31
"Welcome to hell."
Five carnival workers are kidnapped and held hostage in an abandoned, Hell-like compound where they are forced to participate in a violent game, the goal of which is to survive twelve hours against a gang of sadistic clowns.
"Welcome to hell."
Five carnival workers are kidnapped and held hostage in an abandoned, Hell-like compound where they are forced to participate in a violent game, the goal of which is to survive twelve hours against a gang of sadistic clowns.
Sheri Moon Zombie
Charly
Richard Brake
Doom-Head
Meg Foster
Venus Virgo
Malcolm McDowell
Father Murder
Daniel Roebuck
Pastor Victor
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs
Panda Thomas
Jeff Daniel Phillips
Roscoe Pepper
Andrea Dora
Trixie
Ginger Lynn Allen
Cherry Bomb
Five carnival workers are kidnapped and held hostage in an abandoned, Hell-like compound where they are forced to participate in a violent game, the goal of which is to survive twelve hours against a gang of sadistic clowns.
_31_ was made very quickly on a shoestring budget, and it shows in Rob Zombie's worst film to date. Bizarrely though, it also features what might just be the best performance of Richard Brake's career. And that is no small feat, the man is a proven talent. Still probably skippable for the moviegoing community at large, but worth the time of a hardcore devotee. _Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._
By this point in his career, there's not much mystery left to Zombie. From his days of White Zombie to his latest musical outpourings and films, he's made his desire to have fun and his love for the grittier horror of the past well known. Zombie fans know this. We go into each new project knowing there's little chance of being surprised but hoping that it's going to be a hell of a ride of full of homages.
31 is no exception. The film opens with a scratchy, shaky cam and proceeds to introduce us to a lot of the same cast we've seen before playing the same trashy and foul-mouthed character types we've seen before. The acting is intentionally full of cheese and the setting is once again his favourite decade. If you didn't enjoy House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, or The Lords of Salem, there's little chance that 31 will be your cup of tea.
On one hand, I'm not disappointed. 31 is pretty much exactly what I expected it to be. On the other hand, it's clear that Zombie is capable of doing something more unique and at this point it really feels like it's time for him to -- for at least one film -- take his horror a different direction. Sure, I'm tired of the boring cleancut CGI films of the mainstream, but if anyone can make one of these that is truly gorey and scary, Zombie's the guy. I'm not saying he should stop doing what's fun for him, but some variety would be nice.
Quick notes:
- Richard Brake (Doom-Head) was perfection.
- Malcolm McDowell was underused.
- Sherri Moon Zombie wasn't the best casting choice for Charly, though I'd love to have her kicking ass here in a different capacity.
- Zombie really should make a full release of Werewolf Women of the SS.
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A maniacal clown named Art terrorizes three young women on Halloween night and everyone else who stands in his way.
Two teenage couples traveling across the backwoods of Texas searching for urban legends of serial killers end up as prisoners of a bizarre and sadistic backwater family of serial killers.
Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way, they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween Night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Four teenagers on a road trip decide to take a detour and find them selves at at haunted house halloween scream park deep in the woods of southern Kentucky. After witnessing an assortment of torture and gore. they start wondering if what they are experiencing is not a little too realistic. Before they know it each one of hem is captured and made part of the horrific attraction they originally thought was all fun and games.
Two men wake up to find themselves shackled in a grimy, abandoned bathroom. As they struggle to comprehend their predicament, they discover a disturbing tape left behind by the sadistic mastermind known as Jigsaw. With a chilling voice and cryptic instructions, Jigsaw informs them that they must partake in a gruesome game in order to secure their freedom.
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As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, a man whose own dark secrets unleash a new wave of terror.
Law enforcement finds itself chasing the ghost of a man dead for over a decade, embroiled in a diabolical new game that's only just begun.