3 from Hell

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.

I was lukewarm on House of 1,000 Corpses, but The Devil's Rejects remains one of the most interesting horror films of the past 15/20 years, so I was eagerly awaiting to see what Rob Zombie would do to bring his Firefly clan back. Pretty soon into the film, I realized that, sometimes, it's better to end on a high note than to drag things out past their expiration dates.

After their 70's killing spree, the Firefly clan have been sent to prison. They quickly write out Captain Spaulding (due to Sid Haig's poor health) and bring in a character we've never even seen or heard of before that's supposed to be some sort of half-brother of Otis and Baby (played by Richard Brake). He helps them escape and pretty soon they're back on the run, murdering and causing havoc wherever they go.

Structurally, 3 From Hell is more Devil's Rejects than House of 1,000 Corpses, but the problem is they copy that structure to a T. Once the gang's back, there's a siege upon two couples that's very much like the siege upon the country band in The Devil's Rejects. After that, they all get in a van and end up in Mexico which feels just like the scenes in Ken Foree's ranch in that same film. There's also a character who wants to avenge a family member who died at the hands of the Firefly family like in that film. It feels like Rob Zombie took the structure of that film and just barely changed a few details to make it seem different enough to greenlight.

3 From Hell feels like one of those great TV shows that's managed to overstretch itself out into 2 or 3 more mediocre and unnecessary seasons where the actors and writers we used to love are mostly going through the motions. It feels oddly passionless and pedestrian throughout as if everyone was just trying to play it safe enough until they could get their paycheck. There are a few highs here and there, but it's far from a return to form or a necessary addition to the series.

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...

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.

If you are like me, you probably thought that the ending to The Devils Rejects was incredible, almost majestic. TDR was one of the best horror movies at the time and was a great equal. With that said, 3 From Hell was not. If you are someone that just watched House of 1000 Corpses and The Devils Rejects for the first time recently, you might enjoy 3 From Hell. If you have been waiting the 14 years for this movie, it will be a let down. Zombie ended TDR on an incredible note, so having those 14 years to plan out another return of the Firefly family, you would think it would be something unique and unexpected. It wasn't. Your explanation to it was 'odds of their survival are 1,000,000 to 1. They survived'. That's it. I'll put that aside for now. The movie also felt like it was missing a solid plot, but maybe that is what Zombie was going for. The last thing that kind of annoyed me about this movie was 2 scenes. I won't spoil them, but it has almost exactly the same feel as the Hotel scene and the strip club scene in TDR. Overall, it had so much potential and could have been a great movie, but it just failed to hit that level. Worth the 2 hours and $15, but The Devils Rejects will still be Zombies best work in my opinion.