The Devil's Rejects (2005)

"I am the devil, and I am here to do the devil's work."

- Otis

The Devil's Rejects is a 2005 horror film directed by Rob Zombie. It is the sequel to Zombie's first film House of 1000 Corpses and is the last film in the series. The plot revolves around the murderous Firefly family who are now on the run from the law. Sheriff John Quincy Wydell, brother of the late George Wydell, wants to avenge his brother's murder by hunting down and killing the surviving Firefly members. Actors Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon and Matthew McGrory all reprise their roles as Captain Spaulding, Otis, Baby and Tiny (respectively). Karen Black has been replaced with Leslie Easterbrook in the role of Mother Firefly and future Michael Myers actor Tyler Mane plays the role of Rufus Firefly, Jr. (previously played by Robert Mukes). This film has a distinctively different style from House of 1000 Corpses and the portrayal of the main characters are grittier and less-cartoonish than they appeared in the previous film.

Siege at the Firefly farm
It is early morning, May 18th, 1978 in Ruggsville, Texas. A hooded Tiny Firefly drags the body of a naked woman through the woods. He disposes of the remains and turns back towards the family farmhouse just in time to see dozens of police squad cars pulling up the driveway. Sheriff John Quincy Wydell addresses his men and warns them that the Fireflys are wanted for a string of disappearances. The family members awaken and immediately scramble to arm themselves. They don iron masks to protect their faces and begin exchanging gunfire with the cops. One of the officers, Ray Dobson, hurls a tear gas canister into the house. Rufus Firefly, Jr. puts on a suit of armored plating and stands guard over his family when the cops burst into the house. They unload their weapons upon him, and while the armor protects him from the first salvo of bullets, he eventually goes down in a hail of gunfire. While Otis and Baby Firefly escape into the cellar, Mother Firefly stays behind to look after Rufus. Sheriff Wydell draws his gun on her. Mother produces her own handgun and attempts to shoot herself in the head, but the weapon is out of bullets. Wydell arrests her.

Otis and Baby escape from the basement via a hidden tunnel that leads out into the swamps. From there, they get to the highway and set up a trap in order to procure transportation. Baby lies in the middle of the road and pretends to be unconscious until a motorist stops to check on her. Otis emerges from behind the crouching woman, stabs her to death then steals her car.

At the Firefly farm, the police officers search the premises and recover a pile of Mother Firefly's scrapbooks, which includes extensive evidence of the family's murderous activities over the years. Sheriff Wydell finds a photograph of local celebrity Captain Spaulding and learns that Spaulding is an associate of the family.

Meanwhile, Captain Spaulding is having a dream about having sex with a woman who then tries to kill him. He awakens from the dream next to a larger, less-attractive woman and gets up. He turns on the television to watch his latest local-access Captain Spaulding commercial, but the commercial is interrupted by a news bulletin relating to the Firefly raid. He then receives a telephone call from Baby Firefly, his daughter, then gets into his truck and leaves.

Banjo & Sullivan
Otis and Baby continue driving and they tune in to a radio broadcast discussing the raid. They learn that the police now know about the family's connection to Captain Spaulding and that they need to quickly find a place to lay low. They choose the Kahiki Palms Motel.

Also staying at the Kahiki Palms is a traveling country band called Banjo and Sullivan. The group consists of Roy Sullivan, his wife Gloria, Adam Banjo, Wendy Banjo, and their roadie Jimmy. The group checks in to their room and Roy brags about having once shaken hands with Johnny Cash. Jimmy expresses his displeasure with being a roadie and dreams of one day being a rodeo clown. Roy sends him across the street to get some beef jerky. Roy goes around the corner to get some ice and runs into Baby Firefly. Baby flirts with him and distracts him long enough for Otis to come up behind him with a gun. They force him back into their motel room where they hold the entire group hostage. Wendy Banjo is in the shower and Otis pulls her out and throws her on the bed. Jimmy returns with the beef jerky and Baby Firefly lures him into the room. Otis doesn't want to deal with too many hostages, so he shoots Jimmy in the forehead. Adam Banjo vomits at the violent display.

