Today musician and filmmaker Rob Zombie has released the first official poster for an upcoming sequel to his 2005 cult-classic The Devil’s Rejects . 3 From Hell which wrapped shooting earlier this year, is slated to be a 2019 release, though no date is officially set. Rob Zombie has cited a busy schedule, which may slow editing.
The potentially-offensive poster in question first appeared on Instagram earlier today, according to ComingSoon.Net , and features a familiar character, Otis B. Driftwood, giving the finger in his mugshot. While the poster is likely not meant for commercial theatrical display, promotional materials for upcoming films usually avoid posting abject vulgarity front and center, regardless of the film’s content. Today’s poster reveal speaks volumes of Rob Zombie’s unwavering commitment to defy convention and do things his way.
Going all the way back to Zombie’s work with White Zombie in the late-’80s and early-’90s, albums like Astro-Creep and La Sexorcisto regularly featured songs with profanity in the titles. If this 3 From Hell poster tells us anything, it’s that while the upcoming sequel may veer into a new direction, Rob Zombie as an artist remains as uncompromising as ever.
In 2005 when The Devil’s Rejects was first released, audiences were shocked to find scenes of considerable brutality and relentless profanity-laden dialogue. This raw and gritty approach to filmmaking prompted walkouts by patrons in theaters across America. In general, Rob Zombie is something of a divisive filmmaker, particularly within the horror genre.
Some fans see the rocker’s often-vulgar content and blunt dialogue as a stylistic signature separating Zombie from other contemporary filmmakers, while other fans see it as exploitative picking of low-hanging fruit.
As to what Rob Zombie thinks about the divisiveness in his films and even his music, he seems largely uninterested in what general audience reaction is to his films. Zombie’s fans appear to be loyal supporters of his work, so Rob Zombie always has a significant audience. As such, Zombie is allowed a creative freedom not enjoyed by many filmmakers, but the tradeoff seems to be working with budgetary limitations and slightly degraded theatrical distribution. While his remake and sequel of Halloween reached wide audiences, as did The Devil’s Rejects , Zombie’s more recent releases have not. Experimental film The Lords of Salem received a limited theatrical release, as did his most recent film 31 . No word on the scope of release for 3 From Hell .
3 From Hell reunites much of the cast of The Devil’s Rejects, including fan-favorites Sid Haig as Captain Spaulding, Sherri Moon Zombie as Baby Firefly, and of course Bill Mosely as the infamously sadistic Otis B. Driftwood.
