In 2003, Rob Zombie released the insanely creepy and terrifying film, House of 1000 Corpses, which went on to have sequel titled The Devil’s Rejects in 2005. It has been 16 years since the first film and Rob Zombie is back with the popular and twisted Firefly family.
Continuing from the last film, the Firefly clan also referred to as ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ have come to an end of their run and have been locked away behind bars. As we’ve seen from the previous films, it doesn’t take long for one of these three to escape out of a tricky situation, and that’s exactly what happens. Otis Driftwood (Bill Moseley) escapes prison from the help of his half-brother Winslow ‘Foxy’ Coltrane and shortly after set free their sister, Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie).
As the siblings reunite, the trio go into full force and start on their murderous rampage, as they do best and in the most brutal and tortuous ways. Except for this time around, Rob Zombie goes for a new look and plays the murder first, followed by the lead up making me question if the murder I had just watched actually happened and left me wondering if I was about to see a different outcome. With no turning back, Otis, Baby and Winslow go on the run to Mexico in hopes to hide from the police and folks after revenge.
One thing I’ve enjoyed about Rob Zombie’s films is that he’s not afraid to take horror to another level where the murders are done slowly. You watch and understand the cruel pain the victims go through. I felt as though something changed and Rob’s signature murder scenes were a little soft in 3 From Hell. The Firefly family are known to torture and torment their victims, but these scenes seemed to be over fast or you simply did not see it happen. I mean, this is the third film in the franchise. We watch Zombie’s film expecting to be shocked, but it’s like he took a step back.
Sheri Moon Zombie who is Rob Zombie’s wife is magnificent in this film. After so many years she has able to channel that crazy and kooky behaviour of her character Baby and turn it up 4 notches. She was the standout in the film and so enjoyable to watch.
All the actors did a great job and slipped right back into their old characters. Sadly, it was Sid Haig’s last film. Know for playing the character Captain Spaulding, the actor passed away early September this year. His scenes were short and brief as he was unwell at the time of filming, but it was great seeing him on-screen one last time.
As most of the original cast are no longer apart of the film, it almost felt that 3 From Hell wasn’t necessarily needed. It lacked murdering moments and slowly dragged in scenes that weren’t important. Overall, it was nice to see the characters back on the big screen once again after so many years. However, I now believe it’s time to put this film franchise to rest, that or come back with a bigger and bloodier story.
Be sure to check out 3 From Hell in selective cinemas from the 31st of October 2019.