Meanwhile, Captain Spaulding is driving around trying to find Baby, but his truck runs out of gas. He stops at Buck's Grab 'n Go where he accosts a woman named Susan and her young son. Citing "official clown business", he forces them out of their vehicle and steals their car.

Back at the Kahiki Palms, Baby dances in front of the terrified Roy Sullivan who remains motionless. Otis doesn't understand his behavior and accuses him of being a homosexual. He then forces Gloria Sullivan to remove her clothes and shoves his gun into her underwear. He makes her press herself against him, forcing the others to watch as she gropes at him. Otis then decides that it is time to stock up on supplies. Leaving Baby in charge of Gloria and Wendy, he takes Roy and Adam out of the motel room. At the police station, Sheriff Wydell interrogates Mother Firefly. He shows her the scrapbooks they recovered and tells her that he might go easy on her if she tells them where Otis and Baby may have gone. Mother proves to be completely uncooperative and makes lewd gestures at Sheriff Wydell. Perusing the scrapbooks, she finds photos of his brother George Wydell, taken after she had murdered him. Although John Quincy Wydell knew that the Fireflys were responsible for multiple murders, it wasn't until now that he learned what really happened to his brother. In a rage, he backhands Mother Firefly.

Back at the motel, Otis walks Roy and Adam some distance behind the building where he has a cache of guns buried in the dirt. He lets them know that this is the "end of the road" for them and that they will soon die. Adam decides to fight back and clubs Otis from behind with a large, heavy tree branch. Otis kicks Adam away from him, grabs the tree branch and uses it to bash Roy Sullivan across the head. Comparing himself to Willie Wonka, he beats on him several more times declaring, "This is my chocolate factory!" He then brushes the hair out of his face, stares down at Roy and tells him, "I am the Devil. And I am here to do the Devil's work". He finishes him off with one more solid blow to the head. Otis then turns his attention to Adam Banjo. Pinning him to the ground, he withdraws his knife and begins skinning him.

Inside the motel room, Baby grows bored. She entertains herself by making Wendy Banjo repeatedly slap Gloria Sullivan across the face. Wendy tells her that she needs to go to the bathroom and Baby reluctantly allows it. In the bathroom, Wendy tries to find a means of escaping the room. When Baby goes to check on her, Gloria picks up Baby's gun and points it at her. Baby laughs at Gloria's sudden bravery and pulls out a knife. She throws it across the room, striking Gloria in the chest. Baby mocks her as the woman falls over dead. Wendy meanwhile, manages to smash out the bathroom window and escapes. Her freedom is short-lived however as she runs into Captain Spaulding, who is now just arriving at the motel. Baby runs outside the room and screams, "Daddy, get that bitch!", upon which Spaulding head butts Wendy Banjo, knocking her out.

The Groucho Connection
At the police station, Roy Dobson peruses the Firefly scrapbooks and case file. He notices repeating connections to vaudeville film actor Groucho Marx, and determines that all of the killers have assumed aliases based on old Groucho Marx films. Dobson informs Wydell, who arranges to bring in film critic Marty Walker. Walker confirms the names of all of the known Firefly aliases and how they reference old Marx films. Wydell doesn't care much for Walker's opinions since they don't appear to help him with the case any. When Marty makes a disparaging remark concerning Elvis Presley, Wydell forces him to leave his office.

Back at the motel, Otis bursts into the room wearing a skin mask made from Adam Banjo's face. Baby and Spaulding are startled and neither of them appreciate Otis' prank. Otis is not particularly pleased to see Spaulding and the two men bicker over who has the right to lead the family. Baby interrupts them, indicating that they need to leave the motel. Wondering what to do about Wendy and the two remaining corpses (Gloria and Jimmy), Spaulding tells them to leave them for the maid to clean up.

