One of horror’s most well-known directors (or at least, one with an undeniably awesome, genre-appropriate name), Rob Zombie has been laying low since 2012’s The Lords of Salem, a disappointing flick mostly devoid of the scares it promised. However, Zombie has made his love of the genre no secret, so the less-than-warm reception for that film was never likely to keep him away from horror for long. Now, an intriguing tease for what could be the director’s next big-screen project has popped up online.
On the director’s official website, Junior Manager Sarah Martin McIvor recently uploaded a trailer for a film called 31, which you can check out below. Unfortunately, there’s nothing by way of actual footage. Instead, the video looks back on Zombie’s previous directorial gigs, which include House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, Halloween, Halloween II and The Lords of Salem.
Then, however, the video features the words, “And now the next step in the journey…” and then transitions into an eerie image of a clown mask, accompanied by terrified screams, a demonic laugh, and 31 (stylized as 3I). What does it mean? Only Zombie knows the answer to that, and he’ll likely be holding his cards close to the chest as he develops the project.
Bloody Disgusting has confirmed that 31 refers to October 31st, Halloween night. However, the clown mask makes me think that this film won’t relate to the Michael Myers-centric Halloween franchise. In an email responding to inquiries about the film, Zombie teased that this one is “for the hardcore fans who want it nasty and brutal.” Whether 31 involves a slasher on the loose, demonic possession or something more unusual, it’s a universal truth that clowns are absolutely terrifying, even when they don’t look like the one in this Zombie project.
We should definitely keep an eye out for 31. Zombie has proven himself capable of turning in strong, if not always stellar, entries in the horror genre, but the director delivering a film specifically for gorehounds sounds like the recipe for some perfect midnight movie madness.
