3 from Hell

I'm one of the biggest Fans of the the original 2 movies. I know the first has all sorts of problems, but it's still great. The 2nd TDR was one of my favorite horror sequels because they were not unstoppable they were human and you felt that on many levels. The ending perfect. Then this comes along. It's extremely uneven. Also the use of CGI was excessive and very noticeable. I really don't know how I feel about it. I look at as a stand-alone film. Watch it for your self and make your own opinion. Richard Brake was great as Foxxy. Just didn't feel right without Captain Spaulding and that comedic relief. RIP Sid...

Zombie is a very talented person and I'm a extremely big horror buff but I can't say many good things about this movie. Let's start with the good. Theres a lot of Blood and profanity BUT no matter how much of that you toss into a movie it doesn't make it any better. This is by far one of his worst movies ( and that's coming from someone who found enjoyment in 31 and lords of Salem ) Here's the bad. The plot has little to no meat on it, the zoomed in angles makes it hard to enjoy the violence cause all you see at times is a cheekbone, then blood, palm, then blood and so on. The characters you want to see more of have little to no screen time, and everything is so exaggerated that you really have to suspend ALL DISBELIEF while watching.

Save your money and rent it in a couple of weeks cause yes......this is a straight to DVD kinda movie that stole people's money for a 3 day release.

I attended the 3rd and final night of the film's theatrical presentation. The 3rd night happened to be a double feature featuring The Devil's Rejects leading right into it's sequel. I think this was unfortunately a fatal decision since it truly shows how inferior of a film this is to its predecessor. From incredible first act problems to 75% of plot points being rehashed from the previous film, 3 From Hell falls flat. Imagine a car continuously stalling, it gets so close to taking off, but perpetually stalls. This film lacked that dirty, nasty, gross taste we expect with a Rob Zombie film and instead replaces it with silly silly humor and Hollywood production. The film gradually feels more Hollywood and standard as we approach the third act which presents itself like one big reshot 3rd act almost completely separate from themes and character arcs presented in the first half of the film. While it was a joy to see the Firefly family once again, I feel this film ultimately tarnishes the image of the first two thirds of this trilogy. Predictable and tame; two words I'd never expect to describe a sequel to The Devil's Rejects.

I thoroughly enjoyed House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects, Rob Zombie's first two outings for his murderous Firefly clan, but this third chapter is further proof that the rock star turned director has nothing new up his sleeve, and, worse still, seems to have lost all idea of what made his first couple of films so enjoyable in the first place.

3 From Hell is, as expected, violent, trashy and exploitative, but it is also unfocused, badly written, poorly acted, and not in the least bit shocking, everyone trying far too hard this time around, with Zombie's wife Sheri Moon being the worst offender: putting in a grating performance that is about as subtle and nuanced as a lump-hammer to the skull, she gurns and grimaces wildly throughout, her over-the-top 'acting' (for want of a better word) making this supposedly brutal bloodbath far too comical for its own good. Even with a better script, 3 From Hell was always going to fail so long as Rob insisted in putting his wife front and centre.

The plot - for what it's worth - sees the Fireflies sent to death row, having miraculously survived the shootout at the end of The Devil's Rejects. Captain Spaulding is executed by lethal injection (a shame, as he is far and away the best of Zombie's characters), but Otis (Bill Moseley) escapes, teaming up with Winslow Foxworth Coltrane (Richard Brake) to try and break Baby (Sheri Moon) out of jail. After successfully freeing Baby (don't ask how - it's dumb), the trio of killers head for Mexico (somehow avoiding capture at the border) where they are hunted by a team of luchador assassins led by Aquarius (Emilio Rivera), vengeful son of criminal Rondo (Danny Trejo), who was killed during Otis's escape.

In typical Zombie style, there's lots of cussing, plenty of nudity, and an excess of spurting, bloody wounds, with an overuse of slow motion accompanied by cool rock music, some occasional trippy imagery (including a head-scratching dancing cat scene), and a consistently grimy white-trash aesthetic (there's even a three-legged dog; it doesn't get more white-trash than that!). But more importantly, there's no heart, no originality, no sense of excitement, and no character progression.

As for disturbing... well, Clint Howard playing a clown is surely the stuff or nightmares, but everything else is just too contrived and cartoonish to be taken seriously.

Bittersweet ending to a trilogy that really feels like how most stories end. It's a rather dull and meningless journey with friendly faces along the way, looking for a purpose after the good old days ended.

3 from Hell can be surprisingly touching sometimes when it just hits the viewer one or two scenes that manage to humanize literal serial killers. I really wish it ended up being a much slower movie all the way through, instead of the second half introducing a new conflict without much purpose.

Still what this movie made me feel as a person who liked both previous movies, is how I imagine the characters feeling. Some of the story revolvs around looking for some new meaning in a world that is hostile, empty, melancholic, and no longer familiar. The whole point of this movie is that we're seeing a family of maniacs going through all this.

I think it's a deeply flawed piece to conclude the story of the beloved characters who remained until the end, but one that manages to find some closure to make piece with the days that are gone and lets our antiheroes go.

The (I dare to say.. touching!) relationship of Otis and Baby must be my favorite thing in the movie, I couldn't have imagined it without the two of them. Sid Haig sadly didn't manage to appear for long in his last ever movie, and his replacement is obviously someone who can't ever compete, but Foxy's character is a likeable addition to the team whose main story focuses around finding his place within the family.

Must see for those who like the series, even with all its flaws! Ironically, we all expected something better, the same way our heroes did with their own lifes, and I can only feel respect for that.