The room service attendant arrives at the room some time later. She enters the bathroom and finds Gloria and Jimmy's bodies shoved into the shower. The words "The Devil's Rejects" are painted in blood on the wall. Another blood-smeared message is left on the bathroom mirror which reads, "Fuck Wydell". The maid turns and runs out of the room screaming and runs into Wendy Banjo. Wendy is now wearing her dead husband's mask and is clearly insane. Screaming in terror, she runs outside and stumbles into the road. A tractor trailer comes down the road and runs her over. Wendy's remains are dragged thirty feet across the asphalt.

The Unholy Two
Meanwhile, Sheriff Wydell decides to hire bounty hunters to help him track down the missing Fireflys. He finds two men who refer to themselves as the Unholy Two, Rondo and Billy Ray Snapper. Being a man who normally goes by the letter of the law, Wydell doesn't like resorting to unsavory characters such as the Unholy Two, but he is willing to do nearly anything to avenge his brother's death. He gives Rondo and Billy Ray photographs of the criminals as well as a list of their known aliases.

In his office, Sheriff Wydell falls asleep at his desk and has a nightmare. In the dream, he sees himself back at the Firefly farm. He enters a room, suspecting to find Captain Spaulding, but instead finds his dead brother, George. He promises George that he will avenge his death, but George Wydell mocks his younger brother, shouting "Mama, pin a rose on me!" Wydell awakens with a start.

The stress and his growing obsession with the Fireflys is driving him over the edge. He goes down to the cell block with his hunting knife and interrogates Mother Firefly once again. Wydell doesn't care what the deranged woman tells him at this point. He pins her against the wall and stabs her repeatedly in the chest and abdomen. He kisses her lightly on the cheek before allowing her dead body to slump down onto the floor.

Brother from another mother
As day turns to night, Spaulding brings Otis and Baby to Charlie's Frontier Fun Town to meet a man whom he says will help them avoid the police. A surly black man named Charlie Altamont emerges and points a shotgun at Spaulding's face. Spaulding is not afraid of this man and taunts him until he fires the weapon. The shotgun turns out to only shoot water and the two men begin laughing as they embrace one another. Spaulding tells Otis that Charlie Altamont is his "brother from another mother". Otis is unimpressed with the prank and gives Charlie the finger.

Tempers cool and Charlie invites the killers into his home. They spend the evening engaging their every impulsive desire including dancing, doing drugs and partaking of Charlie's prostitutes.

The following morning, Charlie and his co-worker Clevon go to a chicken farm to purchase some chickens so Spaulding can prepare his allegedly "world-famous" fried chicken. They encounter an unkempt man named Darrell who warns the two men against purchasing his chickens for the sake of fornication. Clevon is deeply offended by the accusation and Charlie hurriedly purchases the chickens and prepares to leave. They run into Sheriff Wydell who suspects that Charlie may have a connection to Captain Spaulding. Charlie plays it cool, but makes him understand in no uncertain terms what will happen to him and his staff if he refuses to help. In the end, Charlie betrays the Fireflys and tells Wydell that they are hiding out at his brothel.

Wydell goes to collect Rondo and Billy Ray Snapper. They wait until nightfall, then execute a raid on Charlie's Frontier Fun Town. Rondo kills one of the prostitutes by slicing her throat open, while Billy Ray kills another by shooting her in the forehead. Rondo then apprehends Baby Firefly who is in the middle of taking a bath. Billy Ray fights with Otis and tosses him through a window. In the main parlor, Sheriff Wydell confronts Spaulding. Despite the heavy amounts of drugs and alcohol he has been consuming, Spaulding is ready to fight. Wydell doesn't waste any time with words though and shoots him in the leg. Once the criminals are apprehended, Wydell packs them into his car and drives off.

Retribution
Sheriff Wydell brings his captives back to the Firefly ranch. He ties them down to three chairs and has them positioned side-by-side in the family room. One by one, Wydell begins torturing the three of them, reminding them of the lives they had taken. He drives two large nails into Otis' hands, pinning him to his chair. He shows them photographs of their victims and begins stapling them to Otis and Baby's chests. He takes great satisfaction in telling Baby how he killed her mother. Indicating how much he hates clowns, he torments Captain Spaulding by zapping him with a cattle prod.

