The Devil's Rejects

The general consensus over The Devil's Rejects was as split down the middle as a film can get. Deemed the "worst movie ever made" by a Toronto newspaper, Rob Zombie's second film attracted plenty of attention, and it's pretty clear why. After 2003's deeply disturbing and utterly confusing House of 1000 Corpses, Zombie returned this year with a far superior follow-up that just so happened to carry on the story from his first film without turning it into a sequel or even a proper horror film. A brutally violent revenge flick in the truest sense, Rejects follows a family of serial killers who are on the run from a vengeful vigilante sheriff. As sadistic and manic as the blood-lustful story is, it becomes most twisted when you begin cheering for the killers as the heroes, and to a certain extent, against the victims. Zombie has created the modern day, ultra-violent classic that is oddly enough, as funny as it is terrifying. With such pride in his film, he's also turned the DVD into the ultimate package. Commentaries come courtesy of the man himself, which, much like he did with Corpses, are detailed perfectly, leaving no scene or trick unexplained. A second commentary from the Rejects (Sid Haig, Sheri Moon Zombie and Bill Moseley) displays their friendly off-camera chemistry with lovable results, though sometimes their enjoyment leads to some early revelations in the film. The better deleted scenes come in "Cheerleader Missing," Otis's home movie that is filled with gratuitous torture, which is virtually unwatchable; however, Rosario Dawson's scene as a nurse treating Dr. Satan is a blood-gushingly good one, but its irrelevance is obviously why it was cut. The real prize is the second disc, "30 Days in Hell," a two-hour-plus comprehensive doc on the making of the film. Here, Zombie gives an intimate, "behind the scenes" look at every point and concern of the film, which runs a little long, but doesn't forget anything. (Maple)