3 from Hell (2019) - The Return of the Firefly Family
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Judge Redd
Posts : 934 Join date : 2014-03-12 Age : 31 Location : Ireland
Subject: 3 from Hell (2019) - The Return of the Firefly Family Fri Nov 22, 2019 7:53 pm
Evening Everyone. This review was requested by a member of staff, and was intended to be released sooner, but due to family and real life drama, I was held up. Much like the majority of fans, I was looking forward to this movie as I really enjoyed its previous entry, in particular the ending. So today we are looking at the much awaited sequel to his 2005 movie The Devils Rejects, Rob Zombies 2019 movie "3 From Hell".
Plot: After surviving their last ordeal, the Devils Rejects return after 10 years of imprisonment. While they have been locked up, they have received huge status as heroes among the people (or at least the more deranged of us), with people often protesting to FREE THE THREE. The crazed Killers of the Firefly Family begin another murderous rampage when they eventually escape prison, with their goal being to make it to Mexico.
What this movie does right: This movie followed the fan favorite Devils Rejects, so it did have a lot to live up to. Especially with that ending that seemed like the story of the Fireflies had been all wrapped up. This movie proves otherwise as not only do we find out that they survived the incident but have become public figures as a result. What this movie shows though is that imprisonment has not done anything to restore sanity to the Fireflies, with the exception of Otis who seems a little bit more tame in this film than he had in previous entries. Baby however, steals the show becoming more erratic and unhinged in her time in prison. It was actually a pleasure to see Sheri Moon Zombie play out this character as more unstable than she had previously (WHICH SAYS SOMETHING). Otis returns with a vengeance, as well as with something of sorrow behind him after
I dont wanna spoil this, even though it happens early in the movie.:
the death of Spaulding.
. Otis, despite this is still the crazed murderer we all know an love. Another aspect I did enjoy is how natural the family interact with each other. Otis and his half-brother Winslow in particular have some entertaining back and forths that had me chuckle now and again.
What this movie does Wrong:Here is the sad part, this movie does a lot of things that just dont work as well as they could have. An example that stands out more than anything, while I was watching this, is that Sheri Moons age shows and does not fit in with how shes suppose to be this flirty seductress through the film. I mean if I was to be blunt, she looks more like a crackhead at times than someone you would find attractive. This could be a reflection on how she views herself, as well as her own mental state being somewhat more fractured, but I just found it a little offputting. Another thing that this move falls flat on its face trying to do, is to capture the same level of sympathy the end of the Devils Rejects brought them, while also portraying them as maniac killers. It suffers the same kind of faith that House of 1000 corpses suffered by being unable to decide what kind of movie it was going to be. With its tone and pace changing every now and again so rapidly that it feels like you missed something 20 minutes ago that is only popping up now. The main problem is that it trys to capture the magic of the Devils Rejects road trip, and make it seem fresh or different. Which isnt a bad thing, but when it fails to do so its not that entertaining. In my personal opinion,I would have liked to see the Rejects be in the prison for half of the film, causing riots and trying to break out, as opposed to the end result we got.
Performances: There is no shortage in good performances in this movie, but honestly thats all they are. Good. Some of the cast really give it their all, but when they are interacting with actors who arent trying it takes away from the good job the other actor is doing. Otis and Winslow's interactions are wonderful, since they come across as realistic siblings with their to and fros. They take jabs at each other, mock each other, and at the same time are willing to put their lives on the line for each other. Its the same with their interactions with Baby. They know shes the wild card, and cant be trusted with any real responsibilities because she will get them noticed. There is a real sense of sibling relationship between them and its works so well throughout the movie. That being said, when they are not interacting with each other, or victims, they dont come off as interesting or fun. They come off more as bland and unsure.
Personal Verdict: I wanted to like this movie. I wanted to like it so bad. And I did like some of it, but not all of it. The movie trys very hard to capture the magic of the Devils Rejects, while also attempting something different. It gives us more unhinged characters, but also gives us the same of what we have seen before with older characters and not much personality behind them. I liked half of this movie, but the other half just left me with a sour taste in my mouth. I dont think its a good ending to what was an interesting trilogy of movies, but its still worth checking out if your a fan of the previous movies. Or if you prefer, maybe just leave it at "The Devils Rejects".
Overall Score:5.6/10
3 from Hell (2019) - The Return of the Firefly Family