Review of 31 (2016) by Pj B — 31 Aug 2016

Rob Zombie's 31 isn't his best work, but rank it as his second best, with The Devils Rejects being the first and Lords of Salem dead last. 31 is about a group of traveling carnie's who are abducted on Halloween night and forced to play a game of survival, where they are hunted by a group of psycho killer clowns.

The premise is very similar to both Running Man and The Most Dangerous Game. The only problem I had with it was a bit of an uneven balance when we are first introduced to the protagonists, they are completely unlikable.

My first thought was, "Wow, what a bunch of a-holes, I can't wait for them all to die. There's no one to root for in this movie, I guess I'll be rooting for the bad guys." However, once they're thrown into the game, they suddenly become likable, which was a jarring shift, but I accepted it.

It is after all an exploitation film, that's heavily influenced by the grindhouse era, it even takes place in the seventies, which scored high points with me. The one thing I found most enjoyable was Richard Brake as the psycho clown, Doom-Head.

Wow, what an amazing actor, it's worth seeing for his performance alone. The movie is bloody, but it's not gratuitous and it's definitely not for everyone, but if you liked just one of Zombie's previous works, I think you might dig 31.