Wydell then frees Baby Firefly, but with the intent of hunting her down and killing her, just as she did to one of her past victims. As Baby runs off, Wydell then pours gasoline around the living room and lights it on fire, leaving Spaulding and Otis to burn to death.

The sheriff runs out onto the farm in pursuit of Baby. He shoots her in the calf and she falls. As he approaches her, Charlie Altamont appears. hoping to redeem himself for betraying his family, he attacks Wydell. The sheriff fights back though and kills Charlie by cleaving him in the throat with a hatchet. He then turns back towards Baby and begins throttling her. From behind him, Tiny Firefly appears and lifts Sheriff Wydell into the air by his throat. With minimal effort, he snaps the sheriff's neck, killing him. Tiny then goes into the burning house and frees Otis and Spaulding. The three bleeding murderers get into Charlies's car and prepare to leave. Otis wants Tiny to come with them, but Tiny elects to stay behind. Knowing that his family will not survive the evening, Tiny decides that he has nothing left to live for. He walks into the burning farmhouse and dies as the structure collapses about him.

Free Birds
Otis, Baby and Spaulding drive on into the morning. As they continue down the highway, they see Deputy Ray Dobson has set up a road block with several armed police officers. They know that this is their last stand and decide to go out in a blaze of glory. After loading their weapons, Otis guns the engine and drives straight towards the roadblock. Captain Spaulding, Baby Firefly and Otis B. Driftwood go down in a hail of bullets.

Notes & Trivia

 * The title The Devil's Rejects also refers to the nickname attributed to the Firefly family.


 * The Devil's Rejects DVD includes Captain Spaulding's television commercial as well as a full episode of the Morris Green Show. In the film, only a clip of the episode is featured during the scene where the Banjos and the Sullivans first rent their motel room.


 * Mother Firefly is now played by Leslie Easterbrook. in House of 1000 Corpses, she was played by Karen Black.


 * First genre film for Tyler Mane. Tyler plays the role of Rufus Firefly, Jr., a part originally played by Robert Mukes. Mane will go on to play the role of Michael Myers in Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween.


 * Matthew McGrory who plays Tiny Firefly, passed away from natural causes shortly following production on this film. A dedicational to McGrory is provided on the closing credits of the movie.


 * The Firefly patriarch, Hugo Firefly, is not addressed in this film. Dennis Fimple, who played Grandpa Hugo in House of 1000 Corpses, passed away shortly after completion of the film. Presumably, his character may have died between the two films as well.


 * The various aliases that the Firefly members use and their connection to Groucho Marx is revealed in this movie.


 * Captain Spaulding is revealed to be Baby Firefly's father in this film. He is also addressed by the alternate nickname, Cutter.


 * The opening sequence with Tiny was filmed using a stuntman rather than actor Matthew McGrory who injured his ankle during production. McGrory does appear however for the end shot where Tiny removes his hood, exposing his face.


 * The set used for the Firefly residence is clearly a different location than the one used in House of 1000 Corpses. In this film, the property is shown in greater detail, indicating that it is also a cattle ranch.


 * The pig's head seen propped up on the lintel above the entrance to the Firefly farm is not a prop, but an actualy pig's head.


 * Sheri Moon Zombie's brother, Jeff, has a cameo appearance as one of the police officers present during the Firefly home raid.


 * Stunt coordinator Kane Hodder has a cameo appearance as one of the police officers present during the Firefly home raid. He is seen wearing a gas mask when Sheriff Wydell arrests Mother Firefly.


 * Otis' iron mask has a white skull painted on it. In House of 1000 Corpses, he painted his face with makeup to resemble a human skull.


