The Devil's Rejects - Review and Analysis by Jason Pitt

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The Devil's Rejects A film review by Jason Pitt For Critical-film.com   When I first heard about House of 1000 Corpses, I was kind of indifferent as to whether I thought it could be a good film. Rob Zombie is a very intelligent man, and a great musician, but how could I be certain of his ability to make a credible horror film? However, when I first saw the film's trailer, I was blown away… I had to see it. No ifs ands or buts. But as time went on the film was pushed back time and again, changed distributors, and I began to get frustrated. What solidified my love for this film, even before I had seen it, was Rob Zombies commitment to his work. We'd seen it pushed back to an undetermined release date, for one reason. Rob Zombie refused to edit the film for the censors, however the original distributor had stated that there was no way to cut the film for reasonable content, and keep it intact. I loved it. Finally the film was released, Critical-Film's two reviewers made the trip to the big city, because our little city has no taste in cinema, nor any idea what the general populace wants to see. I loved it, but it didn't quite meet my ever-rising expectations.   While only Rob Zombie's second film, and technically a sequel to the first film, House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects is a far superior film, in terms of both creation and execution. While the first film was inspired heavily by the horror films of the 1970s, Rejects sits firm in the realm of late-70's, early-80's exploitation cinema. The acts of Otis and Baby are much more deprived, this time around, as they torment and torture nearly everyone they come across. It seems much more cruel than it did in the first film, partially because they don't just murder their victims. All of these horrid actions are set to either a very abrupt score, also reminiscent of 70's horror cinema, or the great pop/rock tunes of the 70's/early 80's.   The pre-recorded music itself is in such contrast to the events that occur on screen, it's hard for me to wrap my head around why it works so well. The final sequence of the film, set to Lynard Skynard's Free Bird, is incredibly well put-together, and is one of the best sequences put to music I can remember. It shows how capable a director Rob Zombie is, and it's the perfect way to end the film.   Nearly the entire cast reprise their roles as the Firefly family, with the exception of Lesley Easterbrook, who's taken over the role of Mother Firefly from the great Karen Black. Bill Moseley is awesome, as always, as Otis, however, Zombie's wife, Sheri Moon is certainly not as experienced an actress as her co-stars, and her dialogue sometimes seems forced and unnatural, but when you're acting beside horror veterans such as Moseley, the brilliant Sid Haig, and Ken Foree, it's certainly understandable.   The Devil's Rejects is a very well realized film which will certainly hold it's own among other recent releases, horror or otherwise. It certainly has a few unnecessary scenes, but is completely titillating nonetheless. Whether you are a horror fan or not, I recommend you check it out, provided you have a high tolerance for bloodshed.   (Four Stars)   This review was provided in HTML format, as your browser is not capable of displaying flash content. To experience Critical-Film.com the way it was meant to be seen, please download the flash player from <a href="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash&promoid=BIOW">Macromedia</a>.