31
Tags: violence, cruelty, murder, sadist

Plot synopsis:
During Halloween 1976, a group of carnival workers, Charly, Venus, Panda, Levon, and Roscoe, are attacked and taken to a strange, large building where three elderly people wearing aristocratic clothes, powdered wigs and make up, Sister Dragon, Sister Serpent, and their leader Father Napoleon-Horatio-Silas Murder, tell them that they are going to play the game "31" and that it will last for the next 12 hours. The group is placed in a series of maze-like set of rooms, where they must defend themselves against the "Heads", several murderous clowns who intend to torture and murder them, all the while the group are given odds for their survival and bets are placed on them.
The protagonists come across five "Heads", Sick-Head, Psycho-Head, Schizo-Head, Death-Head, and Sex-Head. The carnies eventually manage to kill their assailants, but not without sustaining their own casualties, with only Charly, Venus, and Roscoe left alive. The remaining three try to find a way out, but only manage to get one of their number—Venus—trapped inside a boiler room, where she is brutally murdered by the final Head, Doom-Head, who was brought in by the aristocrats to join the game. Doom-Head taunts Charly and Roscoe, telling them that the doors have been opened to the outside world.
The two manage to make it to one of the exits, however Roscoe urges Charly to go on without him, as the night's event has left him too severely wounded to progress. Roscoe is then stabbed to death by Doom-Head. Charly, who made it outside but found herself in the middle of nowhere, makes her way into an abandoned house where she is ambushed by Doom-Head. He almost overtakes her, however Doom-Head is stopped by the aristocrats, who tell him that time has run out and Charly must go free. This doesn't satisfy Doom-Head and the film ends with Charly walking down an isolated road while a van is driving behind her. The driver, revealed to be Doom-Head, gets out and walks towards Charly as the two prepare for one last confrontation as the film ends, leaving their fates unknown.

Review: A little unsuccessful character developmentsilly villains that are far too easy for our heroes to killpompous ringmasters that add nothing and could have been cut out completelyit all made me want my $150 back.I assume there will be an unrated version somewhere down the line that I'll watch and re- evaluate, but I can't imagine it saving this waste of fake blood and Malcolm McDowells talent.
The only other of Zombie's films that even touches on those films in my opinion is 'Halloween' with the plot of killer clowns playing a totally crazy game of cat and mouse i thought such a simple story arc would be fun and playful horror, But Zombie tries something that i felt just fell flat on it's face.
31 (2016) directed by Rob Zombie is about a group of five carnival workers who 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.This being Zombie's sixth full length feature film, it feels like much of the same.
It's watchable, but it's not something I would watch again.My general thinking at this time is that Rob Zombie is far better suited to be a production artist/set designer than a writer/director..
House of 1k Corpses is great, and The Devil's Rejects is one of my all time favorite films, hands down.What we have in "31" is an attempt to mash together aspects of TDR and his Halloween remake and the result is a confusing, lackluster ride you've already been on.The problem is you don't feel for any of the characters.
Here are a couple of things that must have gone through Rob Zombie's mind whilst shooting 31: "Who needs a plot when you got a psychopathic Nazi-midget?", "Who gives a damn about plausibility when you have Malcolm McDowell himself dressed up like a French Aristocrat and depicting a character that is named Father Murder?" and "Why would I make ambitious when the crowd simply wants sadistic & graphic violence?" And you know what?
Sheri Moon's acting of Baby was so awesome, 9 out of 10 men would still pick Baby up knowing she was taking them to the house of 1000, the one that wouldn't, well he doesn't like women, Otis was off the chain, totally insane and Capt Spaulding will forever be an icon and should be listed as one of the greatest horror villain in history.So when I see people complaining that 31 doesn't give us anything new, I'm kind of frustrated, we asked, no begged for this film.
Well watching a new Rob Zombie film is like going to see my cousins turd.
Also I'll use the fly as a metaphor for Sheri Moon Zombie aimlessly buzzing around this steaming pile in the most annoying way.Unlike almost every other review on here that starts with " I loved House of a thousand corpses and Devils rejects" I didn't love those movies.
I did also enjoy the fight scene with the chainsaw clowns but in a movie with a run time of 1h 42 mins this isn't hardly enough to recommend it.After everything the ending is also terrible Zombie tries to leach tension from a scene where there is none because he doesn't realise by this point nobody cares.
He kills off the few likable characters and leaves us with one no one was rooting for.I don't know why I continue to watch his films but I will say one thing for Zombie.
I am sorry to say that Rob Zombie tried to use part of his formula that worked so well for him in earlier films, and I really did want to like it, but I did not.
In the latest game of 31, a group of carnival folk fight for their lives against a variety of foes, including a Nazi midget, a tall bloke in suspenders and a tutu, and a pair of chainsaw wielding loonies.Having suffered through both of Rob Zombie's Halloween movies, I approached 31 with trepidation, longing for a return to form for the director who gave us the fun House of 1000 Corpses and the excellent The Devil's Rejects, but expecting the worse.
