3 from Hell (2019)


I like Rob Zombie's music as well as his movies.  However, he does have a problem.  He never knows when to stop.  In this case it is in doing a second sequel to House of 1000 Corpses.  The Devil's Rejects was a rare sequel that was far ahead of the original.  It was gritty, featured great acting and set pieces, and ended with the remaining members of the Firefly clan perishing in a slow-motion hail of bullets as "Free Bird" played near its entirety.  It was a fitting end to the merry band of psychos.

But, instead of just letting things be, Zombie had to revisit them one more time. 

Despite being riddled with bullets, Otis Driftwood (Bill Mosely), Baby Firefly (Sheri Moon Zombie) and Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) manage to survive.  They are put on trial, with Baby given a life sentence and Otis and Spaulding finding themselves on death row.  While Spaulding is executed 10 years after their imprisonment, Otis escapes in 1988 with the help of his half-brother Winslow Foxworth Coltrane (Richard Brake).  The two immediately start to plan on how to get Baby out of prison, eventually involving forcing Warden Virgil Harper (Jeff Daniel Phillips) to release her by holding his family hostage.

Together and on the run the trio decide to head down to Mexico where they hope to not be recognized.  However, a shady hotel owner named Carlos (Richard Edson) does when they reach the town of Durango.  During their escape Otis kills an inmate named Rondo (Danny Trejo) who was instrumental in revealing their location to authorities 10 years prior.  Rondo happens to be the father of Aquarius (Emilio Rivera), the leader of a gang called the Red Satans, and he hopes to put the Fireflies to rest forever.

3 from Hell could have been much better, although it still would have been unnecessary.  Part of the problem is Sid Haig was dying at the time and could only appear in the movie briefly.  That brief moment brings back much of the fire of the first two films.  Richard Brake, who played an amazing villain in 31, gives us a new character that breathes some life into the film, but there is no replacing Haig.  The series just isn't the same and, in Zombie's defense, he meant for Captain Spaulding to be a central part of the movie. 

Bill Mosely is still entertaining as the scumbag Otis, although he doesn't get as many great lines as he did in The Devil's Rejects.  As for Sheri Moon Zombie, she had been getting past the squeaky pixie persona from early on.  It is disappointing to see her returning to it as I liked her version of Baby from the previous film.  

Not only is there a big hole where Haig used to be it also seems like Zombie is repeating himself.  The scenes in Virgil's home are too similar to the hotel scene from The Devil's Rejects, as the finale in Durango is also too close to the previous film's strip club set piece.  It is one of the highlights, particularly Baby with a bow and arrow, but after a good start this just starts feeling like I'm watching a watered-down copy.  It still has many moments that are fun to watch, and some that are disturbing as well, but much like some of his later albums it seems like Zombie just keeps pulling out the same old bag of tricks rather than going for something new.  

3 from Hell (2019)
Time: 115 minutes
Starring: Bill Mosely, Richard Brake, Sheri Moon Zombie, Jeff Daniel Phillips
Director: Rob Zombie
 

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