Yet, I find myself watching more of his stuff than one might imagine because I have a feeling he and I like the same horror movies. A lot of his films have a distinctly seventies look and texture, even when they’re not actually placed in that time. I really enjoyed House of A Thousand Corpses, was lukewarm on The Devil’s Rejects, and appreciated that The Lords of Salem had great atmosphere and a uniquely feminine quality to it but overall didn’t like it. To start with a small disclaimer, I'll admit that I find Rob Zombie’s directorial work to be hit or miss. Meanwhile, the aristocrats observing the game – three old people dressed like Barry Lyndon extras – place bets on who dies next. They are told via Father Napoleon-Horatio-Silas Murder (Malcolm McDowell, and I’m not kidding, that’s his name) on a loudspeaker that they are here for a game called “31” where they will be hunted by demented psycho-killers until morning. A van-load of carnival performers in 1976 are abducted by what seems to be another group of carnival performers (or at the very least people who dress like it), and wake up in a warehouse/underground bunker. Alright, this is my floor, good talk.” How could something with so many inherently creepy things (clowns, carnival aesthetics, Malcolm) turn out to be so flat, boring, and un-scary? Welcome to Rob Zombie's 31.īefore we get into the dissection, let’s get a better handle on the overall premise.
The elevator pitch for this movie probably sounded a whole lot better than what came out: “Okay, so it’ll be a circus carnival themed death game, hosted by Malcolm McDowell dressed as Marie Antoinette, where the victims are forced to face down various insane clown posses while trying to live through the night.