Rob Zombie may not be the best filmmaker, but he sure has an interesting style and voice. He made his directorial debut in 2003 with House of 1000 Corpses, following it up with The Devil's Rejects in 2005. Both films focused on the crazed firefly clan, a messed-up family who love Halloween and killing folks. They are arguably Zombie's best works.With 3 From Hell, the saga of the Firefly clan continues and Rob Zombie's holy trinity is complete.
3 From Hell picks up directly after the events of The Devil's Rejects, with Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie), Otis (Bill Moseley), and Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) going down in a hail of bullets. Each receive 20 bullets, and are in critical condition but eventually survive. They are put on trial for the murders they have committed, and are each are placed on death row for a good 5 plus years (The remainder takes place sometime in the 80s, as can be seen by a framed portrait of President Reagan). . Spaulding gets a lethal injection (off-screen) within the first 20 minutes of the film, making his grand total of scenes a disappointing 1. Otis' half-brother, Winslow Foxworth Coltrane (Richard Brake) comes to the remaining 2's rescue, breaking them out of prison. Together, the 3 hi-tail it to Mexico to party and kill once more.
Richard Brake is a Zombie alum, appearing in Halloween 2 and starring in 31. He does a fine job here, but as a stand-in/replacement for Spaulding, he doesn't quite fit the bill or make a welcome addition to the Firefly clan (Though I do like that he is an avid classic film buff). 3 From Hell even makes quite a few jokes about how he doesn't fit in...at least the film acknowledges the issue. Sheri Moon Zombie returns as the crazed Baby, who has lost quite a few more screws during her incarceration. Moon looks significantly older, and acts way more loopy (her crazy is cranked up to 120 here). She manages to sell the hell out of her role, to the point where it seems like she isn't even acting any more. She gets some of the best scenes in the film when she dons a Native American headdress, grabs a bow-and-arrow and goes to town.
House of 1000 Corpses belonged to Captain Spaulding, The Devil's Rejects was Sheriff Wydell's (William Forsythe), and in 3 From Hell Bill Moseley as Otis easily runs away with the entire film. Like in the two previous films, he plays an insane psycho who's monologues unfortunately hold nuggets of depraved wisdom. Moseley is downright magnetic here, it's impossible to tear your eyes away from him when he's on the screen. Pancho Moler (previously seen as Sick-Head in 31) also makes an appearance in a supporting role. Here he plays an unfortunate little-person who is love-sick for Baby, and winds up becoming an unofficial member of the 3 From Hell. He is fantastic and awesome in the film (as always). It's easy to acknowledge that our three protagonists (Baby, Otis and Winslow) are sick, evil people but somehow we find ourselves laughing along with them and rooting for them nonetheless.
As far as style goes, there isn't as much trippy, surreal imagery as there was in House of 1000 Corpses (except for one nice scene that takes place during a Dia De Los Muertos festival), making this latest outing look more akin to the desolate, western vibe that The Devil's Rejects had going for it. It's not all bad news though, as the tone is definitely more similar to that of House of 1000 Corpses as we spend more time with the 3 as an odd family unit. The film is actually pretty funny a good deal of the time, and we get to see how each person cares about the others despite some good-natured ribbing here and there. It's just nice to spend some time with the remaining members of the Firefly clan.
3 From Hell certainly has it's ups-and-downs, despite being a mostly well-made film. The first 15 or so minutes are shot documentary style, the film definitely drags at points (It's close to 2 hours long), there is never much tension (you never feel like the 3 are in any real danger), and the script shines at times but is mostly just your usual Rob Zombie script. Luckily, the actors share the same chemistry they had 14 years ago, the characters are pretty much the same as we remember them being, the whole event is pretty damned guilty fun (including a scene set to In A Gadda Da Vida), there are some impressive shots, and the third act is just tops.
Zombie certainly doesn't have the most impressive film catalog, most of his features being either bad or just ok, so it's natural to walk into 3 From Hell a bit cautious. Thankfully, this is easily Zombie's best film in a long, long time (Let's just hope Zombie leaves the Firefly clan alone now, though one can't help but feel he will inevitably continue to make future films featuring these characters). If you are able to leave your morality at the door and just lose yourself in the mindless fun and madness, or if you already have a love for these characters/this franchise then it's quite possible you will end up thoroughly enjoying this crazy trip to hell and back. It's one wild ride I would happily recommend to the sick and depraved.
4 Stars
Out of 10 stars, the film gets 7.5, which rounded up gets us to around 8. I wouldn't say it's a strong 4 star film, but 4 stars it is nonetheless.
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