Rob Zombie’s follow-up to 2003’s “House of 1,000 Corpses” is a blood-soaked homage to those low-budget 70s slasher flicks that were all the rage among wound-up, doped-up teenagers at drive-ins. The Fireflys, a clan of psychopathic, necrophiliac hillbillies who kill gleefully and indiscriminately, are back again in “The Devil’s Rejects.” Siblings Otis (Bill Moseley) and Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie, the director’s wife) and grotesque clown-faced pop Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) embark on another murderous rampage in the desolate backwoods South while being pursued by ornery Sheriff Wydell (William Forsythe), who’s built Ford tough and is prone to quoting scripture before blasting away at bad guys. An ass-kicking Southern rock soundtrack and grainy 16mm camerawork effectively enhance the overall grindhouse feel of the film. (Rated R for sadistic violence, strong sexual content, language and drug use. Running time: 101 minutes)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 22, 2005. Read the original PDF.