Rob Zombie seriously loves his horror movies, you only need to look at the man’s name to figure that much out. This love is apparent in every sordid second of The Devil’s Rejects, Zombie’s follow up to the disappointing House of 1000 Corpses. Fortunately, this time out he has used his affection to create his own film rather than another Texas Chainsaw Massacre re-hash. A good thing that is too as the result is really rather good.

Taking a very different tack to Corpses’ straight forward horrorshow, The Devil’s Rejects is as much road movie as it is horror. As the three remaining members of the Firefly clan trek across the lavishly photographed deep Southern landscapes we get to spend a lot more time with them and though they never become anything less than repugnant they do become more human. At times they almost seem like any dysfunctional family forced to an spend an extended time together as they constantly bicker, fight and insult each other over everything from where they will go to whether or not they will stop for ice cream (“Tutti Fucking Frutti!”).

Make no mistake though, these people are out and out, 100 per cent the nastiest most deranged, sick, sadistic abominations imaginable and Zombie revels in showing us these twisted psychos doing what it is they do best – torturing and slaughtering innocent people. It is the enjoyment they take in their cruelty that is most disturbing about the Firefly family most notably illustrated by Baby Firefly (Teri Moon Zombie) a sexy blonde giggling lunatic. The violence is not toned down or given any form of comic treatment here though. It is kept serious, uncompromising and visceral. That a significant amount of this violence is of a sexual nature towards women is a serious bone of contention with the film and will make many viewers extremely uncomfortable. This is not supposed to be a comfortable film though, it is supposed to be shocking, horrific and repellent. This is a love letter to the ‘70s exploitation flicks Zombie so adores and he takes no prisoners in paying homage to and referencing them.

Zombie’s confidence as both a writer and director have both grown enormously, this film has real guts. It refuses to be pigeon holed into any definite category and often surprises with its avoidance of genre conventions and cliché. The dialogue is also consistently witty and entertaining, albeit in an utterly obscene way. All of this results in a strangely familiar yet very fresh film.

The use of music in The Devil’s Rejects is inspired and contributes greatly to the overall feel of the film. Rob Zombie has assembled a fantastic collection of ‘70s classic rock and Americana which compliment the dusty sun-drenched images perfectly. He is a musician himself and has great flair for editing a visual sequence to a song, the sequence set to Lynrd Skynrd’s Free Bird is a wonderfully stirring moment with real emotional resonance.

A huge improvement on the first instalment, The Devil’s Rejects is an invigorating viewing experience which may have even invented a new genre – the horror road movie.

7/10

Review By Matt Compton