31 (2016)

Strong and Moving!

Just perfect...

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Thoughtless red-neckish main characters, strangely written, it feels like a very random free movie, it feels like a script that would of never been approved due to a lack of proper structure and I enjoyed that a lot. I have heard so much hate for this movie so maybe my expectations were low, even then, I don't understand the hate for a film that isn't even trying to be more than one more slasher in the genre, it was kinda of gory but not too much to be grossed out, it was a very balanced meal. The concept was great but I expected 31 killers sent out at the same time so the fact that they go 1 by 1 and that they are only 6 was underwhelming, but then again, I think he saved it with style, the ending is a beauty, not as a huge beauty as The Devil Reject's Freebird, but, a pretty soft unpretentious, chill, great ending that made me feel the greatness of slashers and the beauty of the last character alive. Poetry.

"31" is the kind of movie that makes you wonder what went wrong. It seems unlikely the filmmakers were happy with the final product. It's confusing, hard to follow, and the pacing is all messed up. It feels like it's probably missing scenes that would have explained key details, or given us time to catch up and actually care about what we're seeing.The plot is something to do with a group of people traveling in a camper van in the '70s when they get kidnapped by a murderous group of side show freaks and forced to play some kind of survival game.Apparently this group of people are carnival workers themselves, though I missed where that was explained. Aside from Sheri Moon Zombie none of the characters make any impression anyway. One of them looks so much like a young Sid Haig you wonder why the man himself wasn't cast.The movie has one great moment, and that's the very beginning. Richard Brake, a great discovery of Zombie's, breaks (no pun intended) the fourth wall and I had the uncanny sensation he really was talking to me. I can't remember that happening in a movie before.Apparently this movie was crowd-funded "twice". Perhaps that is a sign that something went wrong behind the scenes. Did they run out of money the first time?

If it hadn't been for The House Of A 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, and The Haunted World Of El Superbeasto then I would not have watched this movie, especially after what Rob Zombie did to the Halloween movies. Unfortunately, this is not as good as his earlier works.This is just another load of people who are captured, tortured, and killed for pleasure. What Zombie adds to the story is a triumvirate of puppet masters - Father Murder (Malcolm McDowell), Sister Serpent (Jane Carr), and Sister Dragon (Judy Geeson) - who run The Murderworld where they run a torturous gauntlet of games. The triumvirate gives their prisoners twelve hours to survive the trials they have arranged for them. Each trial is to survive the psychopaths they send in dressed as clowns.However, most of this doesn't work. My heart started to sink when the group of carnies are talking about the rides and attractions that they run, though their RV isn't towing anything and there's no lorry travelling with them. Then you learn they're travelling with a fair, yet again there are no other vehicles. It's these little things which annoy, and there are quite a few throughout the film. For such an unoriginal story ironing out ALL the kinks would have made it stronger.As for the direction, it's pretty standard stuff though Zombie does try to add a little art to the affair by working in vivid colours. This isn't fully utilised due to the average camera work. There's also an alarming lack of suspense and tension, which a film of this type really requires. That said there are a couple of nice scenes with Richard Brake, who plays Doom-Head, where the close ups are so sharp and crisp. This brilliantly captures his Brake's magnificent rendition of his psychopath character. To be honest, it's Brake that steals this film. This actor should be used more often, he has some serious skills. As for the rest of the cast, they are okay, none of them particularly stands out. I would've liked more details in both the story and characterisations of the triumvirate as this was a missed opportunity to add a spooky and eerie element. Also the other clowns - heads - aren't anywhere nearly as disturbing or sinister as Brake's Doom-Head. The brothers Schizo and Psych-Head, played by David Ury and Lew Temple, are your routine slashers, complete with chainsaws. Though it's Sick-Head which lets the film down. This is not due to Pancho Moler playing the part, on the contrary, his acting is pretty solid. It's down to Zombie dressing him as a Hitleresque character - complete with swastikas and moustache. I'm sorry but I think if anybody was confronted by him they would probably die laughing.Then there's the name of the movie... 31. This actually references Halloween and is another missed chance to tie the games into Samhain or another "Dark" holiday, which would have made the story stronger.This is an average film which has a few small drawbacks and a couple of benefits that levels the film to average, once again. If you're a Rob Zombie fan then you may like this. If it's cold and wet outside you could turn off the lights and settle back with this slasher flick, it's worth at least one viewing.

This was a good movie. I tried watching it the first time, and the diversity of the characters and the monotonous plot of characters running from their captors really made me turn it off. However, in my second viewing, I was surprised by my lack of trust in Mr. Rob Zombie. I think the ending may have solidified this as a good addition to the director's filmography. The killer in the white face paint is a pretty damn good villain! The story is simple. Circus employees get captured, and are sent to a place where the game is for them to stay alive. All of them die slowly, except the blonde, who wins the game just as the "guy in the white face paint" is about to kill her. Let me just end this review by saying that the guy in the white face paint is the man.6 Stars