Rob Zombie,an interesting sort of director, who writes and directs films that appeal to his twisted senses, but tend to alienate the typical horror filmgoer. His most recent release, 31, is a great example of his grindhouse influences. The film brings together the typical violence and gore we expect while appealing to the widespread fear of clowns.
It happened on Halloween 1976. A group of carnival workers are kidnapped and forced to participate in a life or death game called “31”. Their captors are led by Father Murder played by Malcolm McDowell (Halloween, A Clockwork Orange) and dress in traditional French aristocratic garb. The carnival workers, Charly (Sheri Moon Zombie), Roscoe, Venus, Panda and Levon, are all given numbers and their odds of living. They quickly learn they will face a series of mazes and killer clowns called “Heads” for the next 12 hours.
In whole night, the trio of French aristocrats place bets as the captives move through the mazes and encounter the clowns. Each clown is given a name: Sick-Head, Psycho-Head, Schizo-Head, Death-Head, Sex-Head (played by E.G. Daily) and Doom-Head. The clowns all have their individual styles of murder and taunts. Psycho- and Schizo-Head even use another victim to lure Roscoe and Venus into a cage. Among the victims,no one can match the ones the clowns bring although they are each given weapons.
As usual with Zombie films, you have to really appreciate what he puts on-screen without comparing to anything else. Most modern horror will give you a chance to understand each character’s motivations. Here, the characters are somewhat flat, with little back story given before the game starts. However, this is something we have seen in previous films like House of 1000 Corpses. The characters are developed as the story continues, gaining strength and confidence in themselves to survive. By the end of the film, you may not know the main character’s entire life, but you’ve suffered through the worst with them.
Seen from Lords of Salem, not every Rob Zombie film is a winner. This film is similar in that there is not much given except violence, sex and gore. But the majority of Zombie fans will enjoy this film for those exact reasons. The typical horror fan will be disappointed in its lack of suspense and straight forward “everyone is going to die” premise. Though it is not a typical horror, I still recommend watching it to enjoy good old fashioned gore porn.
