Rob Zombie’s 31 was release in mid-October as a Halloween Special but quickly spilled all over the place, just like blood from a smashed up skull (Happy Halloween!) So we went ahead and put together a quick movie review, read on!
What’s the Film About?
31 falls under the horror film genre, and tells the story of a group of carnival folk who have been abducted against their will and forced to enter a death match against a horde of psychopathic clowns bent upon their destruction, for the amusement of a group of wealthy aristocrats who are the one pulling the strings from behind the scenes.
The film manages to make some interesting points during the course of it’s run time. There is a strong political undertone to the entire movie that proves to be particularly relevant to the current election atmosphere that has engulfed the nation. The two teams locked in a death match are split pretty decisively, almost comically into good and evil, with the carnies shown laughing and joking and having sex in the middle of the game, while the clowns gnash their teeth in murderous fever and are revealed to be nazis, mysogynists and all manners of terrible people. But the characters manage to be more than cardboard cut outs, and actually become fully fleshed out people who’s fate ends up mattering to you.
So is it Worth a Watch?
While the film is not really a step out of his comfort zone for director Rob Zombie, it does manage to accomplish some interesting things within the framework of a typical horror flick. The style of filmmaking is sharp and abrasive, with a strong reliance on the ‘shaky camera’ filmmaking technique and some stark visual humor. The film serves more as a testament to the director’s skill within the horror genre rather than saying anything particularly new, but fans of the genre will be rewarded with a meticulously crafted film that manages, to a large extent, to accomplish what it set out to do.
While “31” isn’t as unwatchable as other similar movies — thankfully, the 12 hours allotted to the unwilling contestants goes by very fast — but it’s still pretty deplorable and offensive.
Here’s a small trailer from ’31’- watch and decide for yourself!
