I wouldn’t call myself a Rob Zombie apologist but I root for the guy. Ever since he was attached to write and direct a second sequel to The Crow, I’ve wanted to see what he brings to the screen. Sometimes it’s good. Sometimes it’s the opposite of good. Just depends on which way the wind breaks or if he had anything resembling a decent budget. What kicked off with House of 1000 Corpses continued with the excellent The Devil’s Rejects. And just when you didn’t think there was room for a sequel was the okay followup 3 From Hell which I have a hunch would have been a lot better if Sid Haig had been in better health. Those first two are dynamite horror flicks.
Apparently, we somehow didn't review 3 From Hell. Overall I think it's an okay film if an unnecessary continuation of the first two. it certainly revels in that low-budget Zombie grit and grime, and I have to admit that I was happy to see Otis and Baby once again. Sick as he was, it was nice to get one last shot of Sid Haig's Captain Spalding. Like so many recent Rob Zombie films, I got a feeling that if he'd been given a larger budget with a little more production time, the final film could have turned out a lot better. Definitely the worst of the pack, but still an entertaining and diverting flick.
Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Sporting a stylish SteelBook, Rob Zombie’s Firefly Trilogy gets another run at Blu-ray thanks to this partnership between Lionsgate and Walmart. As before, the discs are the same that we’ve seen from previous releases with the only update being the disc art and SteelBook packaging. Also included is a single-code digital slip that redeems all three flicks in HD. All discs are given individual trays to rest on without stacking.
Since we get the same discs again, we get the same transfers again. House of 1000 Corpses has always been a surprise that it still looks this good today. I remain curious to someday see a 4K HDR release for that one. Then we come to the tonal opposite with The Devil's Rejects. Void of the over-the-top colors of the first film, the gritty grungy 16mm vibe works wonders for this fright flick. Again, it's impressive to see such an aged transfer still hold up, but I'd still trade up for a 4K HDR disc should one come about. The most modern of the batch, 3 From Hell works overtime to try to recapture the look and feel of The Devil's Rejects to some modest success. Shot digitally, you can feel the filtered trickery that wasn't necessary to achieve a certain look with the previous films. Overall it's a fine transfer but there's something artificial-feeling about it.
Each film in Rob Zombie's little trilogy of terrors comes in with an excellent audio mix. You have a terrific DTS-HD HR 7.1 track for House of 1000 Corpses, DTS-HD HR 6.1 for The Devil's Rejects, with 3 From Hell coming in with a Dolby True HD 7.1 audio track. All tracks serve their respective films well. Dialog is clean and clear. Surround immersion is well felt - even if it can be a bit aggressive given Zombie's cinematic tendencies to beat folks over the head visually and auditorially.
Stacked together you have a lot of great bonus features to dig into if you're a big fan of the series.
House of 1000 Corpses
The Devil's Rejects
3 From Hell
While I personally would shell out for 4K UHD upgrades for House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects, I don’t mind having the trilogy together in a slick retro-styled horror show SteelBook. For those looking at this set, if you already own any of the films you’re looking at the same discs again. If you want to pick up all of the films in one go, this SteelBook is a stylish fun way to do it. For Fans Only.