Sadly, Zombie met my expectations: a wafer thin plot that lacks originality (check out Maurice Deveraux's $lasher$ for a much better take on the deadly game-show theme), horrible characters (the protagonists are so scuzzy I actually wanted them to die), trite grind-house affectations, and repetitive, uninspired action made this one a real chore to watch.
I liked Jeff Daniel Phillips and Meg Foster this was my first time seeing her in anything his first 3 movies were good then to me it started to feel like he lost his way a little and didn't know what the hell he was making and this really did prove it..
Just go see his drawings in the CD booklet of the White Zombie album Astro Creep 2000!However, Rob Zombie just cannot make a movie!By the time The Lords Of Salem was released, I was so disappointed by all of his previous films (especially by his disastrous Halloween remakes) that I have never hurried myself to see that piece of effort - and after suffering through a good chunk of 31, I surely never will.
They can either survive or face the worst death possible from his killer clowns.Rob Zombie's 31 is a film that he's highly been promoting and this includes before it was even made.
I also have seen all of Rob Zombies movies except "The Lords of Salem" which I intend to watch and I love all of his films.
"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." Rob Zombie has made some good films such as House Of 1000 Corpses, Devils Rejects and the remake of Halloween, but sadly this one isn't as good.
First Halloween reboot was only good, because he had a rich franchise with tons of information to build on.He gets the look every time, I'll give him that, and I won't even make fun about how a grown up man calls himself "Zombie", but the content of his movies is a major letdown every single time.
I'd never thought to say this, but in terms of innovative horror movies, I prefer Eli Roth before Zombie every day.Rob is an awesome musician, and yes, maybe even a good director.
But the overall execution was just bad - ridiculous fighting choreographies, that gave me the impression, everything in this movie was filmed by first take (maybe they wanted to proudly say that they shot the movie in 31 days or something like this), especially the text passages of Sheri Moon Zombies.
I'm going to start by saying "31" is Rob Zombie's weakest live action theatrical film to date BUT that's not to say it's a bad movie.
There's nothing more to the movie, and the carnies are not terribly well drawn characters but they are played by good actors.Sheri Moon Zombie is, of course, the lead, a flirty hooker with a tough attitude.
The other characters are just waiting to die and we all know it.The killers are the real focal point, as is often the case with Rob Zombie's movies.
Doom Head, played brilliantly by Richard Brake (Zombie's Halloween 2, Doom the movie), steals the flick as the most badass killer in recent film history.Zombie does a good job holding things together on a shoe string budget but I hope what he takes away from making this movie is that his real talent is creating killers, not heroes.
Unlikable characters most of which are bad actors or more likely as the great Malcolm McDowell is in this, Rob Zombie hasn't got the ability as a director to get a decent performance even from McDowell.A few gory scenes aside this is proof number six that Rob Zombie shouldn't be given anyone's cash to make a movie.
we saw lot of movies with the same plot like Texas chainsaw massacre etc and those were awesome and this could be lot better if Rob zombie could choose actors wisely..
etc but the basic thing about a movie is acting and Rob zombie chose very poorly, that means you have no sense and vision about making a film.
Also Slim Whitman's "I Remember You" in "1000 Corpses" best marriage of sound and visuals.It would be interesting to see Zombie make a movie without these things to cover up a lack of a good story and some badly-needed character development.
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.
If you are a big fan of Rob Zombie's films, especially The Devil's Rejects, then this is one you definitely shouldn't miss!
If you generally dislike Rob's films, but love horror, you probably won't like this movie either but should give it a watch at least once!
Mostly every film that Rob Zombie has done, I've ended up really liking just for the mere fact that the man is extremely dedicated to getting the 1970s right on screen.
I wanted more gore, I wanted more coherency, I just wanted more and I feel like the film that I saw was half of the original vision that Rob Zombie had.
I wish I could get my 90 minutes back.I loved Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween, I thought it was a great film, I kept checking out his later works in hopes he would make something similar, but most of his other films I've found to be immature, pompous and devoid of creativity or imagination.I am not squeamish about the brutality or violence portrayed in his films, I am just annoyed by the utter lack of anything else.
I did read the synopsis of the movie, and it did seem like it could have potential to be something violent and gruesome, but then again it also could totally flop and just become a parody on itself.And now having seen "31", then I will say that while it certainly was better than "Lords of Salem", then it is by no means an outstanding movie nor a particularly entertaining movie.The story in all its simplicity is about a group of people getting trapped in a maniacal game of survival on Hallows Eve.Yep, the movie is that simple.
