Featured, Movie Reviews

‘3 From Hell’ Review – A Carnage Carnival

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”29842″ img_size=”900×500″ alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Synopsis:

Crazed killers Baby Firefly, Captain Spaulding and Otis Driftwood unleash bloody mayhem after escaping from prison.

Rule number seventeen, if it’s around midnight and a random pretty woman hits on you at a dumpy motel that’s in the middle of nowhere, she’s either a prostitute or she’s going to kill you. The latter is more likely to happen in this movie. 3 From Hell, the much anticipated Rob Zombie film is a carnage carnival. From the merciless killings, the witty banter, to the cinematography; the bloody sequel to The Devil’s Rejects will be an instant cult classic. The worry for some was how the story was going to continue. To say the trio should be dead would be an understatement, as they went out in a fury of gunfire in the previous movie. However, all is explained and done in a way that feels organic yet forced. Initially, I didn’t feel that the movie was as gory as the previous two films. I was mistaken. After some kill recapping, I realized what Zombie did was spread the gore out. Most of the kills had a reason, well, a Rejects reason. The purposeful killings take some of the terror away as in previous films it was at random. Also, Zombie wanted us to focus on the story. There was a collective goal by the group other than just senseless murder. Subsequently, that may be a negative for some but I enjoyed the outlaw feel. Overall, it’s very enjoyable for those who revel in this type of movie. We may see the trio again.

Plot & Pace

The movie jumps immediately into what you want to know, whether the Firefly Family is alive or not. Certain aspects and scenes mirror that of The Devil’s Rejects but it doesn’t take away from the story. There aren’t too many slow or actionless moments. The few moderate moments are filled with humorous bickering. The basics of the plot revolve around the family escaping from prison and becoming fugitives. As we know, The Rejects don’t go down without a fight. We are introduced to a new character that helped drive the plot but wasn’t actually needed after his initial contribution. However, I enjoyed the character and the more the merrier, right? While the plot isn’t immensely complex, it’s not why we love these movies. Its anarchic characters, grit, and outlaw/slasher film kills leaves us wanting more. The movie turned out differently than originally scripted due to Sid Haig falling ill and Rob Zombie having to do some rewriting. The movie still turned out good and hopefully, Haig recovers. The only unanswered question was, will there be another sequel?

Character & Chemistry

The first thing you need to know is Baby is the star, at least that’s what she says. She would be correct in this case. Sheri Moon Zombie (Baby Firefly) outdid herself. I would watch a movie with just her character. Baby is an alluring, manipulative, savage, and crazy. She’s an R-rated Harley Quinn minus the paint. The way she was able to project the crazy and sadism of Baby is award-winning. Bill Moseley (Otis Driftwood) the brains of the operation, is emphatically ruthless. The self-proclaimed Devil is family first and if you get in the way of family, you die. Hell, if you don’t benefit his cause, he’ll kill you. Sid Haig (Captain Spaulding) is still an old smartass that has zero f**ks to give. Richard Brake (Midnight Wolfman) is a new addition and he’s just as ruthless as Otis, just not as infamous. The chemistry is just as palpable as the previous movie. The family vibe is real, Baby is definitely the annoying little sister to Otis’ overbearing big brother.

3 From Hell released in theaters for a short three-day stint on September 16th – 18th and did well. With that said, it is returning to theaters for one more day on October 14th, a day before it debuts on DVD, Blu-Ray, and digital platforms. Tickets available here, I’d definitely see it again.