3 From Hell

3 from Hell has moments of abject horror, but fans of Zombie's autumnal provocations will be rewarded with his most earnest and laid back nightmare yet...

...the coolest thing by far is the inclusion on the soundtrack of three songs from the James Gang's 1973 Bang album, featuring Tommy Bolin on guitar.

This one's really for diehard Zombie fans ... provided they weren't hoping he'd hit them with something new.

It makes you grateful for the laconic Michael Myers (Zombie's or Carpenter's), a psychopath with the common courtesy to shut the fuck up while spilling your entrails.

3 From Hell seems content to be nothing more than fan service. Despite a fascinating set up, Zombie takes an extravagant U-turn straight back to The Devil's Rejects to try his hand at telling it all over again.

It's the weakest of the Firefly trilogy, but that's not to say it's not completely without merit. It's certainly at its best when Sheri Moon Zombie is front and center.

3 From Hell looks every inch the Rob Zombie movie; its aesthetics follow a familiar pattern, and he seems quite content to just let his characters amble on through their days, resurrected largely to take one more road trip.

3 From Hell is a high octane firestorm of frenzied violence and disarmingly charming character chemistry. While it's not a needed sequel, or perhaps end cap, to the series, it's definitely a fun one.

3 From Hell is basically a love it or hate it with very few people falling in the middle, as a fan of half of Zombie's work, this film was a lot of fun in great part due to the performances and the sheer violence of some of the kills.

At two-hours long, it's a bloated, ugly experience, doing a disservice to great characters and to Zombie's greatest achievement as a filmmaker.