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Parents' Guide to

The Devil's Rejects

By Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

A family of sadistic killers—a big no for kids.

Movie R 2005 101 minutes
The Devil's Rejects Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 17+

Based on 16 parent reviews

zig_zag_blaze
zig_zag_blaze Adult
November 8, 2022
age 18+

If you or your kids are SNOWFLAKES, Don't bother...

The movie is a masterpiece! It should simply be rated NS - NO SNOWFLAKES / NOT FOR SNOWFLAKES
1 person found this helpful.
ContentFlag
ContentFlag Adult
July 6, 2022
age 18+

Rated 18 (sadistic threat, bloody violence, sexual assault, very strong language).

MAIN CONTENT ISSUES - There are sustained sequences of very strong threat and terror, which often focus on the brutality and sadism of the killers. They terrorise many of their victims as much as possible before they kill them, proving many scenes to be very disturbing to watch. There is also scenes of strong bloody violence throughout, including bloody beatings, stabbings, shootings, slashings, and one scene where a woman is splattered across a road after being hit by a vehicle. One sustained sequence of sexual threat and assault depicts a woman being forced to strip and make out with a man, who then proceeds to put a gun in her knickers and, it is implied, puts the barrel of it in her vagina. He also makes several sexual remarks to her, adding to her extreme discomfort and terror. There are also two aggressive uses of very strong language ("c*nt"). | OTHER ISSUES - There are a couple of strong sex scenes featuring breast nudity, as well as other moments of graphic nudity. Strong sexual references throughout. Pervasive use of strong language throughout ("f*ck"), as well as frequent use of milder terms. A few moments of drug use. As a whole, a difficult viewing experience that may disturb or offend anyone regardless of age. | Rated "18" - Suitable only for persons aged 18 years and over. Contains content recommended for viewing by adults only.
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What's the Story?

Like his first feature, House of 1000 Corpses, rocker/director Rob Zombie's THE DEVIL'S REJECTS. is relentlessly ugly, violent, and visceral. All the characters -- killers, victims, and lawmen -- are unsavory. It's not so much a sequel as it is a rearrangement of the characters, as Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) and his blood-lusting children, Otis (Bill Mosely) and Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie) seek victims and elude state cops.The gore begins when Sheriff Wydell (William Forsythe) and his team raid the home of Mother Firefly (Leslie Easterbrook). Though she is captured, the kids escape, track down their clown-faced father, and run off in search of temporary shelter with dad's old pimp buddy Charlie (Ken Foree). En route to Charlie's, Captain Spaulding and kids stop at a seedy motel, where they take four hostages, including Roy (Geoffrey Lewis) and his wife Gloria (Priscilla Barnes). She endures two sexual tortures, first by Spaulding and then the less focused Baby, both terrible to watch. As Wydell's brother (Tom Towles) was killed in the first film, he has a special desire for revenge here. He hires a couple of bounty hunters to "take care of" his prey, or at least set them up so he can finish them, without worrying too much about legal restraints.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (16 ):
Kids say (22 ):

Steeped in allusions to other movies, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS mounts a bit of a challenge to mainstream movie conventions that invite viewers to celebrate violence. Still, with its classic/southern rock soundtrack ("Midnight Rider," "Free Bird," "Reelin' in the Years"), it does grant some pleasure in consuming brutality. And so you have to consider your own reaction to what you see, as a means to gauge its effectiveness.

That Wydell's efforts to get even are so horrific and hypocritical raises questions about vengeance as a pop-cultural (even national or political) theme, in that the pay-off is so meaningless. And concerning Gloria's sexual torture: There's something to be said for making viewers uncomfortable in the face of such abuses, but this movie says it confoundingly.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about reasons for its resurrection of previous films: why is the family focus of '70s horror reappearing at this moment? What are the threats to today's families that the movie makes both metaphorical and literal?

Movie Details

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