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Review

  House of 1000 Corpses: Many hardcore film devotees have chosen to write off this truly disturbing and entertaining directing debut by ghoul/rocker Rob Zombie off as trash. Well my question is how many of these individuals have eaten a Slim Jim or a bag of pork rinds and liked it? This cinematic guilty pleasure breathes much needed life into a genre overflooded with fright flicks that more resemble Dawson’s Creek episodes with an occasional jolt. This delightfully creepy homage to classics such as Mother’s Day, Texas Chainsaw Massacre & The Hills Have Eyes features a veritable who’s-who of b-film regulars like Spider Baby star Sid Haig as a demented clown and proprietor of a museum of horrors/gas station/fried chicken shack combo, Karen Black as Mother Firefly, Tom Towles from Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and Bill Mosely from Texas Chainsaw Massacre II.

The story is familiar. Two couples find themselves stranded for the night in an old dark house and soon end up as unwilling victims of murder, satanic rituals, sadism & cannibalism as they are set upon by the dangerously evil Firefly Family. Horror buffs will relish in the directorial homage’s to Dario Argento & Brian DePalma and this shockathon also boasts a fine soundtrack featuring new material from Mr. Zombie, The Ramones and the late great Slim Whitman. There's lots of disturbing subliminal images, MTV-esque editing and some surprisingly clever dialogue (including one character’s remarks regarding the inappropriate use of a Dr. Zaius action figure) and an overall look that harkens back to the '70s b-films that populated many grindhouses and drive-ins of the era. While this film clearly isn’t a high brow masterpiece, it can be considered a steak to some viewers and a hot dog to others.

 -- J.R. Blaque

  The Devil's Rejects: The opening credit sequence of The Devil’s Rejects – fueled by “Midnight Rider,” The Allman Brothers’ howling tale of an outlaw on the lam – swiftly and securely establishes the bloody and brutal tone that the film will follow. Rob Zombie takes the viewer on a gruesome road trip in this highly anticipated sequel to his beloved House of 1,000 Corpses. The corpse-ridden household is raided by police and, more importantly, Sheriff Wydell (William Forsythe,) a brother to one of the crazed clan’s victims. His personal mission to avenge his brother’s death will take him far beyond the limits of the law as he makes the predators his prey. He is chasing after Otis Driftwood (Bill Moseley), Baby Firefly (Sheri Moon Zombie) and Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig in top comedic form) as they search for safety and have a little sinister fun along the way.

Once again, Zombie is satirizing and paying homage to the under-exposed low-budget American horror classics of the 1970’s. This time, he does so flawlessly. It seems as though House of 1,000 Corpses was the practice needed before Zombie could go on to make this extraordinarily disturbing masterpiece. The Devil’s Rejects is filled to the brim with sickeningly crude humor and enough nausea-inducing sadistic violence to make even the most desensitized viewers cringe. Though many (especially those unfamiliar with the genre by which Zombie was inspired) may find the content to be offensive, it is hard to ignore the fact that this is an exceptionally well-made film. It manages to achieve the highest goal of a film of its kind by remaining consistently horrifying from the beginning to it’s intense and unforgettable ending (it must be seen to be believed.) This will surely become required viewing for any and every midnight-movie fan.

 -- Robert O'Neill