In a horror movie, the strongest element of the film will always be the villain, so throughout the course of his career as a filmmaker, Rob Zombie has managed to turn the redneck into the genre’s scariest.
His first film, House of 1000 Corpses, introduced audiences to the murderous, backwoods Firefly clan in 2003. Zombie’s unique ’70s exploitative filmmaking style lends itself perfectly to the grittier, more violent, hyper-sexualized aspects of the human race and the blend of all three make an incredible villain. In this case, villains are plural instead of a standalone entity as the Fireflies are very much the family that slays together and stays together.
Zombie is not the first horror director to tackle this trope. Rednecks, hillbillies, backwoods mutants and similar have been featured in many a memorable film. From Deliverance to Wrong Turn, there’s a very real aspect to these monsters because they actually exist in real life. Tobe Hooper took his inspiration for Leatherface in his masterpiece, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from notorious serial killer Ed Gein, who wore the skin of his human victims. Since many other monsters in horror are supernatural in some capacity, it’s refreshing to see a different look at what a monster can be and how the truth is often times stranger than fiction.
The Firefly Clan Are Chillingly Realistic (And Oddly Likable)
Despite them being cold-blooded killers, the Firefly family have a strange cult following that’s almost as intense as fans love for Zombie and his body of work. This level of hero worship isn’t uncommon with horror villains, but it’s interesting to see people idolizing people who are twisted in such brutal, unrelenting ways that are entirely realistic. There are no regenerative powers at work here, nobody is a dream demon, and there’s no curse, cult, or possession involved. The Firefly family are a bunch of heathens whose savage ways not only allow them to enrich their bond with each other, but are a sport and game that make them the redneck hunters with a interest in bagging human trophies instead of something much more socially acceptable.
They are crass, crude, and link sexual violence with their other atrocities that involve turning someone into a ‘fish boy’ by stitching his bisected torso and mutilated body onto a huge fish tail for art. All aspects of social propriety are gone, and it’s clear that they are outlaws of a very different kind. Otis Driftwood (Bill Moseley), the adopted big brother of the family, is a sexual sadist who loves to create ‘freaks’ out of his victims by dismembering them and posing them for Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig), who operates a roadside haunted attraction (and makes some excellent fried chicken). Baby Firefly (Sheri Moon Zombie) is bubbly, a shameless flirt, and has a tumultuous relationship with her brother Otis, even though they’d take a bullet for each other if they had to.
The other primary members of the Firefly family, “Mama”, Tiny, and Rufus met their demise, with Mama and Tiny exiting the franchise in House of 1000 Corpses and Rufus doing so in The Devil’s Rejects. Spaulding, Otis, and Baby are the primary antagonists of The Devil’s Rejects and 3 From Hell, with Spaulding taking a lesser role in the latter which was supplemented by Richard Brake as “Foxy” Coltrane.
The Real Monsters Are Human
In 31, the premise was somewhat off the rails, with the setting being a traveling carnival where the workers end up being attacked by a strange group of people who imprison them and inform them that they’re to participate in a game called “31”. The rules are simple: they’ll be attacked relentlessly by psychopathic sickos for 12 hours and if they survive, they escape. Bets are hedged on the likelihood of specific “players” survival as an added bonus for the spectators. While this movie didn’t do well with critics or fans, Zombie still delivered redneck madness and tons of gore in his same greasy, shock fest style.
The core of what makes Zombie’s villains so monstrous is that they are relatable, they are reminiscent of actual people we may know, at least to some degree, and they seem larger-than-life in a way that’s attainable and doesn’t feel completely fictional.
Next: House of 1000 Corpses: Who Is Dr. Satan (& Is He Real)?
