After surviving a furious shootout with the police, Baby Firefly, Otis Driftwood and Captain Spaulding are behind bars. But pure evil cannot be contained. Teaming up with Otis' half-brother Winslow "Foxy" Coltrane (Richard Brake), the demented Firefly clan are back to unleash a whole new wave of death and depravity.
3 From Hell is another film written and directed by Rob Zombie, and is the third film in the Firefly story following on from 2003's House of 1000 Corpses and 2005's The Devil's Rejects. With the large expanse in time between the second film and this latest release, one has to wonder why the film was made. Coming out 14 years later, 3 From Hell has had a major logistical hurdle in the screenplay, and that was the health of Sid Haig, which prevented him from being able to have a large role in the film, effectively forcing Zombie to write him out of the screenplay (Haig sadly passed away a month ago just after the films US release).
From a narrative standpoint, The Devil's Rejects had ended the duo of films on such a strong endpoint, that it seems a poor choice to undo that ending for the sake of an unnecessary sequel. It is unfortunate to say that the film treads the same territory as its previous instalment, and can feel incredibly familiar, altering the tone from horror, to more of a crime drama.
The issues that came from the film being made so much later did allow for some intriguing character developments, however. Everything begins with a documentary-style prologue that explains what has happened to our core trio of characters since the events of The Devil's Rejects. The various styles in cinematography, imagery, and interviews are mixed together in a well-executed manner that feels like a true-crime show. After this prologue, we jump forward in time and introduce a new family member.
The time passing and the new character brings with it new interactions and allows for greater development of characters. A decade behind bars has had a serious effect on the psyche of Sheri Moon Zombie's "Baby" Firefly. Baby has jumped head-first into that metaphorical ACE chemical vat and become a ferociously twisted Harley Quinn personality. Bill Moseley's Otis, on the other hand, seems to have mellowed out, with less of a domineering streak; a less controlling character than what we have come to expect, instead, most of his interactions come from conflict with the new member of the team.
Visually, this has all the stamps of a Rob Zombie film. A lot of natural colours, slightly blown out and worn in the sunlight, with some gritty colour grading that has been sharpened to accentuate the time that has passed. Interjected are several arty, psychedelic scenes utilising mirror effects and vibrant colours.
The narrative is rather straightforward, moving in a linear fashion, apart from some unusual editing choices during some of the violent scenes. Perhaps one of the most compelling violent scenes had its effect greatly reduced by showing the conclusion first, then jumping back slightly and carrying on to the conclusion, then jumping back further, completing this style of constant repetition slowly revealing more, which has the opposite effect of removing all tension and suspense from the scene.
In general, however, violent scenes are looked after in the same manner that we have come to expect; with great emphasis placed on them. All aspects of gore and violence are always framed to make sure they are front and centre, often with slow-motion used (alongside some cheerful music).
The third act comes with an interesting choice to change location, and spend time introducing new characters, and suddenly an antagonist. It's a peculiar choice as it marks a shift in tone from the first two acts, it lacked a proper set-up, and attempts to turn the Firefly family into protagonists that we are meant to root for.
Ultimately, 3 From Hell is a fun flick. It doesn't quite meet the quality standards of The Devil's Rejects because it spends too much time retreading the same ground we have already seen. Seeing those two films, one can't help but think that 3 From Hell would have better served the trilogy as the middle instalment, leaving The Devil's Rejects to be the final piece. 3 From Hell still provides the nudity and violence that one has come to expect, but lacks that satisfying payoff at the end. Still worth a viewing, but lower those expectations a bit.
3 From Hell is showing at selected cinemas for a single screening on Halloween