The Devil's Rejects looks and feels in many aspects like many of the films from the 1970s–grainy and rough.  In a sense, Zombie creates a homage to the cult horror and exploitation films from the 1970s such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), The Hills Have Eyes (1977), and Dawn of the Dead (1978) among many other films.  Yet, he succeeds in bringing his own flavor of the new millennia to the story, which makes it a cinematic mutation of the horror genre.  The film even bears some resemblances to Michael Haneke's brutal Funny Games (1997) in its use of psychological violence.  Thus, Zombie invents a brilliant look and feel in the film that feels both raw and crude, which enhances the agonizing psychological horror that the film creates.

On a quite summer morning a caravan of police vehicles enters the compound of the serial killing family.  The police have the intention of getting the family dead or alive, preferably dead.  In charge is Sheriff Wydell (William Forsythe) who wakes up Otis (Bill Moseley) with a loud call from the outside.  Otis fumbles around the female corpses that he had an orgy with the previous night.  Baby (Sheri Moon) and mother Firefly (Leslie Easterbrook), Otis' family members,  also wake up from the Sheriff's call.  Together these three and the all ready awakened grandpa arm themselves with machineguns and revolvers ready to shoot anything that moves.  This is a violent shootout that brings back memories from Clint Eastwood's The Gauntlet (1977) commence, which ultimately leads to Otis and Baby's escape.

Once the two siblings, Otis and Baby, have acquired a car they make a phone call to Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) to warn him about the police raid, as he has also partaken in the gory orgies of murder and rape at the house and the police might have photos of him torturing victims.  These three bizarre characters meet at a motel, maybe a tribute to Psycho (1960), where they continue their cruel entertainment.  Their escape turns the film into a road movie that is similar to both Thelma & Louise (1991) and brilliantly violent Natural Born Killers (1994), but much more grotesque in its violence.  Together they intend to seek shelter at Charlie Altamont's (Ken Foree), who many might recognize from the Dawn of the Dead (1977), brothel.  In this viciously slaying road movie, Zombie turns the tables on the killers, as they become the victims of merciless law enforcement.

Overall, The Devil's Rejects is awful and distasteful, but it is within this ugliness that Zombie finds something extraordinary.  It is not a pleasant cinematic experience, nor is it an entertaining one, but there is something wise within this horrific tale.  Curiosity, might be the prime reason people see it, and then of course all the Rob Zombie fans will want to see it.  If it is curiosity that drew the audience to the theater to see this vile film, then the viewer should experience guilt for watching the repulsiveness on the screen.  In addition, there is a moment in the film where the audience will have two opposite feelings generated almost simultaneously in regards to the murderous family.  These two feelings are vengeance or compassion, which further creates a moment for bizarre forgiveness.  Zombie throws in a myriad of ideas, whether these are intentional or not I could do not know.  Nonetheless, there are several notions to be reflected upon against the moral qualities of humanity.  It is a clear that this film transcends far above House of 1000 Corpses, as Zombie's storytelling technique and visuals have also improved.  Lastly, House of 1000 Corpses has a far higher body count and gore, but The Devil's Rejects reaches further into the madness where it rocks the very foundation of humanity and decency.

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