Harefooted Halloween: The Devil's Rejects

What I Liked: For this one it’s easier to say I liked just about everything.  The performances, writing, cinematography, editing, most of the soundtrack (“Midnight Rider” over the opening credits doesn’t quite fit though in my opinion), it’s all very well done.

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.