Devil’s Rejects event

Last Updated on July 28, 2021

By Thomas
Leupp

Last
Tuesday night the fine folks at Lions Gate invited JoBlo.com / Arrow
in the Head out to their headquarters for a special advance
screening of THE
DEVIL’S REJECTS, Rob Zombie’s highly anticipated follow-up to
his 2003 cult smash, HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES.
Though roundly panned by mainstream critics, CORPSES was huge
hit with genre folks, and Lions Gate didn’t hesitate to bankroll
Zombie’s sophomore effort, due to hit theaters in July.

Prior
to the screening, Rob got up to introduce the film.
He stressed that the film, though technically
“unfinished” (some tweaks were needed with color correction,
effects, sound, etc.), was basically in its final form.
Seated in the back were cast members Sid Haig, Bill Moseley,
Sheri Moon Zombie, Ken Foree and Leslie Easterbrook, all of whom
were viewing the film for the first time.

Lion’s
Gate won’t allow us to give a full review, but here are some
thoughts. Fans of Corpses will
not be disappointed with REJECTS, though the sequel differs
considerably in its tone. Simply
put, THE DEVIL’S REJECTS is intense. Gone
is the fun and camp of the first film.
REJECTS is a brutal, rage-filled ride, replete with images
both savage and disturbing. Though
there are moments of comic relief sprinkled throughout, the primary
feeling Zombie creates is one of dread.
Either something f*cked-up is happening, or it’s about to
happen. And the most harrowing
scenes don’t even involve people getting killed.
Rob is really adept at making an audience squirm.

As
a director, Rob stepped up his game with THE DEVIL’S REJECTS.
He’s clearly evolved as a filmmaker, showing more
originality and confidence in his approach.
Peckinpah was a name bandied about by people afterward, as
well as a few mentions of Tarantino. The
influence of both filmmakers can be seen throughout REJECTS, but
this film is 100% Rob Zombie.

The
cast has been upgraded too. In
addition to star William Forsythe and the familiar faces from the
first film, Rejects features memorable cameos from Danny Trejo,
Diamond Dallas Page, Ginger Lynne Allen and Brian Posehn (a Mr. Show
alum).

Lions
Gate hosted a reception afterward where we got to hang with Zombie
and the cast. The food was
strictly white-trash: fish sticks, little hot dogs, and my personal
fave, fried macaroni and cheese balls.

I
talked at length with Bill Moseley about his experience seeing the
film for the first time. Though
clearly excited about the film, he talked about how difficult it was
to return to “those dark places” he visited while shooting.
(Watch the movie and you’ll understand what he means.)
He mentioned that Zombie displayed a lot more trust this time
around, allowing his actors more rope to ad-lib and make the
characters their own. Leslie
Easterbrook mentioned that, prior to making Rejects, she’d never
so much as cursed in any of her roles.
(She plays raving psychopath Mother Firefly.)
I talked with amiable Sid Haig about his voluminous (and
impressively eclectic) body of work. Sid
also mentioned that he’s in the running to play Blackbeard in the
3rd Pirates of the
Caribbean
movie. How cool would that be?
We need to start a letter-writing campaign or something.
Sid Haig for Blackbeard! Make
it happen, fanboys.

Overall,
the atmosphere was one of giddy excitement.
Judging from the enthusiastic endorsement of horror fans in
attendance, it looks like Rob Zombie’s got another hit on his
hands with The Devil’s Rejects. Too
bad the rest of you will have to wait until July 22nd to see it.

CLICK
HERE to read ROB ZOMBIE’S BLOG

Questions?
Comments? Manifestos? Send them to me at [email protected].