Rob Zombie's Firefly Family, and a take no prisoners sensibility that suggests no one is ever safe from death.
That said, House of 1000 Corpses is far from a perfect film, and Zombie himself would agree, actually having called it a "calamitous mess" at one point. His fans would certainly disagree, as the film's cult only continues to grow as the years ago on. It's a captivating,, crazy watch, and the weirder things get, the harder it is to look away. Dr. Satan alone is worth the price of ission, one of horror's strangest characters to only ever appear in one film.
Love for House of 1000 Corpses aside, when pressed, most fans would cite The Devil's Rejects as Zombie's magnum opus. That's a hard judgment to counter, as the sequel trades music video flash in for gritty, grimy 1970-style exploitation, and is ultimately all the better for it.
Why The Devil's Rejects Was Better Than House Of 1000 Corpses
While House of 1000 Corpses is an entertaining film, with many great moments, it's also clearly the work of a first time writer/director. Rob Zombie lets the story kind of go all over the place at times and while, as mentioned, the rampant weirdness often works in the film's favor, it also doesn't feel focused. Sections of House of 1000 Corpses feel more like one of Zombie's music videos than a narrative feature, and that's understandable, since he came from the music world. With The Devil's Rejects, Zombie became a more confident, poised filmmaker, crafting a harrowing feature worthy of the 1970s grindhouse era he's clearly such a fan of.
In House of 1000 Corpses, Otis, Baby, and Captain Spaulding were larger than life bad guys, but that sometimes came at the cost of them appearing like one-dimensional crazy people. In The Devil's Rejects, fans are given a deeper look at the Fireflies, and what makes them tick. Sure, they're still murderous psychopaths, but they also feel like fully-formed characters. One could argue the film sympathizes with them a bit too much, but that's by no means a huge knock against Zombie's best work. Making the move to toss the vague supernatural elements found in House of 1000 Corpses was also smart, as so much of Corpses felt like it could actually happen to someone, until Dr. Satan - as cool-looking as he is - showed up and the film took a wild left turn. The Devil's Rejects is a truly great film, not only topping its predecessor, but every other film Zombie has made to date.
