The Devil's Rejects (2005)
I fancied a feel-good film last night so opted for The Devil's Rejects.
The skill of director Rob Zombie is truly at work here has he weaves a kind of magic that makes us in the second half of the film both root and care for the repulsive remnants of the Firefly clan (Captain Spaulding, Baby and Otis) first seen in his debut feature House of 1000 Corpses (2003).
Despite a truly repellent first hour in which the three hold captive four country singers at a remote motel and brutalize them purely for the hell of it (Some of the stuff they do i'm surprised it got past the BBFC unscathed in the UK) however what follows is somewhat surprising as they basically get whats coming to them thanks to an equally vile sheriff played by William Forsyth in some unflinching acts of torture and as the three escape across country to the strains of Skynyrd's Free Bird we are practically cheering until that bittersweet final moment as the car they are traveling in is showered with bullets.
It's even more bittersweet with the end credits dedication to Matthew McGrory who played Tiny Firefly who passed away shortly after this film was made and yet Zombie actually makes it seem uplifting thanks to an incredible lengthy tracking shot of open country roads as Terry Reid's Seed of Memory mesmerizes the ears.
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