Editorials,  Movies/Entertainment

Groovers & Mobsters Present: "Horror"

Well friends, it’s time again for another installment of Groovers & Mobsetrs Presents. Today we are going to look at the films that make this time of year all the more enjoyable. So fire up your DVD player (or Blu Ray player for those of you who’ve made the jump) and prepare yourself for scares, chills and thrills. On behalf of Fandango Groovers and Movie Mobsters G-S-T looks at one definitive Halloween film and examines why it gives us the willies. Willies? No, I’ll rephrase that…gives us effen nightmares. Oh, I love the holidays:P

Adam: “Please… Stop…” Otis: “Stop?? Bitch, I have just started.”

No trolls, no spirits, no supernatural/unstoppable behemoth villains here; this Halloween, evil is human incarnate. Raw and unadulterated, this movie features an unsettling amount of violence brought on by this murdering clan of intensely evil people. The Devil’s Rejects (the sequel to the 70’s throwback House of 1000 Corpses) again follows the Firefly Family, the most vicious Texas backwoods murderers. Yet while the original was full of 70’s B-Movie weirdness to compliment the savagery, this sequel was just full on brutal realism.

The film opens with the Firefly Family barely surviving an incredibly awesome shootout (one which John McTiernan or perhaps Luc Besson might approve of) and the entire film becomes a chase to bring the Fireflys to justice. Yet in the case of Sheriff Wydell (William Forsythe), being that the Fireflys are responsible for the death of his brother, justice goes right out the window. He wants them to suffer and goes on a half-mad quest for their heads. But while the Fireflys are hiding/escaping the law, laying low just isn’t in their nature and they are still content to destroy as many lives wherever they go. Set to the best collection of 60’s/70’s folk music it’s hard not to like this movie even though you will probably never shake some scenes from your brain…ever. Unsettling is an understatement and this movie has been called “The Terminator of horror films” for a good reason. But there is some fun thrown in amongst the gasp inducing sequences and it all ends fantastically with the best use of “Freebird” I’ve ever seen in a movie.

“Boy, the next word that comes out of your mouth better be some brilliant fuckin’ Mark Twain shit. ‘Cause it’s definitely getting chiseled on your tombstone.”

The Devil’s Rejects is the kind of film you need to see because sometimes, when typical hack-n-slash horror won’t cut it, you need something jarring to cleanse your pallet of trite horror. I’m not saying you need to see The Human Centipede but give The Devil’s Rejects a shot especially for Halloween. In short this will rock your world. This isn’t for everyone but in this film which is basically visual blunt force trauma it is really really good in a really really bad way. Happy Halloween…and go have yourself some Tutti Frutti OK?

These Rejects ain’t “clowning” around…

4 Comments

  • Steve

    I was talking (or maybe writing?) about Let Me In the other day as it relates to the underlying question of whether you believe in evil or not. None of what I saw in Let Me In struck me as evil – everything that was done was done in the name of something bigger and better. The Devil’s Rejects on the other hand, now there’s true evil all over the place. The Firefly Family strikes me as the kind of people who are like Michael Myers or Jason, but they can speak. They’re like this destructive force that kills for no particular purpose other than to upset the order of things… It was a great film, unlike any of the other films I tend to watch, but it opened my eyes to some of the new things being done in the horror genre, and proved to me that Rob Zombie made the right move getting into filmmaking.

    • MarcC

      That’s a good distinction actually. I agree with what you said about Zombie’s work save for the last sentence. After TDR, I expected his Halloween remake to be as “go for the throat” but was sooo disappointed. Still agree with you in his talent but hope for a better product with his Blob remake if it ever gets going.

  • Heather

    Thank you so much for taking part Marc. It’s always a pleasure collaborating with my brother from another mother. This flick is just sick too. Zombies work is definitely a personal taste issue for a lot of people, but what I like most about his stuff, is he is basically a horror movie fan who has been able to live out his dream of making his own movies. And I’m an insanely devoted fan of White Zombie and of course his solo albums.

    • MarcC

      You can count on me anytime, anywhere Sis and I really do love the series. We going to have a Christmas one?? I’ve got my pick ready to go!