31

31

Starring Sheri Moon Zombie, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Meg Foster, Malcolm McDowell

Directed by Rob Zombie

The Story:
On Halloween in 1976, a gang of carnival workers are traveling when they're ambushed and taken prisoner by a group of aristocrats led by Father Napoleon (Malcolm McDowell) and are forced to participate in a game of 31: if they can survive twelve hours in his hell on earth, they get to live.  Led by Charly (Sheri Moon Zombie), the carnies go up against several of Napoleon's men, especially the leader Doom-Head (Richard Brake) as they fight to survive the night.

The Synopsis:
Rob Zombie is a very unique, oddly visionary director.  Not only is he known for his out-of-the-box music, but lately for his directing as well.  He's brought to the screen some of the sickest (I mean that in a good way) films such as "House of 1,000 Corpses," "The Devil's Rejects" and "The Lords of Salem," and also re-imagined the John Carpenter classic "Halloween" with mixed success (the first film was fairly decent, the second one, not so much).  With "31," he claims this is his most brutal film to date, and while I tend to agree, it doesn't have that same oomph as some of his previous outings.

In fact, "31" seems like a combination of "Saw" and "The Purge," which is disheartening because Zombie was such a revolutionary filmmaker in the world of horror.  No one has seen the likes of "Corpses" or "Salem" before, but with "31" it seems like another carbon copy of previous films.  The protagonists are stuck in an abandoned facility, forced to stay alive during the night as they're chased by crazed killers while a group of rich, privileged people watch and bet for their amusement.  Sure, there's the undertones of political satire as the lowly are forced to fend for themselves while the rich get to sit back and enjoy it, but that's not a very pressing theme in this film.  It's all about the blood and gore.

What I did appreciate is the banter between the protagonists and antagonists.  As they fight for their lives, they throw jabs at one another like they're playing a football game, waxing philosophies and taunting one another in a way that was humorous, even as the body count rises.  Most of that is due to the actors themselves, most of which are Rob Zombie staples - most of them have done more than one film with the director, and the lead actress is his wife.  Much like the Brat Pack or Adam Sandler's crew, they've learned to work well with each other and obviously enjoy each others' company on the outside, otherwise they wouldn't keep doing films together.  This adds an unintentional touch of familiarity that draws you deeper into their story, but with such a vanilla script it doesn't add any deep depth to the characters.  There's no one in particular to root for, which leaves you waiting for the next death to come.

Ultimately, the film scratches the surface of what Rob Zombie was originally known for.  There was no moment in the film I felt really unnerved, and not a time I was wondering what the heck was going on.  Unlike his previous masterpieces of terror, "31" seemed like a cookie-cutter trip down memory lane of other directors' works.

The Summary:
While it's one of Rob Zombie's most bloody, "31" lacks in the unnerving, soul-rendering feeling you got after seeing some of his previous outings.

The Score: B+