Rob Zombie’s hugely-anticipated follow-up to his masterful The Lords Of Salem, 31, was acquired for distribution almost a year ago by Alchemy, following its storming Sundance première. However, last month, the company’s financial woes were made public and, as a result, they began unloading a number of their festival acquisitions.
Horror fans worried that 31 might suffer as a result can rest easy, as Saban Films has acquired the North American rights to the flick. And, in even better news, they’ve given it a (limited) theatrical release date of September 16th.
Speaking on their new acquisition, Saban Films president Bill Bromiley gushed:
31 is a treat not just to horror fans, but fans of true auteur film-making. The film is executed in true stylistic Zombie fashion. Rob is an unrivaled talent, and we are thrilled to bring his bold new film to audiences across the continent
31 stars stars a bunch of Zombie stalwarts; including Lew Temple (The Devil’s Rejects), Sheri Moon Zombie (Lords of Salem), Malcolm McDowell (Halloween 2007), Judy Gleeson, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Meg Foster (The Lords of Salem) and many more.
Set in 1975, the film follows five people who are kidnapped, in the days leading up to Halloween, and are brought to a pleasant-sounding place called Murder World. There, they must fight for their survival via a deadly game called, you’ve guessed it, 31. Aside from killing each other, the group must also contend with a group of sadistic, killer clowns, images of which have already been teased in marketing material.
The flick was originally slapped with the death knell NC-17 rating a number of times, but thanks to some clever cuts by Zombie, it was finally passed by the MPAA with a more theater friendly R-rating.
