The Corner Penthouse

With Christmas (and soon Hanukkah) now in the rear-view mirror, I'll be taking a look at several new releases that would be great to buy with all of those gift cards you just received. If you love horror movies, Lionsgate recently released 3 From Hell on Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack. Read on to find out more...


3 From Hell is the third film in Rob Zombie's Firefly Family trilogy, following House of 1,000 Corpses (2002) and The Devil's Rejects (2005). After barely surviving a furious shootout with the police, Baby Firefly (Sheri Moon Zombie), Otis Driftwood (Bill Moseley), and Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) are behind bars. But pure evil cannot be contained. Teaming up with Otis' half-brother Winslow (Richard Brake), the demented Firefly clan are back to unleash a whole new wave of death and depravity. A firestorm of murder, madness and mayhem will be released in this terror ride to Hell... and back.


Yes, the characters that "died" at the end of The Devil's Rejects have, magically, survived. I guess you can't keep a good serial killer down. 3 From Hell starts off with our terrorizing trio having been caught by the police. Although Captain Spaulding is executed in 1978, the many supporters of the psychopathic clan have glorified them through lively media reports. While the movie starts off as some sort of social commentary, these opening scenes have no great significance for the rest of the story, which takes place from October 2nd to early November in 1988 (though it feels more like the 1970s than the late 1980s). The remaining family members succeed in breaking out of prison and, shortly afterwards, end up in Mexico during Day of the Dead festivities.


Sid Haig only appears as Captain Spaulding in the first few minutes of the film, in what could best be called an "extended cameo". Director Rob Zombie revealed in an interview that his original script featured a much larger role for Sid Haig. However, upon receiving word that Haig was in the hospital recovering from surgery, Zombie visited him and was alarmed by the drastic changes in his physique, most notably that he had lost a significant amount of weight. Zombie realized that Haig's health was in serious question, and he was forced to reconsider Captain Spaulding's prominence in the story while keeping Haig in the film since Lionsgate was going to shut down the film without Haig in it. After numerous rewrites, Zombie introduced the character Winslow Foxworth Coltrane, played by Richard Brake, as a way of filling in for the third Firefly family member without having to replace Captain Spaulding altogether.


In addition to Sid Haig, Sheri Moon Zombie, Bill Moseley, and Richard Brake, this dark comedy is littered with appearances from other Rob Zombie regulars and genre favorites. You'll spot Daniel Roebuck as reporter Morris Green, Richard Riehle as Sheriff Wolf, Dee Wallace as prison guard Greta, Clint Howard as party clown Mr. Baggy Britches, Sean Whalen as poor soda-lovin' bastard Burt Willie, Barry Bostwick as the voice of the Narrator, and a small cameo from the always awesome Danny Trejo.


The Blu-ray disc contains the Unrated version of 3 From Hell, which is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:55:47. The only audio track is English in Dolby TrueHD 7.1. The film includes English SDH and Spanish subtitles. The first print run includes a beautiful slipsleeve.

Below is a list of all of the bonus features that can be found on the Blu-ray disc.

• Audio Commentary with director Rob Zombie
• To Hell and Back: The Making of 3 From Hell (1:34:28) - A feature-length documentary detailing the production with lots of candid footage.

Also included in the Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack is a second DVD disc, which contains only the audio commentary and the first 30-minutes of the documentary listed above. The movie on the DVD, which is the R-Rated version that runs for 1:55:00, is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with an anamorphic widescreen transfer. Audio is in English only. The film includes English SDH and Spanish subtitles.


A digital copy code voucher is also included in the standard two-disc Blu-ray case.


The Movie Censorship site has a detailed list of the differences between the Unrated and R-Rated versions. Lionsgate released this movie on three different discs in three different configurations. The 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs each contain the Unrated version, while the R-rated theatrical version remains exclusive to the DVD disc. 3 From Hell is available on Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack, 4K/Blu-ray Combo Pack, and individual DVD. Obviously, if you want both versions in one package, get the Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack, as both discs in the 4K/Blu-ray Combo Pack will contain the Unrated version, and the individual DVD will just have the Theatrical version. The original two movies in this trilogy - House of 1,000 Corpses (2002) and The Devil's Rejects (2005) - are collected in the DVD "Rob Zombie 3-Disc Collector's Set", along with the 30 Days In Hell making of documentary. I'm linking to a DVD set instead of a Blu-ray because Lionsgate's American-released Blu-ray of House is missing a few of the DVD's bonus features (including the isolated music score), while the Lionsgate Rejects Blu-ray is missing nearly ALL of the DVD's bonus features, including the feature-length 30 Days In Hell documentary. As a completist, I just can't recommend the Blu-ray when you get SO much more on the DVDs. Of course, there are import Blu-rays, but they are still missing a couple of things, and I try not to recommend imports unless I personally own them and can confirm no issues playing them in a U.S.-bought player.


All images were taken from the IMDB gallery of the film. This item has been provided by Lionsgate for review on this site.