 * In the original shooting script, Doctor Satan was intended to make a return appearance in the film, in which he is taken to a hospital and kills a doctor played by Rosario Dawson. Rob Zombie decided that the scene didn't work and it was cut from the film. A lingering element of the scene remains however. When the police officers are sealing up the crime scene, a body can be seen being loaded into an ambulance. This is meant to be Doctor Satan.


 * During Mother Firefly's interrogation scene, her handcuffs mysteriously disappear and then reappear in a follow-up shot.


 * Diamond Dallas Page, who plays Billy Ray Snapper, is more popularly known as a professional wrestler for WCW and WWE (formerly WWF).


 * The song that Baby sings while tormenting Roy Sullivan includes the repeated lyrics, "Chinese, Japanese, Dirty knees, look at these.", at which point, she would motion to either her breasts or her buttocks.


 * One of the photographs that Wydell staples to Baby's chest is that of Mary Knowles, one of the four main victims from House of 1000 Corpses.


 * Film critic Marty Walker had a thick mustache intended to evoke the image of Groucho Marx.

Characters

 * Abbie: Abbie was a motorist who stopped when she saw a seemingly unconscious Baby Firefly on the road. Otis came up behind her, stabbed her to death, then stole her car.


 * Adam Banjo: . Adam Banjo was the husband of Wendy Banjo and part of the country/western band Banjo & Sullivan. He was killed by Otis, who skinned him and made a mask out of his face.


 * Baby Firefly: . Baby is the daughter of Captain Spaulding and the youngest member of the Firefly clan. She was responsible for tormenting Wendy Banjo and killing Gloria Sullivan.


 * Banjo & Sullivan: Banjo & Sullivan was a country/western band who rented a room at the Tahiki Palms Motel. Their members consisted of Roy Sullivan, Gloria Sullivan, Adam Banjo and Wendy Banjo. All four (as well as their roadie, Jimmy) were murdered by the Firefly family who then stole their van.


 * Billy Ray Snapper: Billy Ray Snapper was a bounty hunter and a member of the Unholy Two along with his partner Rondo. Billy Ray was responsible for killing a prostitute named Candy and for capturing Otis B. Driftwood, whom he pitched through a window.


 * Bubba: Bubba was an associate of Charlie Altamont and worked at Charlie’s Frontier Fun Town.


 * Candy: Candy was a prostitute and worked at Charlie’s Frontier Fun Town. She was shot in the forehead by Billy Ray Snapper.


 * Captain Spaulding: . Also known as Cutter, Captain Spaulding was the father of Baby Firefly and the brother of Charlie Altamont. He reunited with Baby and Otis and brought them to Charlie’s believing they would be safe there.


 * Casey: Casey was a prostitute and worked at Charlie’s Frontier Fun Town. She was murdered by Rondo who sliced her throat open with a knife.


 * Charlie Altamont: . Charlie Altamont was a pimp and the proprietor of Charlie’s Frontier Fun Town. He was also the adoptive brother of Captain Spaulding. Charlie betrayed the Fireflys to Sheriff John Quincy Wydell, but later attempted to redeem himself when he prevented Wydell from murdering Baby.


 * Clevon: Clevon was Charlie Atlamont’s partner. He harbored a sexual fascination with Princess Leia from Star Wars and was also deeply offended when a chicken peddler named Darrell accused him of fornicating with a chicken.


 * Coggs: Unknown


 * Darrell: Darrell was an unkempt chicken salesman who sold his product off a roadside farm. He sold two chickens to Charlie Altamont and Clevon and discouraged them from attempting to fornicate with his chickens, even though he seems to have engaged in the practice himself on more than one occasion.


 * Doctor Bankhead: Doctor Bankhead was a specialist in the occult and appeared as the special guest on the Morris Green show where he attempted to analyze the Doctor Satan murders of 1977.


 * Fanny: Fanny was a prostitute whom Captain Spaulding dreamt about. In his dream, Fanny shot Spaulding in the face after he called her a whore.


 * George Wydell: George Wydell was the late brother of John Quincy Wydell. He was murdered by Mother Firefly after he stopped at her home to question her about a string of disappearances. John Quincy Wydell had a dream where his brother mocked his efforts to avenge his death.


