Screening Log, April 2006

The Devil’s Rejects
USA / 2005

Along with House of 1000 Corpses opening night double-feature in Reverse Shot’s weeklong program of the best features of 2005.

bly more artful than its predecessor and also more morally complex, Zombie’s second feature picks up where House of 1000 Corpses left off but shifts genres entirely. A pastiche of Peckinpah, ‘70’s neo-Westerns, and chooglin’ classic rock, The Devil’s Rejects makes an astonishing moral pirouette in its final act, proving that the only thing more reprehensible than a family of inbred psycopaths is William Forsythe, as a vengeful, vigilante lawman acting in the name of God. Utterly repellent and highly recommended.

by Leo Goldsmith | Source: Lion’s Gate 35mm Print
23 Apr 2006 3:20 PM | Comments (3)


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  1. rumsey
    23 April 2006
    1:19 PM
    Website

    Agreed on almost all fronts re: this and 1000 Corpses. This is an unexpected maturation from the juvenile exercise in gore that is Corpses—although that film is not entirely without merit. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it, but there’s the scene in which one of the renegade criminals holds a gun to the temple of a lawman pursuing them. He doesn’t pull the trigger for something like an entire minute in a single wide shot. What this demonstrates is that Zombie, although arguably insensitive and decidedly exploitative, has patience—this distinguishes few of his influences. (Texas Chain Saw, namely, is incessant in its mistreatment of the viewer.) Still, I admire Zombie’s work thus far, for – above all – the exhilarating scene that this film culminates in. Oh, and the scene where the criminals stop for ice cream.


  2. Ed Gonzalez
    23 April 2006
    3:19 PM

    Not being a fan of these films, I’ve nothing to contribute. Just wanted to say to Leo: Was that you at the Reverse Shot thingy last night? I think you introduced yourself to me a few years ago but i’ve only had a vague idea of who you were since then.


  3. leo
    23 April 2006
    7:57 PM
    Website

    Hi Ed: Yes, I was in attendence last night. Thought I spied you for a minute, but I was distracted by a number of acquaintances, and I guess you didn’t stick around for the Zombie films. Let’s catch up at the next such event, if not sooner.


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