[BATB 3] ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ Cast Reuniting At Virginia Beach Convention

Posted By Matt Artz on April 25, 2013

Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Pinhead, The Crypt Keeper, and The Walking Dead are all coming to Virginia Beach this Mothers Day weekend, along with a family reunion of musician/director Rob Zombie’s brutal 2005 film The Devil’s Rejects at the third Blood at the Beach Horror Convention.

The Devil’s Rejects cast reunion is among the highlights of the event for horror fans, as Zombie used numerous genre icons in his breakthrough second film, including Bill Moseley (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), William Forsythe (Dick Tracy, Halloween), Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3), Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes), and scream queen P.J. Soles (Halloween, Carrie).

The former lead singer of White Zombie turned director also redefined the careers of two actresses well known for their comedy roles in the 1980s when he cast Leslie Easterbrook of the Police Academy series as the killer family matriarch Mother Firefly, and former Three’s Company star Priscilla Barnes as one of the Rejects’ most abused victims in the film’s most jarring scene.

While Zombie’s 2003 debut House of 1000 Corpses was a low budget cult hit among horror enthusiasts, it was still seen by many as little more than a rock star’s vanity project at the time. The sequel two years later announced that Zombie was indeed a filmmaker, and one with an admittedly twisted vision, as The Devil’s Rejects took on a much darker, more real tone, making it perhaps less fun than its predecessor but definitely far more powerful.

Zombie’s trick is take the “fun” Halloween-loving psychos from House of 1000 Corpses and make the viewer learn to really revile them in the first third of Rejects, only to have us come full circle and feel their pain in the end, hoping and cheering that they survive the unhinged lawman (Forsythe) determined to send them all to Hell.

Sid Haig, who plays the patriarch of the demented Firefly family Captain Spaulding, was at the second Blood at the Beach convention in Virginia Beach last November, so his notable absence at next month’s reunion is acceptable. Having Moseley, Forsythe, and Easterbrook all together will be a true treat for fans of the film, as they dominate the movie with conviction and obsession well beyond the often numbing tropes of slasher cinema.

Lew Temple, who plays Adam Banjo in Rejects, is also attending Blood at the Beach hot off his recent role as Axel on AMC’s hugely popular zombie series The Walking Dead, while Dave Sheridan (Scary Movie, A Haunted House), who plays Officer Ray Dobson, is making his first ever convention appearance in Virginia Beach.

Rounding out The Devil’s Rejects reunion is Tyler Mane, who appears briefly in an uncredited cameo early in the film as Rufus Firefly, but is best known to horror fans as the only actor ever to play Michael Myers in two consecutive films with Zombie’s 2007 Halloween remake and its 2009 sequel Halloween II.

Mane also starred as Sabertooth in director Bryan Singer’s original X-Men (2000), which kickstarted the Marvel comic book movie craze that currently rules the box office.

Additional celebrity guests announced include Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead, Guardians of the Galaxy), Doug Bradley (Hellraiser), Traci Lords (Cry Baby), Michael Rapaport (True Romance) making his first ever convention appearance, Josh Stewart (The Dark Knight Rises) making is first ever convention appearance, North Carolina actress Addy Miller (The Walking Dead) making her third appearance in Virginia Beach, and more than 30 others.

Blood at the Beach III is happening at the Holiday Inn Virginia Beach Norfolk Hotel and Conference Center in Virginia Beach May 10-12. Tickets are on sale now at BloodAtTheBeach.com.

Watch OBXentertainment.com as we hit the road once again to bring you exclusive local coverage of this killer event, including new interviews, photo galleries, and more!

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