Of all the many movies that Rob Zombie has brought to the screen, his 2003 film House of 1000 Corpses and its 2005 sequel The Devil's Rejects probably have done the best with both audiences and critics. They're wildly disparate movies - the original goes from realism to a phantasmagorical journey below the titular house into the world fo Dr. Satan. And the sequel really works well - it's a grimy, gritty journey through the world of its serial killing protagonists.

Since then, Zombie has made two divisive Halloween reimaginings, The Lords of Salem (a Ken Russell-influenced movie that completely misunderstood black metal on a level that you'd think a non-musician made it) and 31. He almost made two other films - Tyrannosaurus Rex and a remake of The Blob - while continuing his music career.

Which brings us to 3 From Hell, a movie that I quite frankly had no interest in after the abysmal drivel that 31 assaulted my eyes with. I get it - I've seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Eaten Alive and Warlock Moon. I just haven't made it my life's mission to continually remake these films to progressively less returns.

So, umm...let's start the movie.

Since we last saw the Firefly family, they miraculously survived at least twenty bullet wounds each to make it to trial, where they were sentenced to life in prison, with their patriarch, Captain Spaulding (the late Sid Haig) paying the most penalty, as he's executed via lethal injection. You can tell how rough Haig was at the end, but he still brings plenty of thunder to his role, despite his short time on screen.

Otis (Bill Moseley, who was Chop-Top in the aforementioned - and superior - Chainsaw 2) has escaped from jail thanks to his brother, Winslow Foxworth "Foxy" Coltrane (Richard Brake from Zombie's 31 and the chemist from Mandy). They set up a plan to free their sister Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie),who is locked in a war with prison guard Greta (Dee Wallace). They kidnap Warden Virgil Dallas Harper (Jeff Daniel Phillips, who was in Zombie's Halloween and The Lords of Salem),his family and friends - including Austin Stoker - and hold them hostage so that she can finally escape. They all decide to go to Mexico.

Oh yeah, they also kill a clown, Mr. Baggy Britches, before that. He shows up for no reason whatsoever. I know that Clint Howard needs work, but he also deserves better.

While there, we're reminded that Otis killed Rondo (Danny Trejo),one of the bounty hunters from the last film that was incarcerated along with him. Oh yeah - and Baby is growing crazier than she was before. Or more annoying. Seriously, it's a fine line.

The three makes their way to a small town in Mexico in the midst of Day of the Dead celebrations - to which I audibly sighed and not in a good way - and stay in the town's only hotel. In the midst of celebrating the holiday, Rondo's son Aquarius (Emilio Rivera, Sons of Anarchy)and his Black Satans gang shows up for revenge. The three are tipped off by a little person named Sebastian (Pancho Moler, who played the Nazi killer Sick Head in 31) and end up wiping out the gang. setting Aquarius on fire and getting back on the road.

There are also some random killings I forgot to mention, but by and large, the film feels very unfocused, unplanned and yes, that word again, random. There's no sense of urgency until the final ten minutes, which place the three into a situation they may not survive. It was the only time this movie seemed to have any promise, outside of rehashing what seemed fresh nearly two decades ago, like Slim Whitman's "It's a Sin To Lie" replacing "I Remember You" from House of 1000 Corpses, seeming like faint nostalgia at best and trite at worst.

Let me sum it up with music. Having "In-A-Gada-Da-Vida" play during the closing battle is about as cookie cutter music cue as there can be. You can pretty much say the same thing about this movie, which carbon copies Zombie's influences ad nauseam to no good end. Then again, maybe that's just a reference to Chop-Top, because he wanted that song played by KOKLA radio back in Texas.

To wit: Rob Zombie seems like a good dude. He obviously adores his wife. He's an ethical vegetarian. His music was the entrance music for every independent pro wrestler ever at one point. He has good taste in bad movies. I think he'd be a fun person to discuss pop culture and film with. But man, then we'd get to the question, "So have you seen any of my movies?" and I abhor lying. I'd probably end up feeling bad, but not as horrible as I did suffering through this, literally a movie for an audience who must live inside the stockrooms of a Hot Topic and only come out for 80's nights and Slipknot tours, high on 4 Look and demanding they make Scream 5. In short, pretty much every single thing I have been created to destroy.

I don't know if 2019 can get a worse movie. Good news, Travolta. The Fanatic isn't the worst movie now. Neither is Serenity. You can sleep safe, McConaughey. Here's hoping neither of you choose to work with Mr. and Mrs. Cummings' baby boy any time soon, though.

I had been awaiting "Three from Hell" ever since Rob Zombie announced that it was in the works. And I was more than excited to get the chance to sit down and watch this 2019 movie.

While "Three from Hell" certainly is an entertaining movie, then it just doesn't fully have the embodiment that "House of 1000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects" had. There was just something profound missing from the movie. And it is not a secret that the thing missing was Sid Haig. Sure, he was there for a short glimpse, but it was such a shame that he was struggling with health issues and died, because this movie really needed his charisma and presence.

So director and writer get Richard Brake to step in as Otis and Baby's half-brother. Funny, but he wasn't mentioned in the previous two movies. But sure, why not. And it might have worked out well enough, if he didn't have to fill in for Sid Haig as Captain Spaulding. Unfortunately he had to, and the Winslow Foxworth Coltrane never really managed to take a hold with me.

It was nice to see Bill Moseley return to play Otis Driftwood and Sheri Moon Zombie to play Baby for a third time. I am a big fan of Bill Moseley and he really carried the movie so well. I didn't really like for the angle that Rob Zombie opted to go with the Baby character, because it was just too far out there.

The movie also have some appearances by the likes of Danny Trejo, Dee Wallace, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Emilio Rivera and Clint Howard, so there is a lot of familiar faces in the movie.

I will say that "Three from Hell" is certainly an entertaining movie for what it turned out to be, but it just really lived up to my expectations. I had expected a bit more in the likes of "House of 1000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects" in terms of madness, mayhem and debauchery. "Three from Hell" is a good enough addition to the franchise, and hopefully there will be a fourth movie, because I'd love to see more of the Firefly family.

My rating for "Three from Hell" is six out of ten stars.

This is the third in a trilogy using the same characters. Even though everyone had 20 bullets in them from the end of the last feature, they all survived. Sid Haig bowed out of this one as Captian Spaulding dies by lethal injection. The other twosome escape (eventually) and team up with their half brother Winslow (Richard Brake) and continue in the same violent antics as before. Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie) is a bit crazier and hasn't lost her swagger as we go From "Brick House" to "In-a- Gadda-da -Vita."

The film has the cult value as the previous one, but not as good as "1,000 Corpses."

Guide: F-word. Brief sex. Nudity (Anny Rosario, Jackie S. Garcia, Christine Weatherup?, Flor de Maria Chahua?)