However, I will say that, in my opinion, it was Jeff Daniel Phillips, Pancho Moler and Richard Brake whom were lifting up the movie with their performances and portrayal of their respective characters.The effects and make-up in the movie was quite good, and having that advantage in the visual department surely did work in favor of the movie."31" is hardly going to be classics like "House of 1000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects", but it is worth a single viewing if you enjoy the weird results of Rob Zombie's imaginary thinking.To me, "31" was a very mediocre movie, especially since the killing and mayhem could only do so little to try to make up for a proper storyline..
Going into this film, I already knew I'd be disappointed, coming off the backs of such previous Zombie tripe like Lords of Salem and H2.However, I had no idea it would be *this* bad.
I find it funny, almost unbearably funny that so many claim to watch this cuz Rob Zombie made it...do you even have a clue about what he does and what he loves...it is throwback to old school B movie horror films.
An Updated Running Man. Rob Zombie's latest is set in the seventies with some carnies kidnapped by a sadistic rich group for their annual game of 31 which consists of the carnies having to remain alive for twelve hours while psychotic characters try to kill them.Meg Foster stars in this one who is looking really old but she still has it.
I didn't hear much about this movie before watching, but just it being a RZ film I was expecting it to be similar to other favorites like Devil's Rejects, House of 1000 Corpses and the Halloween movies of his.
Doom-head's control and obedience to the rules made him the most terrifying of them all.Rob Zombie does a good job of catching the moments in movies when you scream at characters for not having done something and fixing it.
The absolute worst of the bunch is a monster named "Doom-Head" (Richard Brake), who revels in his job.Rob Zombies' crowd-funded movie was a return to the sort of blood-soaked depravity with which he made his name, after too much disappointment was expressed over "The Lords of Salem", his attempt to step outside his usual wheelhouse.
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.
Its your typical, run of the mill "people locked in a building and have to escape while getting hunted down by psychopathic killers dressed as midget zombies, clowns or the joker out of batman armed with chainsaws, knives and big sticks" film.Its OK(ish) in all honesty, much better than Lords of Salem not as good as House of 1000 Corpses or Devils rejects - horror has become a very disappointing genre, there have been very, very few notable horror movies released in the last decade and this is no exception, just more fodder for the bargain bin..
There's the repulsive characters with foul mouths who look like they haven't bathed in five years, the grimy sets, the over-the-top gore, a pulsing soundtrack evened out with some 70s rock hits, shaky cam, extreme close-ups, his wife, 8mm-style footage...name anything in more than one of his films and it's here.This time around we get: the sheer insanity and crazy kaleidoscopic colors of "House of 1000 Corpses", the grittiness and desert locations of "The Devil's Rejects", the violence of his "Halloween" films, and the lens flares and stylish shots from "The Lords of Salem", which Zombie has thankfully chosen to revisit here on a few occasions.
I still can't watch a Rob Zombie film without wanting to shower afterwards.What did I enjoy about this one?
I loved the pacing, I dug the 70s tracks and the thumping music during the suspenseful bits, I appreciated his willingness to revisit the beautiful lens flares and stylish shots from "The Lords of Salem", I admired the desert scenery and the homages to his past work (the abduction scene is immediately reminiscent of the one in "House of 1000 Corpses") and I thought his long takes of dialogue and close-ups really fleshed out his style on this one.For those that care, there's also a definite "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" vibe going on here that I dug.So non-fans, sorry: this isn't the one that will sway you and it's looking increasingly unlikely that film will ever come unless Rob completely alters his approach.
While I would not regard this is Rob Zombie's best work, as a fan of his films I did enjoy it.
Its like the "Running Man" meets "House of 1000 Corpses", where Zombie tips his hat to the classic horror of yesteryear mixed with the uncensored shock value of today's media.Obviously making the shift from music to film will leave technical holes in Zombie's movies, but if you you turn a blind eye to small details and stop pretending to be an actual film critic just because you have an original copy of "Eraserhead" on VHS, technical flaws aside you can't argue what you are watching is not fun.If you want to know more about the plot, read the other reviews.
I've been a fan of Rob Zombie's movies since I was a kid and this man has never disappointed me in any of his works and till this very day, he's always passionate for the horror genre.
I couldn't help but feel fairly underwhelmed and a bit let down by Rob Zombie's 31, which is a reaction I never thought I'd have to a film from one of the most dedicated and talented artists working in the horror genre these days.
Now Zombie at his worst is still better than most in this sagging genre these days, but for those of you who know his work well and have expectations for the guy, you may just feel a little let down, like I did.
I think actors of some of the good side and bad side characters should have been switched.I expected a bit more from Rob Zombie as I loved his Devil's Rejects.This is not really a review or at least not a good one but I just wanted so summarize my thoughts after watching it to kind of warn others not to expect too much of a horror movie.
If you like some straight up horror violence gore then you should find this entertaining enough, just don't expect too much in the way or story plot or character development - which not all horror movies need to good.
It was a solid, typical Rob Zombie movie and, overall I liked it a lot...
So, sorry, you had me worried there for a minute, I thought I was going to die for watching a Rob Zombie movie.