Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.5

31 Blu-ray Movie Review

Information — Clown Threats

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 12, 2016

I suppose it’s probably not funny, given all the craziness in the world, but I couldn’t help but laugh when I got an urgent notice from our local public school system with the subject heading Information — Clown Threats. The email went on to document all sorts of second hand information about supposedly menacing clowns being spotted nationwide and how that was having a potentially deleterious effect on various young people’s emotional well being, and that we as parents needed to be aware of any potential psychological traumas our kids might be experiencing (not to mention outright physical harm). As controversial as Rob Zombie has at least occasionally been in both his music and film lives, you have to kind of hand it to him for capturing a certain cultural zeitgeist about demonic clowns just as the pheomenon (such as it is) became front page news across the country in 2016. 31 is in fact filled with killer clowns (not to be confused with Killer Klowns from Outer Space), several of whom have descriptive names which seek to give some insight into their peculiar personalities. The first such individual is the appropriately monikered Doom-Head (Richard Brake), who is seen tormenting a minister in the film’s opening scene. Doom-Head “confesses” to the holy man that he’s good at his job, which in this case means chopping the hapless victim to bits with the dull blade of a hatchet.

Though it’s not all that clear without listening to Rob Zombie’s commentary, this opening scene is actually supposed to be a flashback to the previous year, setting up the idea that the “game” which is the underlying gambit of 31 is an annual event, evidently a bit like The Purge (in more ways than one, actually, considering the body count). One way or the other, it sets the film out on a gruesome and somewhat provocative course, one which segues to a late seventies’ cross country trip by some carnies (just in case clowns aren’t enough to freak you out). The film gives a bit of introductory lip service to various dysfunctions which are evidently roiling in this group, but as with many films that are built around diminishing cast members, in a way it hardly matters, since the point is the audience knows some, and maybe most, of these folks are going to end up like the unfortunate minister from the film’s prologue.

One of the kind of odd things about Rob Zombie is that on this disc's commentary track and in even in less “formal” situations like Q & A sessions, he comes off as incredibly intelligent, articulate and often quite funny. Unfortunately very little of any of those qualities have matriculated to 31, a film which plays like a vignette laden “greatest hits” (in both meanings of that word) assemblage of gruesome deaths and ridiculous plot mechanics. The carnies of course find themselves taken captive fairly early in the film, and while it’s fun to see hyperbolic villains portrayed by Malcolm McDowell, Judy Geeson and Jane Carr, there’s absolutely no underlying reason given for the mayhem or even for the fact that these three characters in particular look like they’ve wandered out of a nearby episode of Versailles: Season One.

Even Zombie himself seems to recognize that there are elements at play in 31 that really don’t make a whale of a lot of sense. Zombie self- deprecatingly laughs about Doom-Head’s early pronouncements that “in hell, everyone loves popcorn,” joking that it’s a complete non sequitur, something that the film seems to delight in both in terms of dialogue and in actual story development. The “pick ‘em off” scenario is of course tried and true, and provides foundational elements that will probably satisfy undemanding gore hounds, but there’s absolutely no context and therefore very little attachment to anything that goes on in the film. It’s simply a series of gruesome deaths, with the only suspense being which characters will make it to the end (the fact that Mrs. Zombie, Sheri Moon, is a featured player might be one clue as to who makes it through).

In some ways, 31 kind of oddly reminded me of the excesses of latter day Twin Peaks: The Original Series episodes, and not just because of the presence of a discomfiting dwarf. Much like the David Lynch outing, 31 is full of arresting imagery that never seems to fully support a story, or perhaps more accurately, there’s no story to fully support what is often a gruesome but visceral visual experience.

31 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

31 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. Once again technical data is hard to come by on this film, though I have an email into cinematographer Daniel David and will update with any information he forwards to me. Detail levels are regularly hemmed in both by recurrent "shaky cam" techniques, but also by the film's prevalence of dimly (and is some cases barely) lit environments, as well as "arty" shots that feature lots of lens flare or other elements that can mask fine detail especially. Some of the imagery is quite striking and there are moments of excellent fine detail (see screenshot 5 from the prologue). The palette is pretty tamped down, especially for a horror outing, with the opening scenes either desaturated or almost sepia toned, and then a lot of the actual "game" sequences bathed in intense blues or yellows. Occasional compression and/or noise issues can afflict some of the darker scenes, but there's nothing overly problematic in this regard.

Update: Daniel David kindly provided information that he used the Arri Alexa for 31.

31 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

31's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track has consistent surround activity courtesy of a wealth of source cues (from a variety of genres, including classical), as well as the echo laden confines that the carnival workers find themselves captive in. Some of the death scenes are accompanied by appropriately convincing sound effects. There's good attention paid to various ambiences as the "players" move through various environments. Dialogue is also rendered cleanly on this problem free track.

31 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Rob Zombie Commentary is typically interesting stuff, with some comments on the plot that actually help to clarify things a little.


• In Hell Everyone Loves Popcorn: The Making of 31 (1080p; 2:11:27) is a pretty in depth set of featurettes that traces the entire production and functions at times almost like a video diary of the shoot.

31 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Rob Zombie fans will probably get enough out of 31 to make it "enjoyable" (if that's the right word for a kill-a-thon like this one), but I suspect even longtime Zombie fans may find this a bit of tired retread of old tropes and genre conventions. Zombie is an obviously gifted and even skilled filmmaker, and there are a number of interesting elements here, but they never really amount to much more than simply a series of cat and mouse games that of course end with the mice getting slaughtered. Detail levels are a little spotty at times in the video department, but the audio is nicely immersive, and both Zombie's commentary and the long form making of documentary will probably appeal a lot to those considering a purchase.