Rob Zombie has never been a film maker I would describe as subtle. Or restrained. Or mature. But wouldn't you know, that's exactly what his latest film is. It also has a scene where a priest forces a woman to give him felletio. So maybe that early praise was a little bit pre-emptive. I want to make this review kinda short since I'm a little behind, and I've still got today's movie to watch... (what did I get myself into?). Luckily, this is a good movie to go a little briefer, because there really isn't a ton I would have to say about it. And not really in a bad way. Hmmm... let me start over...
I grew up worshiping Rob Zombie in high school. I mean, I just thought that shit was the coolest. When I heard he was directing a movie, I could hardly contain myself, and then four years later when it finally came out, I thought House of 1000 Corpses was just the bomb. It was over-the-top, ridiculously crude, in-your-face, unapologetic horror. It was also pretty poorly written, sloppily edited, and stole a ton of material from other movies. Somehow, it just worked though. For the people that could appreciate it anyway. Mr. Zombie is obviously a huge horror fan, and he made his first horror movie about the kind of horror movies he loves. It's definitely a labor of love, and you can see just what he wanted to do during his first time behind the camera. Far from a cinematic masterpiece, but you know what, for horror films, it's not a bad candidate at all. (and a great flick to watch on Halloween).
Next up, he blew everyone away with Devil's Rejects. Now that he blew his horror-load on House of 1000 Corpses, he was able to dial back the craziness, focus on developing characters, and just make a lot tighter, more mature movie. Shit, even Ebert and Roper gave this thing two thumbs up. It's a pretty great, gritty horror flick. More of a serial killer film than a horror movie (if you've seen enough of these movies to be able to make a distinction). Has some really unnerving scenes, and some great, great characters. I saw this twice in the theaters, and it really put Rob on the map as someone to watch.
Then he remade Halloween and he lost me. I'm not going to get into this too much. That's another review entirely, but I was less than thrilled with his take of a bullied-Michael Myers, replacing the unexplainable evil that encompassed the killer in the original series. Still, I've watched his two Halloween movies multiple times, and I'd call them interesting failures. There's definitely a lot more creativity and talent in Rob's remakes than in anything from the original franchise after part 3. And Michael Myers is definitely an imposing, scary figure in these. I just wish he didn't crud it all up by throwing his white trash, scum-bag characters into the whole thing. In House of 1000 Corpses, it worked. In Devil's Rejects, it worked. In Halloween, it just doesn't. The characters just don't fit in this series. And every time another character is introduces, sporting the same ironic 70's rockband T-shirts and swearing like a sailor, it just becomes abundantly clear that, "Oh, okay Rob, so this is all you can do, huh?"
It really put me off him for a while. Like, I thought his monster-mash type of music was cool, because it was it's own thing. Then his first two movies were cool, because they lent themselves to a bunch of sleazy trailer trash characters. But then he did the same thing in Halloween. And come on man, it's Halloween! It's like the most high end, prestigious horror film series after Psycho. Show a little class.
Oh well, I got over it, and when I heard his new film was a different approach, a more restrained, low-budget supernatural film, in the vein of The Shining, I had to say I was intrigued. He's really 50/50 at this point, so I wanted to see which way this film broke the tie.
Well, I'm happy to say, I'm impressed. The storyline itself is just kind of there. Not really any driving force progressing the movie forward. It just kind of floats along following the main character (his wife, Sheri Moon Zombie) as she starts losing her mind, haunted by the curse of a couple witches that were burned at the stake back in the Salem Witch Trial era. Still, the movie is really well done. it's intentionally a little slow, taking it's time to just drop hints of weird little shit here and there.
Sheri Moon does a really good job as the main character; definitely a step up from her psychotic "Baby" in the House and Devil's. And as usual, Rob casts a couple of genre favorites, like Ken Foree (always awesome) and Dee Wallace, who all bring their A-game. What sets this apart from his other work, is it never goes off the rails into the crazy shit department. At least not like his previous work. And yes, this movie does have a scene of Sheri orgasmically grabbing a burnt midget's intestines and flailing her arms around, which (I think?) causes her to become pregnant with the antichrist? Maybe? I'll have to listen to the director's commentary for clarification. So apart from some weird hallucinations and dream sequences, Bob Zombie keeps it pretty restrained and dialed back. He lets atmosphere carry the film, and allows the shots to linger on the moody hallways and bleak Salem scenery. It's really an impressive looking film, which up until this point, I never would've guessed would have come from Rob.
My only complaint is, the movie feels like it loses focus a little in the middle, and into the final act. The whole, character being haunted by weird happenings and hallucinations leads into a kind of anticlimactic ending that kind of feels like they just ran out of money. Still, it feels like this is the movie Rob really wanted to make, and I respect the fact that he didn't sway from his vision. It's not a very commercial or studio-type of film, which I'm all for. I'd rather see mildly disappointing originality than bland cookie cutter garbage, so thanks for flying your freak flag high Bob.
He had described it in an article I read as "Rosemary's Baby" as if imagined by Ken Russell (who directed the really bizarre "Altered States" film). If you understand what I'm talking about, I think that is the absolute best description I could give this movie.
It's elegant, while sleazy. Slow-burning, with moments of graphic weirdness. Interesting story while being pretty close to other witch-craft movies that came before it. And it's got a really groovy soundtrack. Great early rock tracks, along with a cool, spooky tune that resurrects the witch's curse when played over the radio (not as lame as it sounds). It gets under your skin and gets kind of catchy in a maddening way.
Lastly, my favorite thing I took away from the movie: While Rob has his usual cast of trashy looking characters, they didn't behave like a bunch of filthy assholes like every other movie. They were actually funny, (kind of intelligent), and all around, a lot more likeable. And there are even characters that we are introduced to, which in any other horror movie, you know they're just there to up the body count, but they make it out unscathed. Which is kind of interesting. Like she has a dog. And through the whole movie, I was just waiting for this poor bastard to die and her to find it's mutilated body. But she never does. Hats off to you, Mr. Zombie. I didn't think you had it in you.It's too bad I've heard him report that this is his last movie... just when he showed he could do something different.
Also- as you might expect, there are a ton of Sheri Moon ass shots. Rob has made no effort in hiding the fact that he's definitely an ass guy. Which is fine, I guess, because she definitely has a nice one and everything, but it really comes off... I don't know... needy? Maybe that's not the right word, but that's the feeling I get from it. And it's his wife. And he constantly wants us to look at her ass. I don't know, I've always been more of a boob man myself, so I guess I'm just a little exhausted from it by now. We get it Rob, you like your wife's ass. And you want us to as well. But come on, you know... no matter how much you show it, it's just an ass. Poop comes out of there.
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