31 (2016) - Review

31

Horror/Thriller
1 hour and 42 minutes
Rated: R

Written by: Rob Zombie
Directed by: Rob Zombie
Produced by: Mike Elliott, Andy Gould, Matthew Perniciaro, Michael Sherman, Eddie Vaisman, and Rob Zombie

Cast:
Sheri Moon Zombie
Lew Temple
Jeff Daniel Phillips
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs
Meg Foster
Richard Brake
Malcolm McDowell
Judy Geeson
Jane Carr

Welcome To Hell

Rob Zombie has always been a filmmaker that has throughout his career managed to split audiences - specifically, the legion of us horror junkies - right down the middle. Some praise his work, often citing his rather laissez-faire attitude toward naysayers and blatant contempt for critics of his work. These same people seem to enjoy Zombie's work for the fun thrill that it provides for the hour and a half or so that it remains in front of them. Several others, however, including most critics, tend to find Zombie's work to be rather uninspired and nothing more than a bland and boring celebration of senseless gore. 31 was no exception to all of this. The film has its defenders, just as it has a legion of horror fans and critics who seemed to not be impressed. Sadly, this reviewer falls into the latter category.

The genuine truth is that 31 is an absolute mess of a movie with poor writing constructing random grab bag moments from other, more successful horror films. It follows the story of five carnival workers who are kidnapped on the road in 1970s America and who are forced to play a sadistic game called, well: 31. The characters must survive twelve hours as wave after wave of psycho killers come after them all. This idea itself is not a new one, as admitted by Zombie, as it bares resemblance to that old classic tale The Most Dangerous Game, but given Zombie has proven himself a talented filmmaker in the past with The Devil's Rejects, the promise of something both intellectually stimulating and insanely violent was one that could easily wet any horror fan's appetite. The film is neither intellectually brilliant or particularly violent.

The story manages to ripoff elements of so many other stories - besides The Most Dangerous Game - that it becomes nauseating. The idea of people traveling across 1970s America and being kidnapped or having their journey interrupted by killers has been done so many times since its first inception within Tobe Hooper's masterpiece The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. In fact, Zombie himself has previously utilized this trope in his debut film House of 1000 Corpses - and this is why 31 is particularly nauseating. Had it just been a Texas Chain Saw ripoff, it might have gotten away with it. But the abduction sequence in 31 plays out nearly to a T the same way the abduction sequence in House of 1000 Corpses does. Don't believe me? Creepy scarecrows come to life and either kill or kidnap their intended victims. This is either pure laziness on Zombie's part, or it is just a showcase for an uninspired lack of creativity.

The film's conclusion also borrows enormously from House of 1000 Corpses. Viewers are, in both films, treated with the belief that the "final girl" has finally made her way through Hell, and although she's battered, bloodied, and bruised, we are left with the genuine hope that there is a chance - in that moment more than ever - for her character's survival. And in both films, Zombie chooses to conclude with a rather nihilistic fake out where we as an audience see this final girl confronted again with the killer or killers. We know that her conclusion will be death. This disturbing lack of creativity and surprising amount of self-referential nonsense from Zombie is just flat out gross.

The characters in 31 are incredibly flat, which might come as a surprise given the amount of talent that graces this film. Sheri Moon Zombie, while someone who is in no way expected to win any Academy Awards in her lifetime, has proven her acting strengths in previous outings directed by her husband. She of course played the freaky psycho chick well in his first two films, but by Zombie's remake of Halloween, Sheri Moon Zombie showed that she is an actress capable of creating a believable amount of depth to the characters that she portrays. Unfortunately, that does not shine through with her performance in 31. Similarly, Jeff Daniel Phillips delivered a terrific performance in Zombie's film The Lords of Salem, and yet in 31 his character is one of the weakest and most annoying figures on the screen. In interviews, Phillips stated that in earlier drafts of the script his character was a writer and a single father. Perhaps had the film been given more money, characters' back stories wouldn't have changed and performers like Phillips and Sheri Moon Zombie could have shined to the level that they are capable of. Meg Foster, who gave one of the best performances of her career in The Lords of Salem, is also uninspiring here - although, it must be said that to see a woman her age playing a strong and heroic female character in a horror film is refreshing. And Judy Geeson and Malcolm McDowell are not afforded the screen time that actors of their caliber deserve.

The film's saving grace is unquestionably the performance of Richard Brake as Doom-Head. Brake brings a refreshing sense of reality to his psychopath that none of the other onscreen killers can achieve. While they tend to prance about, scream in redneck accents, or in the German and Spanish language, Brake's sense of levelheaded intimidation is contrary to the other performances and is truly remarkable to see. He is capable of showing full on moments of a raging psychopath, but he is just as capable of showing an even tempered killer. The movie opens with a long monologue delivered by Brake to one of his intended victims - a preacher. As it turns out, this discussion between the two characters is an example of the brilliant level of writing that Zombie is capable of and achieved in his earlier film The Devil's Rejects. Brake's Doom-Head challenges the preacher's fear of death, stating this man should be grateful to him for delivering him up to the Pearly Gates. He speaks in beautiful existentialist ways regarding life, death, and killing that unfortunately don't permeate throughout the rest of the film.

I wrote that I am sadly a detractor of this movie because of that reason most of all. There is a capable and brilliant filmmaker within Rob Zombie. Audiences saw that in The Devil's Rejects and even in moments within Halloween and The Lords of Salem, whatever one may think about those two films overall. And yet in 31 there is the same problem, and more. With 31 Zombie refused to use the brilliant talent within him, and instead decided to deliver up an uninspired and completely derivative motion-picture that I'm sure in several years time he will like to have completely forgotten. This is not the work of a brilliant man, but rather 31 is the work of a bored filmmaker.

2/10