All I have to say about this movie is that in the middle of this movie, the people come upon a filthy circus tent. Inside is a woman who has been pinioned to a platform on the ground with barbed wire for some time, and has been raped repeatedly by two of the killers. She is in a terrible condition and has been tortured horribly (in the beginning of the movie we saw her husband get killed). They keep her draped under a deflated blow-up sex doll. One of the people try to free her while the other one yells at her because he thinks she is somehow in on the trap. The killers come in and one of them kills this woman with his chainsaw. The reactions I have to this scenario are sadness, anger, hate, and disgust, but not fear. This is not horror. I don't actually know what to even call it.
A movie about a group of innocents trapped in a warehouse with killer clowns could be done a number of ways, but the only way that really works would be to be over the top, intense, and ridiculously fun. The scene I described above is certainly over the top, but in a very bad direction, and is definitely not in any way fun. None of this movie is fun to watch at all.
The kind of boost that Rob Zombie got to his credibility for the rape scene way back in Devil's Rejects was not a blank check. If he wanted to be seen as a serious filmmaker of serious films, as seems to have been the case, throwing in a rape scene was only going to work once. He was more than welcome to keep pursuing serious material, but it had to be different kinds of serious material. Instead, all of his films have had rape or forced oral sex content. His films had to develop into better and more serious films, and they haven't.
The usual complaints against RZ are his bad characters and bad dialogue. Those are valid complaints, but I was willing to overlook them, because he is an amazing talent and as a cinematographer, he is at the very top of the game. But the real problem that I think has finally solidified into a habit, is the rape filled nature of his movies, which I never signed on for, I think is NOT horror, and I am not interested in.
Most of the reviewers have praised Richard Brake's performance. He's basically this movie's Bill Moseley. I'm happy for him, because this is his first turn as a lead as far as I know, and he does do a good job of playing an irredeemable villain. To be honest though, the movie itself is just not good. I miss Bill Moseley though.
Also, most of the reviewers have yet again complained about Sheri Moon's acting. Those complaints have always been bull. She does fine, like always.
The best performance in the movie is from Meg Foster, as beautiful and engaging as ever, and not afraid to show her true age. She is truly something special.
31 could have been many things. A rape movie should not have been it.
2 out of 10, only for Meg Foster and some good cinematography.
A movie about a group of innocents trapped in a warehouse with killer clowns could be done a number of ways, but the only way that really works would be to be over the top, intense, and ridiculously fun. The scene I described above is certainly over the top, but in a very bad direction, and is definitely not in any way fun. None of this movie is fun to watch at all.
The kind of boost that Rob Zombie got to his credibility for the rape scene way back in Devil's Rejects was not a blank check. If he wanted to be seen as a serious filmmaker of serious films, as seems to have been the case, throwing in a rape scene was only going to work once. He was more than welcome to keep pursuing serious material, but it had to be different kinds of serious material. Instead, all of his films have had rape or forced oral sex content. His films had to develop into better and more serious films, and they haven't.
The usual complaints against RZ are his bad characters and bad dialogue. Those are valid complaints, but I was willing to overlook them, because he is an amazing talent and as a cinematographer, he is at the very top of the game. But the real problem that I think has finally solidified into a habit, is the rape filled nature of his movies, which I never signed on for, I think is NOT horror, and I am not interested in.
Most of the reviewers have praised Richard Brake's performance. He's basically this movie's Bill Moseley. I'm happy for him, because this is his first turn as a lead as far as I know, and he does do a good job of playing an irredeemable villain. To be honest though, the movie itself is just not good. I miss Bill Moseley though.
Also, most of the reviewers have yet again complained about Sheri Moon's acting. Those complaints have always been bull. She does fine, like always.
The best performance in the movie is from Meg Foster, as beautiful and engaging as ever, and not afraid to show her true age. She is truly something special.
31 could have been many things. A rape movie should not have been it.
2 out of 10, only for Meg Foster and some good cinematography.