The Devil's Rejects (2005)

The murderous, backwoods Firefly family take to the road to escape a vengeful police force which is not afraid of being as ruthless as their target.

Director:

Rob Zombie

Writers:

Rob Zombie, Rob Zombie (characters)

Stars:

Sid Haig, Sheri Moon Zombie, Bill Moseley

10 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sid Haig	...	Captain Spaulding
Bill Moseley	...	Otis
Sheri Moon Zombie	...	Baby
William Forsythe	...	Sheriff Wydell
Ken Foree	...	Charlie Altamont
Matthew McGrory	...	Tiny
Leslie Easterbrook	...	Mother Firefly
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Roy Sullivan
Priscilla Barnes	...	Gloria Sullivan
Dave Sheridan	...	Officer Ray Dobson
Kate Norby	...	Wendy Banjo
Lew Temple	...	Adam Banjo
Danny Trejo	...	Rondo
Dallas Page	...	Billy Ray Snapper (as Diamond Dallas Page)
Brian Posehn	...	Jimmy

Storyline

In Ruggsville, Texas, the police under the command of Sheriff John Quincy Wydell attack the house of the sadistic serial killers Firefly family (a.k.a. The Devil's Reject) and they arrest mother Firefly, but Otis B. Driftwood and Baby Firefly escape from the siege. Tiny is wandering nearby the house and also escapes. Otis and Baby call their patriarch, the mad clown Captain Spaulding and they schedule to reunite at an isolated motel in the desert. When Otis and Baby arrive, they kidnap two families of singers, using sadism and violence against the harmless persons. Meanwhile, Sheriff Wydell promises to capture and kill the runaways, seeking revenge for the death of his brother, the Deputy George Wydell.

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Plot Keywords:

road trip | nihilism | watching tv | wisecrack comedy | escape | 

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Taglines:

Death walks behind. Hell waits ahead.

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Genres:

Crime | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sadistic violence, strong sexual content, language and drug use

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

22 July 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

House of 1000 Corpses 2

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,067,335, 24 July 2005, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$17,044,981

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,345,048

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lions Gate Films, Cinerenta Medienbeteiligungs KG, Cinelamda Internationale Filmproduktionsgesellschaft mbH & Co. 1 Beteiligungs-KG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 109 min (unrated director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS (uncredited)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bill Moseley loved playing Otis. In fact, Moseley went on acting like Otis towards his family; he went days without showering.

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Goofs

The license plate from the vehicle that is stolen from the maid by Baby and Otis is an all numbers license plate. This type of license plate is only used by government vehicles. Civilian vehicles would have both numbers and letters.

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Quotes

Sheriff John Wydell: Fuck Groucho!

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Crazy Credits

The DVD release is altered to include "In Memory of Matthew McGrory" at the end of the film, just before the credits. The theatrical release did not include this, as Matthew McGrory was still alive.

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Connections

Referenced in The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009)

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Soundtracks

Rocky Mountain Way
Performed by Joe Walsh
Written by Joe Walsh, Joe Vitale, Kenny Passarelli (as Kenneth Passarelli) and Rocke Grace
Published by Songs of Universal, Inc. o/b/o itself and Barn Storm Music, Inc. and Belkin Music
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

The Devil's Rejects is not always an easy film to watch

The Devil's Rejects is not always an easy film to watch. It has a genuine savagery that makes recent films such as Hostel or Saw II, non spectacular though they were, appear rather tame.

I think part of the reason the film is such uncomfortable viewing is through Rob Zombie's creation of a strong sense of ambiguity as to who we are supposed to sympathise with- who are the antagonists and the protagonists? Initially things seem quite clean cut- psychopathic killers= evil, Sheriff on a vigilante mission = good, but then the lines blur. The Sheriff turns nasty, yet we the audience take joy in his sadism- are we as bad as these killers? And at the same time we the audience feel flashes of sympathy for the killers too- through glimpses of their own, warped domestic bliss. This is interesting and

one that gets under your skin and disturbs.

I have to mention the humour also- which is also a nice contrast to darkness, though some of the humour is very close to the edge- you DO need those moments of light relief, to prevent the proceedings becoming completely grimy and depressing.

The only main downside of this film is it does at times feel overly long, almost deliberately drawn out,and that can distract from the intensity of things.

Personally this film marks a huge improvement for Rob Zombie after the debacle that was House Of 1000 Corpses, a masturbatory fan boy effort which had an okay build up but quickly descended into cartoony drivel. With The Devil's Rejects Rob Zombie seems to have shifted focus from being a kid with a film camera and a budget, and shifted focus on telling a story, and making the audience FEEL something, and he actually does a pretty good job of it too.

Special mention has to go to Sheri Moon. A real delight to watch. I can't help but smile when I see her on screen- I wouldn't be at all surprised if she finds herself with a huge gay following. A lovely mixture of sassiness, innocence and an edge of something slightly darker. I like her a lot- well at least when she's not making racist playground chants fashionable again.

I'm actually excited now about Zombie's remake/ reinvention/ prequel of Halloween. Okay so the term "remake/ reinvention/ prequel" fills me with an underlying sense of dread, but I'm going to breathe out and try trust Rob Zombie on this one. If nothing else, I know it'll be anything but bland.