What I Didn’t Like: The one thing I’ve always had a
bit of an issue with is the deus ex machina ending. By no means does this ruin the movie but I
really wish Rob Zombie had found another solution.
Overall Impressions: If you compare this to House of 1,000 Corpses it’s a tremendous improvement. Every technical and creative aspect is way
better conceptualized and executed. This
is especially true of the editing, the acting (Sid Haig is still amazing but
Bill Mosley as Otis almost steals it with his captivatingly vicious
performance; and special shout out to badass William Forsythe (Out for
Justice), he’s the fuckin’ man), even the 70’s classic rock music is
wonderfully period appropriate this time.
However, if you want to look at this movie on its own that
works too. The ties aren’t very strong
to the first installment so you could skip to number two here and not be lost
at all.
Rejects stays grounded in reality and I think that’s
what makes this one more horrific and effective than its predecessor. All the shit that takes place in the motel
room for example where Otis and Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie (Lords of Salem))
humiliate and degrade their hostages is the hardest part to watch because the
trauma will leave such a large mental scar that may never heal. Zombie doesn’t need to carve a person’s face
off to make you squirm (although he does that too!).
And I dig that almost the entire thing takes place during
the day (as opposed to 1,000 Corpses which occurs mostly at night)
letting you know you’re not safe at any time.
Rob Zombie’s films have a sort of Quentin Tarantino vibe and
Rejects probably exhibits the most qualities. There’s the intense adoration of the 70’s, a
retro rock/pop soundtrack, it’s more about hanging out with the characters than
the actual story, performances just over the top enough, casting of lesser
known actors or actors from years gone by who he loves and wants to revive,
editing choices like use of wipes and freeze frames and it’s impossible to miss
the snappy slick pop culture and trivia infused dialogue. Most of the time it’s successful like when
Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III)
exclaims he doesn’t want his prostitutes dressing up like Princess Leia because
it’ll lead to weird shit like horny droids running around. And sometimes it falls a little short like
when Otis knocks his victim down and yells “Consider me Willy fuckin’
Wonka! This is my fuckin’ chocolate
factory!” In all cases though it feels
natural coming from these characters and flows really well.
I can’t recommend Rejects enough. It’s kind of a masterpiece where everything comes
together in just the right way. It has a
timeless quality to it that’s remarkable.
Still Zombie’s best.
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