of Sheriff John Quincy Wydell every bit as a mean motherfuckin' psycho killer as those he is intent on hunting down and personally eliminating off the face of the earth.

Then there's the inspired end-sequence that puts the classic song Freebird into sharp relief for the silver screen; just another die-hard classic sequence that brings this awesome movie to the end credits perfectly.

A must-own DVD for the hardcore horror fanatic.