Now that Rob Zombie has finally let loose the full trailer for his upcoming, trilogy-completing film 3 From Hell, fans have a better idea of what to expect when the movie hits theaters for a special three-night screening event in September. As fulfilling as it is to see the murderous Firefly family back up on their feet since being riddled with police bullets at the conclusion of 2005's The Devil's Rejects, the two-minute clip did a fantastic job of raising more than a few tantalizing questions as to what's to come for Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) and his wicked offspring Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie) and Otis (Bill Moseley). Here are 10 of the most pressing.
1. How exactly are Captain Spaulding, Baby and Otis even still alive?
A news report at the start of the trailer states that, after The Devil's Rejects' climatic shootout, our three antiheroes had "one million to one" odds for survival, so how exactly will Zombie frame their return from seeming certain death? And will the trio have any gnarly scars to show for it?
2. Once they are healthy, are they kept somewhere together, or do they have to escape separately and then regroup? Or some other scenario?
It seems like the family manages to escape and then wreak havoc as a full group, so it will be interesting to see how they're contained while recovering from their wounds and whether they all get out at the same time or have to free each other one-by-one from different prisons, hospitals, psych wards, etc.
3. How much time has passed since the action in The Devil's Rejects?
House of 1,000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects are set in 1977 and 1978, respectively, just seven months apart. It seems like their follow-up takes place in a similar era, but it's hard to ferret out from the trailer the precise timeline of the Firefly family members' recovery: if they've lain dormant in comas for a significant amount of time, for instance, or if they've returned to health with miraculous quickness. The actors have aged 14 years, so Zombie could take a wide creative breadth with handling that detail — or ignore it altogether.
4. Who starts the "Free the Three" campaign?
Is there another wayward Firefly out there who helps turn public opinion in their favor? And what possible angle has the public taken on in order to convince themselves that these three are innocent or otherwise deserve their freedom? The Firefly Family has also been Manson-esque, but do they take on true cult qualities that reach beyond blood lines in 3 From Hell? Or is it more of an issue of the cult of personality, à la Natural Born Killers, where the killers' infamy wins them fans and followers?
5. How many state and country lines will the storyline cross?
The final scene of the full trailer and some other contextual clues seem to allude to an escape to Mexico. There's also a scene in which Baby has on a Native American headdress, which could hint that their journey takes them through the American Southwest.
6. Will we find out why Tiny walked back into the burning house to his death after saving his family?
Sadly, actor Matthew McGrory passed away in 2005 after the filming of The Devil's Rejects, but will his character Tiny be mentioned in the new movie? Specially, will the Firefly clan address Tiny's incendiary suicide after rescuing his father and brother in the preceding film?
7. How much screen time does Captain Spaulding get?
Actor Sid Haig is 80 now, and maybe not quite as up for some of the more rigorous action of the last two films. The trailer features him only twice, and in both scenes he looks to be seated inside either a prison or some sort of industrial building. That, combined with his absence from the trailer's standout three-person shots (more on that below), suggests that his role could be more limited this time around.
8. Who is the creepy guy in the Day of the Dead–style corpse paint?
He pops up chuckling maniacally at the one-minute mark, sipping what appears to be an brown liquor, maybe aged tequila if the Mexican details are to be considered part of a whole theme. Judging from his facial structure and hair, the man behind the makeup could be frequent Zombie movie actor Jeff Daniel Phillips (Warden Virgil Dallas Harper), who not only had roles in the director's films 31, Halloween and The Lords of Salem, but is also known for playing a caveman in those bizarre Geico commercials. If so, he looks very different here than in the Instagram post Zombie shared when counting down to the teaser trailer in June.
9. What's Richard Brake doing here?
He launched himself into horror icon territory with his role as the horrifying Doomhead in 31, but his prominent placement in the scene above suggests Brake's character — Winslow Foxworth Coltrane, a.k.a. Foxy — in 3 From Hell will play a major part since he seems to be standing in for Sid Haig's Captain Spaulding in this key shot. Do Spaulding's kids have to enlist another vicious killer to help them break dear ol' dad out of prison? Is Brake simply younger and more agile when it comes to murdering? Are the titular "3 From Hell" not the three characters we're all thinking of?
10. How will it all end?
This is it, the trilogy's final installment: Will the Firefly family finally, really die this time, or will they be captured and sent to jail? Could they disappear into the anonymity of another country and start where it all began with a new house filled with torture chambers and piled-up victims? There's not a lot of giveaway as to the trilogy's final conclusion in the trailer, outside of a final scene in which Foxy, Baby and Otis are seen walking away smiling with a fire in the foreground.
