It’s a shame that 31 isn’t discussed more amongst the horror community. It’s far from perfect, but Rob Zombie’s 2016 movie about a hoard of clowns forcing kidnapped carnies to play in their own wicked games is a pretty fun concept.
With the release of Zombie’s 3 From Hell on the horizon, the metal musician-turned-director has taken to social media to share behind the scenes looks at some of his earlier productions, including the reveal of a beautiful unused one sheet for 31.
In the modern era of terrible, overly photoshopped posters (here’s looking at you, Marvel), the newly unveiled poster perfectly captures the film’s bleak, desolate atmosphere while also tapping into the carnival’s bright colors and its 1970s setting.
If there’s one complaint about the one sheet, it’s that you can’t really tell what the film is about. 31 is already an ambiguous title to begin with, and the sole image of two people walking in the desert isn’t any more revealing. If it weren’t for Sheri Moon Zombie’s rocker-inspired get up, there’s no reason to believe this wouldn’t be a simple little movie about the hardships of the 1930’s Dust Bowl.
Starring his wife, the aforementioned Moon, 31 was directly crowdsourced so Zombie could make the exact film he – and presumably the fans – wanted: one filled with sex, mayhem and lots and lots of blood. The director revealed that he came up with its premise after learning that Halloween is the number one day of the year when people go missing, eventually translating the concept to what we saw on screen, throwing in a few murderous clowns for good measure.
Last week saw the debut trailer for Zombie’s next film, 3 From Hell, a gruesome continuation of 2003’s House of 1000 Corpses and its 2005 sequel The Devil’s Rejects. Its release date is currently unknown, but considering that it’s already been rated R by the MPAA – for strong sadistic violence, language throughout, sexual content, graphic nudity, and drug use – we know it won’t be that much longer until Captain Spaulding and co. send shivers down our spines once more.
