#3 – 31 (2016)
If you haven’t figured it out yet, when it comes to a director whose work I admire, purity is very important to me. Nothing depresses me more than seeing a filmmaker with a unique voice turning in a watered down piece of work, whether it’s their fault or that of the studio and/or financiers. 31 might not be Zombie’s best work, but it is a really damn good little film. It also absolutely feels like a Rob Zombie movie from top to bottom.
One could almost use this as a Rosetta stone for his work going forward. In the future, if you’re ever introducing someone to his films and aren’t hung up on making them start from the beginning, I’d suggest popping this one in at the start of things. From the sugar-coated sinful delights of House of 1000 Corpses to the stalk-and-slash brutality of the Halloweens to the harsh reality of The Devil’s Rejects to the stylish classicism of The Lords of Salem, it’s all here. There’s even some Superbeasto-style absurdity at play!
31 isn’t my favorite slice of Rob Zombie cinema, but one would be hard-pressed to argue that it’s not the perfect melting pot of everything he’s made to date. It is also one that I can see myself appreciating more and more as time goes on. There’s a lot to chew on within the film, even beyond just surface-level elements, and I can wait to explore it on a more in-depth level in the future. A lot of people are going to dislike it, if not outright hate it, but horror has never been a popularity contest. Much like Halloween II and The Lords of Salem, I think this one will see its audience and appreciation grow with time. I know my own love of it will.
