Making 'The Devil's Rejects' A Nightmarish Joy

Sheri Moon Zombie does not share Rob Zombie's gruesome tastes. In a 2004 interview, she stated that while she knew what she was doing playing Baby, she was not ready for William Forsythe's venom.

Being the victim felt really scary. I had to cry, so Forsythe was really cool coming up to me between takes. To keep the tears, he showed me pictures of a deceased mother and other things. That night, I was really emotional. I missed work for a couple of days.

No one inThe Devil's RejectsThe film portrays Captain Spaulding as a good person. Law enforcement is corrupt, and the Firefly family commits vicious acts of terror against nearly everyone. In his role as Captain Spaulding, Sid Haig must knock a woman out before taking her car; this action did not excite him.He said in 2005:

I am very protective and respectful of women, so beating up two women in the film and scaring the little kid was difficult. However, I had to make it seem like he was having fun. My character's goal was just to get the car so I could reach my destination.

The Devil's Rejectsis Zombie'slove letterthe '70s, especially the gory Sam Peckinpah films. The scene many viewers find hardest to watch was also the hardest to film, according to the actors.

Bill Moseleyexplained in 2005he felt very uncomfortable filming Otis's motel scene, which involves sexual assault.

That scene was hard for me because I am not personally excited about sexual intimidation or degradation. It affected me personally, making it an unpleasant scene to play.

Zombie understood the scene's intensity, but he insisted in 2005 that heneeded his actors to trust him:

Certain actors felt uncomfortable with the hotel scene, but now they are not. They just look at it and say, 'Wow. It really worked.' That is what I realized. They might feel bad, but they will feel worse later if they held back.

The Devil's RejectsThe film looks hot and dirty; this was not just a production design choice. The film was shot about70 miles northeast of Los Angeles, and the high temperatures on set added realism to the film.Sheri Moon Zombie said in 2005:

The shoot was hot a lot. That added grit to the characters and the film. The dusty, dirty, hot conditions. I welcomed that. It put me into character, being dirty and grimy. It was fun. It helped. Between takes, you feel miserable and they try to hold umbrellas over you to stop sunburn, but it was great.

Captain Spaulding is arguably the most noticeable presence in bothHouse of 1000 CorpsesandThe Devil's RejectsHaig claimed he patched the character together from his own experiences, and while sadistic clowns have haunted cinema for decades.

In a 2005 interview, he explained he believed he was Spaulding, whichmade the character feel real.:

As an actor, you must find Captain Spaulding. Find who he is inside your own personality. Make him real for yourself, and then he will be real for the audience. If you believe it, you will believe it. That is what I must do. I have to make it real for me.

Zombie discussed his disappointment with the result ofHouse of 1000 CorpsesZombie made it mostly due to its unintentional campiness. When he began makingThe Devil's RejectsHe wanted to make something grittier and genuine than the film's predecessor.He said in 2005:

The first film turned out a little wackier and campier than he intended. But while shooting, that was the tone the movie took. Movies set their own path sometimes, so I just followed it. OnDevil's RejectsI really wanted to scale it back and try to make something much grittier and nastier when those moments required it.

Every director has a vision for a film. Some directors try to create a calm atmosphere on set, but others take necessary actions to push their actors toward better performances. Zombie clearly follows the latter approach.

When asked in 2005 if he works with actors sensitive to his graphic material, Zombie saidZombie said:

You do and you don't. On the first film, I would have, but now I don't care. Making this film great matters. Your feelings do not. Your sense of right or wrong does not matter. If you do not want that, stay away.

When Rob Zombie finished directingHouse of 1000 Corpses, he thought he finished with the Firefly family. But when the film returned its budget in the first weekend, a sequel became necessary. Zombie stated that althoughhe is not keen on sequels, he knows it is not every day someone offers money to make a movie.He said in 2013:

If someone will pay that money and make your film happen, you cannot look that gift horse in the mouth. I did not want to makeHouse of 1000 Corpses Part 2. I did not want that title. I did not want another movie that looked like that. So I thought, I will take the characters I like best, remove some others, and continue the story as a different movie in the style I want to do.

In 2005, America was involved in the Iraq conflict and still dealt with the horrors of 9/11. When Zombie wasasked in 2013if he used the political climate of that time as inspiration forThe Devil's Rejects, he commented that while he was not consciously trying to make amovie about America's early 2000s outlook, he may have unknowingly done so:

The world you live in now affects you constantly. The world shapes what you make. I did not consciously plan this feeling into the movie; I just expressed it. Much of filmmaking happens subconsciously because you are involved 24/7 for years.

Zombie is known as a "horror guy," but he did not point to '70s horror for inspiration while making his work.The Devil's RejectsThe colors and gruesome nature of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre influenced the film.The Texas Chain Saw MassacreZombie used westerns or heists as inspiration for most movies he chose.He stated this in 2005.:

This film shows influence from '70s crime and action movies, including Dirty Harry and Bonnie and Clyde.Dirty HarrytoBonnie and ClydeThose movies from that decade stand out because the director held key power. The director was the god on set with the vision. The '70s was the last time films prioritized the film over money.

The Devil's RejectsThe film starts about seven months after House of 1000 Corpses.House of 1000 CorpsesSheriff Wydell (William Forsythe) and his deputies raid the Firefly home brutally. The sequel follows the family evading the law, but Dr. Satan (Walter Phelan) is absent. Zombie cut Dr. Satan because his scene was not essential to the story.

In the scene, Dr. Satan is in a coma and surrounded by the sheriff's department. He wakes just in time to rip out a nurse's throat.rip out the throat of a nurseplayed by Rosario Dawson. The scene is gruesome, but it adds little to the film overall.

AlthoughThe Devil's RejectsZombie said he got little time and money for this high-budget film. Sheri Moon Zombie said the cast moved through the script, giving the film energy.She said in 2005:

The shooting schedule moved fast every day. We shot seven or eight setups daily. There was no time to think. I finished all my prep before we shot. We had rehearsals. I knew how [Zombie] would do each scene, so on shooting day, we did a quick walk-through, a rehearsal, block it, shoot it. I was very prepared.

Zombie wrote everyone in The Devil's Rejects as a terrible person.The Devil's RejectsZombie did not try to make the Firefly clan friendly. He wanted the audience to like them. Zombie said in 2011 that he knew the Fireflys were bad people, but making them "cool" would get the audience on board.Zombie said in 2011that he knew the Fireflys were bad people, but making them "cool" would get the audience on board.

Zombieexplained this idea.in 2014. He wanted the slaying family to look real, not faceless, so the audience felt they could be real people:

I love how charismatic the movie villains are. You get caught up in their family drama. They torment themselves just as much as their victims. The actors are so convincing. You will think, 'I don't know. Maybe that guy's real...' Watch this movie, but be careful!

ThroughoutThe Devil's RejectsZombie makes decisions no other director would try. The film is brutal, but the finale is the peak: a six-minute shootout montage between the Fireflys and police, set to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird."

During a 2011 Q&A, Zombie told the studio he would not explain the film's ending. Instead, he played a rough eight-minute cut for them after filming finished. Zombie sat in his trailer with the producers, played the slowed footage, and jammed "Free Bird" on his stereo.

30 Days in Hellis a two-and-a-half-hour documentary showing the whole production ofTthe Devil's Rejects. The documentary shows the audience Zombie's production ride as the cast and crew dive into the intense, strange film.

You can watch the documentary on the unrated DVD ofThe Devil's Rejects, and it takes you fromZombie's pre-productionall the way to the wrap party. If you want to know what it's like being on a Rob Zombie set, this is your shot.