The further adventures of the psychotic, homicidal Firefly family from House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects.

You may have thought that killers Otis Driftwood, Captain Spaulding, and Baby Firefly had been shot all to hell at the end of The Devil’s Rejects, but it turns out they were only mostly dead. After some very intensive care in the local hospital, they are sent to federal prison to spend the rest of their days.

Sure, Jan.

The first third or so of 3 From Hell is shot in a faux documentary style, relating the current events of the deranged trio in lurid detail and over saturated film stock. It’s a total 70s Grindhouse fest, utilizing gritty closeups and hand-held cameras, showcasing every drop of sweat and hair follicle on every character.

Sheri Moon Zombie and Bill Moseley slip back into their heinous characters with ease, but unfortunately Sid Haig isn’t given much to do  with Captain Spaulding and, to be frank, he seems weak and frail (the actor? The character? Good question) and SPOILER ALERT doesn’t make it past the first reel anyway (do movies still use reels?), which is really an anticlimactic dud of a plot point. The Captain deserved better.

So, who’s the 3rd dude from hell in this flick? Otis’s brother, Winslow Foxworth Coltrane (Richard Brake), who breaks Otis out of his prison chain gang in a fairly disturbing sequence that helps set up the climactic conflict of the whole movie.

Now, Otis and his brother are now on the run, but…well, nothing seems too urgent. They spend a lot of time just hanging around and talking about stuff. Meanwhile, Baby is still stuck in prison, getting tortured by Greta the Guard (a fabulously unrecognizable Dee Wallace), and being denied parole.

Sheri Moon Zombie honestly does some amazing work here as Baby, letting the character get loony tunes goofy as well as murderously crazy, but never falling into parody or unbelievability. Baby is unpredictable, childlike and savage, and SMZ plays her like the finest violin. She has really come into her own as an actress, and her performance here is as good as she’s ever been.  She’s super fun to watch.

Rob Zombie is a talented director, and he has previously created some unnervingly suspenseful and overwhelmingly graphic set pieces that tattoo themselves into your brain for a long time. And there are some truly harrowing scenes in 3 From Hell that really made me lean close to the edge of my proverbial seat, eyes wide open but wondering if maybe they should be shut. Unfortunately, these scenes are few and far between in this flick. Instead, we get long stretches of killers sitting around in dirty t-shirts talking about what they’re gonna do…soon.

When Otis and Winslow take the warden’s family hostage in order to get Baby sprung from the hoosegow, the movie kicks into high gear and shoves us face-first into a terrifying nightmare: innocent victims at the complete mercy of horrible people. That’s the highlight of the film, and it’s a real doozy, but sadly we’re only about halfway through its running time. By the time we get to the climactic battle royale, what should have been a blood-soaked orgy of debauchery is a timid by-the-numbers shootout.  I think if Zombie can step away from sweat-stained redneck hillbilly killers (like he did with the vastly underrated Lords of Salem), he can maybe breathe new life into his brand of horror, but not this time.

Rob Zombie’s Bloodthirsty Brood is Back on
4K Ultra HD™ Combo Pack, Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD & Digital on October 15 from Lionsgate^®