31 – the latest film from horror specialist, occasional heavy metallist and implausibly monikered director Rob Zombie – has just earned itself a predictably nasty-looking trailer. Promising to be “his most twisted film yet”, the film focuses on five carnival workers who are abducted and held hostage in an abandoned compound on the night before Halloween (could it be any other night?).
Violence ensues, and the twelve hours that follow promise to be as horrific as can be imagined, as the hostages attempt to survive in the hands of a bunch of freakish clown-like figures with cheerful names like ‘Satan’s Slave’ and ‘Father Murder’.
From the trailer we learn that 31 is the name of a game that the hostages are forced to take part in. The rules are undefined; the only thing we do know is that this is a game that plays mercilessly with life and death. Sounds a bit like Saw, doesn't it?
Mr Zombie, of course, was responsible for the Halloween remake nobody particularly asked for, plus the sequel even fewer people were requesting. He is at least embarking on original material again, and judging by the trailer, clearly wants 31 to be as unrelenting for its audience as it evidently is for its characters.
Only time will tell: the release date is unknown for the UK, but 31 will be hitting cinemas in the USA on September 16.