 * Gloria Sullivan: . Gloria Sullivan was the wife of Roy Sullivan and one quarter of the country-western band Banjo & Sullivan. She was fondled and humiliated by Otis B. Driftwood and later killed by Baby Firefly who stabbed her in the chest with a knife.


 * Jamie: Jamie was the young son of Susan. Captain Spaulding terrified the child to tears when he stole his mother's car.


 * Jimmy: Jimmy was the roadie for Banjo & Sullivan. He dreamed of one day working as a rodeo clown or for a pit crew. Jimmy was killed by Otis who shot him in the head then left him in the bathroom.


 * John Quincy Wydell: . John Quincy Wydell was the sheriff of Ruggsville and the brother of the late George Wydell. He was driven over the edge by his brother’s death and swore to capture and kill all members of the Firefly family.


 * Ken Dwyer: Ken Dwyer was a sheriff in Ruggsville. He was at the scene when police collected the remains of Wendy Banjo after her roadside accident.


 * Maria: Maria was the housekeeping attendant who discovered the remains of Jimmy and Gloria Sullivan. She also had a harrowing encounter with the terrified Wendy Banjo minutes before she died.


 * Marty Walker: Marty Walker was a film critic and an expert on Groucho Marx. He consulted with Sheriff Wydell as to the film aliases used by the killers and ended up getting into an argument with the sheriff.


 * Morris Green: Morris Green was a local celebrity and the host of the Morris Green show. He interviewed occult specialist Doctor Bankhead about the Ruggsville murders.


 * Mother Firefly: . The matriarch of the Firefly family. She was arrested, interrogated and later killed by Sheriff John Quincy Wydell.


 * Otis B. Driftwood: . One of the Devil’s Rejects; he frequently bickered with Captain Spaulding over leadership of the family. Otis was responsible for the deaths of Abbie, Jimmy, Roy Sullivan and Adam Banjo.


 * Ray Dobson: Ray Dobson was a Ruggsville County police officer. He was present at the raid on the Firefly ranch and later made the connection between the killers' aliases and characters from old Groucho Marx films. Dobson was in charge of the police roadblock that ultimately brought the Fireflys down.


 * Rondo: . Rondo was a bounty hunter and a member of the Unholy Two along with his partner Billy Ray Snapper. Rondo was responsible for killing a prostitute named Casey by cutting her throat, and for capturing Baby Firefly whom he held at gunpoint.


 * Roy Sullivan: . Roy Sullivan was the lead singer for Banjo & Sullivan and the husband of Gloria Sullivan. He bragged about once shaking hands with Johnny Cash. Roy was killed by Otis who bludgeoned him to death with a heavy tree branch.


 * Rufus Firefly, Jr.: Rufus Firefly was the son of Mother Firefly. He defended his home during the siege by wearing iron plate armor. Rufus was shot to death by the police.


 * Ruth: Ruth was Captain Spaulding's girlfriend and lived with him in his trailer.


 * Susan: Susan was a mother who had stopped at Buck's Grab 'n Go and had her car stolen by Captain Spaulding.


 * Tiny Firefly: . Tiny was the largest member of the Firefly clan. He saved Baby Firefly by killing Sheriff John Quincy Wydell. He then rescued Spaulding and Otis and died when he re-entered the burning Firefly home.


 * Turk Murphy: Unknown


 * Unholy Two: The Unholy Two were two bounty hunters named Rondo and Billy Ray Snapper. They were responsible for capturing Baby Firefly and Otis B. Driftwood.


 * Wendy Banjo: Wendy Banjo was the wife of Adam Banjo. She was tortured by Baby Firefly and was later forced to wear a skin-mask made from the flesh of her dead husband. Wendy was killed when she was struck by an eighteen-wheeler after wandering out onto the highway.

Taglines
"This summer, go to Hell..."

"Death walks behind. Hell waits ahead."

"A Tale Of Murder, Mayhem and Revenge"