Buying ice cream has never been more obnoxious.Simply put, Rob Zombie is the Kevin Smith of horror. Much like his self-indulgent counterpart, the House of a 1000 Corpses director has a terrible penchant for unlikeable characters, pop-culture laden dialogue, and a nasty habit of casting his wife in roles that probably should have gone to someone else. Zombie's gruesome 2005 epic The Devil's Rejects is easily the gimmicky filmmaker's best feature thus far, proving to conservative theater programmers the world over that 100 minutes of demented violence, sexual humiliation, and sadistic torture can put squishy American butts in sticky cinema seats. It's the sort of calculated throwback one expects from a bearded fellow who spends may too much time watching horror movies and collecting action figures, though Zombie's undying love of the genre may, in fact, contribute to a number of the film's major problems. Besides saddling the audience with a trio of horrific characters we honestly couldn't care less about, there are so many winks, nudges, and references to other films that we're left thinking more about the pictures Rob is pulling from than what's unfolding on-screen. Additionally, several scenes are coated with some embarrassingly awful tracts of mishandled comedy -- the Gene Shalit bit instantly springs to mind -- and a number of shaky, uncooperative performances. Last, but certainly not least, is the film's overblown conclusion, a slow-motion masturbatory fantasy set to the tune of Lynyrd Skynyrd's highly overrated easy rock staple "Free Bird." The Devil's Rejects coasts by on sheer audacity, systematically soaking your jaded brain with shocks and gore to distract you from how grossly pathetic the whole production truly is. Discerning horror geeks need not apply. The rest of you can gladly have it.
Recipe For Disaster: One Overwrought Script + Several Unsympathetic Characters + Free Bird? Give Me A Break
Don't Get Me Wrong: The Devil's Rejects is watchable, but it's by no means a "good movie."
Contrary to popular belief, there is a difference.
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The Film Fiend
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4 Spasms:
Based on the poster alone he got me to the theatre for HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES. Needless to say, I hated it.
Then, I saw this movie, and I thought it was pretty good.
A few years later I saw his "remake" of HALLOWEEN.
My conclusion now is that all his films suck. PLUS- his trailer for GRINDHOUSE was the worst one.
I actually enjoyed House of 1000 Corpses, though probably for all the wrong reasons. It was akin to watching a Troma flick: You know it's horrible, but you just can't help yourself.
And don't even get me started on his Halloween redux. We would be here all week.
Rob Zombie and I, as far as horror fans go, are completely incompatible. He's of the tribe that regards the killers as the centerpiece of the movie. That was made pretty clear with Halloween. Asking me to root for the Firefly family was a pretty tall order. Tooty fuckin' fruity, my ass. You can add all these nice character building pieces to illustrate some sort of familial bond or endearing back story about them, but all I see is Otis cutting the face off some guy and forcing the victim's wife to wear it. All I see is him executing Brian Posehn in front of his friends. All I see is him raping Priscilla Barnes. The villain of the movie, William Forsythe was far and away the best character in the movie. I really wanted to see him get his revenge.
Well, I dug all of Zombie's films. Yes, all of them--the most maligned one included.
I agree with the poster above, that Zombie wants to put the killers at the center of his films, but for me the things are visually interesting and over-the-top enough for that to be okay. Loads of gore, black humor (see Sid Haig), and nudity, with some genuinely uncomfortable stuff thrown in.
I get why others don't like him, but I've had a good time watching his flicks and will continue to see them in the future. Same with Eli Roth--though I think he's a more thoughtful filmmaker than Zombie. Still, they tend to get lumped together.
Okay, I'll take my beating now. :(
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