I have to say, I've never been a huge fan of Rob Zombie's music, but I've always been quite the fan of the man himself. I've read interviews with the guy, and it's completely evident that he's a huge fan of the horror genre. And any friend of the horror genre is a friend of mine.

When I heard CineVegas was presenting a screening of The Devil's Rejects over a month before it's scheduled release, I knew I had to be there.

Actually, this particular screening was special for many reasons. Firstly, our very own Boneman (a colleague and good friend) was able to make the trek. He and I very seldom get to cover these events together because we're so damn busy, so it was pretty cool getting to chill in Sin City and take in the screening.

We were accomponied by our fellow movie fans Troy and Julie. This was there first time attending such a festival, and they had a blast. And in fact, Julie is a Rob Zombie freak. She loves the guy. She'd probably run away with the him given the chance, and quite frankly, Troy is such a fan also, he probably wouldn't mind all that much.

So imagine our surprise when we sat down in our seats and marveled at who sat down in front of us. The one and only Rob Zombie. He and his gorgeous wife Sherrie literally plunked down right in front of us. They were so close in fact, that had this not been a stadium seating theater, Zombie's kick ass dreads probably would have obstructed our view.

If that weren't cool enough, five short minutes later, Nicolas Cage (at CineVegas to accept his Half Lifetime Achievement Award) walks in and takes a seat three rows down. We were about to take in an exploitation flick with Nicolas Cage in the house. Awesome.

THE DEVIL'S REJECTS

First off, let me get one thing out of the way. I enjoyed the hell out of House of 1000 Corpses. I know there are several people out there who hated it, but I don't care. I thought the movie was grand, sick entertainment. Sure, it has a rather large share of nonsensical occurrences, but I
appreciate and admire Rob Zombie's love of the genre. House of 1000 Corpses is full of freaky imagery plucked from the bowels of 70's horror, and I really got a kick out of it's perverse sense of humor.

Of course as many readers already know, it was a long journey from page to screen for that picture. After being virtually abandoned by a major studio, House of 1000 Corpses finally found it's way into the loving arms of Lions Gate who nurtured and cared for the picture, and while "House" wasn't a huge box office hit, it did find an audience, particularly on DVD.

The fine folks at Lions Gate decided to greenlight a follow-up to House of 1000 Corpses, so Zombie wasted absolutely no time conjuring up a truly sick and twisted sequel in which the villains are the heroes, the cops are the bad guys, and the victims are...well...victims.
The Devil's Rejects features William Forsythe as Sheriff Wydel, brother of the law man that was offed by Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) and his family of mass murderers in the last picture. With revenge boiling in his blood, Wydel sets out to find Spaulding, Otis (Bill Moseley), Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie), and Mother Firefly (Leslie
Easterbrook), and offer up a little blood soaked payback.When Spaulding and crew discover they're being hunted, they quickly flee their white trash surroundings and head out on a little road trip. This, of course, affords them the opportunity to take out more innocent unfortunates on their path to glory.

What can I say. This movie is a crowd pleaser. Sid Haig, William Forsythe, and Leslie Easterbrook in particular, give creepy, lively performances. Haig's Spaulding is an absolute riot. He is, perhaps, the only man in the world who can intimidate the vicious Otis. Forsythe's Wydel is a vengeance seeking cop whose methods are as demented as those of his pitiless prey. Easterbrook (who replaces Karen
Black from the original film) is hilariously freaky as the mother figure of the redneck sociopaths. There are also several noteworthy cameos to speak of including Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes), Geoffrey Lewis (Every Which Way But Loose), Priscilla Barnes (Three's Company, Mallrats), and P.J. Soles (Halloween).

Not surprisingly, The Devil's Rejects is audacious as all hell. Zombie is hell bent on disturbing the audience, and nothing, I mean absolutely nothing is sacred in his eyes. He'll do anything to shock you. But then, anyone going into this movie expecting otherwise, really shouldn't be there. It should also be noted though, that The Devil's Rejects is really funny. Sure, it's as perverse as it's predecessor,
but my friends and I were howling with laughter throughout most of the picture. And given that Mr. Zombie was actually sitting right in front of us, made the proceedings all the more enjoyable. At one point in the picture, a truly horrific event prompted the Boneman to lean over and jokingly suggest to Rob that he may have gone too far with that one man. Naturally, Zombie grinned with approval. That was probably the best compliment you could give the guy. He loved hearing that.

Another highlight during the film features a disgruntled Wydel yellingat a movie critic/Marx Brothers historian after he has the balls to diss Elvis Presley. Wydel's response is priceless, and watching Nicolas Cage's reaction to this scene was an extra added bonus pleasure.
The Devil's Rejects was inspired by the likes of The Last House on the Left, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and I Spit on Your Grave, but it also offers up winks at higher profile fare including Star Wars. Not only is there a hilarious bit in which a whore decides that it might be more lucrative to dress like Princess Leia for her tricks, but in another twisted homage, Dawn of the Dead's Ken Foree plays a pimp who welcomes Spaulding and his family to his brothel Lando Calrissian style in what could be best described as a bizarre ode to The Empire Strikes Back.

Rob Zombie is clearly having a fun time here. He provides this film with buckets of blood (this picture gives new meaning to the term road kill), extreme violence (Forsythe's torturing of a key character in the movie is gut wrenching), and laugh out loud hilarity (check out a scene in which Zombie goofs on mainstream movie critics
like Gene Shalit), and this is what his fans want. Do I have any complaints? Well, I think the movie could be tightened up a tad and there are many unanswered questions from the last picture (what is that Dr. Satan thing all about?), but ultimately, I had a fun time. The Devil's Rejects is disturbing, but it's laced with a most welcome sense of humor. A sick one to be sure, but laugh you will.