Image credit: Saban Films
The Master of Macabre, Rob Zombie, introduces us to a clown-filled nightmare through Hell in his latest horror film, 31.
In 31, a group of traveling carnies are taken hostage as they pass through a small town the night before Halloween. Soon the group finds themselves chained up in an abandoned factory plant where they meet their kidnappers, costumed and wigged aristocrats led by Father Murder (Malcolm McDowell), who tells them they are now part of a twisted and hellish survival game they call 31. For 12 hours they will need to survive against a number of murderous clowns within the confines of the compound.
This rag-tag group are thrust into this reality where there are no rules and the only way out is to survive. We have seen this concept many times before in popular films such as The Running Man and Battle Royal, but will 31 live up to the standards these other survival-type films have set in the past?
Credit: Saban Films
Thankfully, 31 brings us everything we are looking for in a horror-survival film. A variety of psychotic killers, strong lead characters, unexpected outcomes, and with the violence and gore we have come to expect from a Rob Zombie film. However, it is important to note that unlike many films like 31, where there are often deep thematic analysis and hidden subtexts, 31 gives us what it promises and nothing more.
What really makes Rob Zombie’s work unique is the deep horror that is often evident in his films. Where other movies in the horror genre build suspense and rely on cheap “startles,” Zombie lays out the tone of his films right from the start, slowly introducing us to concepts that leave us feeling uncomfortable and wondering if the world is really as ugly as he makes it seem.
31 follows this same style. Right away we are introduced to the main antagonist, the sinister Doom-Head (Richard Brake) as he engages his latest victim, explaining that he is going to kill him and that’s just the way it is. While dragging on a little longer than it should, this one scene sets the tone for the entire movie. The combination of Zombie’s writing and Brake’s exceptional performance really brings this scene to life. Doom-Heads casual manner which he approaches murder makes him actually seem sane if it wasn’t for the sudden bursts of anger which are brilliantly placed in this dialogue.
Credit: Saban Films
We are presented with an interesting number of characters throughout the film. As Charly (Sheri Moon Zombie) and Roscoe (Jeff Daniel Philips) struggle to keep their friends alive, we begin to see a slight change of mindset when the first psychopath, the Nazi midget Sick-Head, offs a member of their group. At this point the group realizes it might be better to fight back, and going from prey to predator they begin to hunt down the clowns as well.
One of the problems with 31 is the numerous plot holes that lack explanation. As the characters move throughout the facility, the wigged overseers somehow know their every move, announcing over the PA system whenever a character is killed and is unclear throughout the film if there are video cameras around the compound. Somehow whenever a clown is killed the next in line is alerted and sent into the plant. This routine of “killing one clown, then the next comes out, then the next” gets old pretty fast.
Another issue is the change in pace. It is not clear whether Zombie intentionally meant for some scenes to drag on for uncomfortable amounts of time, but the overextended dialog may have you losing interest rather quick.
Overall, 31 is pretty decent horror-survival type film. The concept is like many other survival type movies, yet it is the strong and diverse group of characters that makes 31 stand out from the rest. While the film does have parts that seem unnecessarily long and plenty of concepts that need better explanation, the film brings it all together and provides us with a hellishly good time.
from Nerd Reactor
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