31 has proven to be one of the most contentious films from Rob Zombie’s career, but the director’s claims that an unrated cut exists could mean that there’s a significantly better version of the movie than what's currently out there.
Rob Zombie has turned out to be one of the more controversial directors in the horror genre and—for better or worse—his movies always create a big reaction. There was a lot of enthusiasm towards the director’s movie 31, which is a tight story revolving around a number of people who are forced to play a deadly game of survival against a seemingly endless pack of deranged maniacs.
Despite some powerful visuals and some interesting characters that skew towards the absurd, many viewed 31 as a missed opportunity and a movie that just feels derivative of Zombie’s better pieces of work. It was supposed to be a return to form for the director, but it left many wondering if the horror filmmaker has run out of gas. While it’s unlikely that an unrated director’s cut will drastically change 31, Zombie’s announcement did give devout fans some hope.
31's Unrated Cut Could Be Much Better—Here's Why
Horror films always face a struggle with the MPAA; Rob Zombie is no stranger to this. All of his films have required edits to receive an R rating as opposed to the infamous NC-17. When it came to 31, Zombie submitted his movie to the MPAA twice before it was finally approved for an R. Before the film’s home video release, Zombie confirmed via Facebook that the uncut version would be included on the DVD release, yet it came and went with no director’s cut present.
Details on the specifics of this uncut version of the film remain slim, but the movie’s premiere at Sundance featured this original version, which means that it does exist, or at least did at one point. The rumors of this uncut version have left fans optimistic, but Zombie has also pointed out that the edits that he had to make to obtain the R rating were fairly inconsequential and didn’t result in any major changes to the film’s story or scope. Zombie's NC-17 cut was rated as such for "sadistic graphic violence, bizarre sexuality/nudity, pervasive disturbing images, and some strong language". 31 periodically cuts away from the gorier moments and leaves the worst acts to happen off-camera. These bloodier versions of attacks and kills are likely the main edits.
Despite how 31’s uncut version isn’t a totally different movie, the ability to see Zombie’s original vision— uncompromised—would likely result in a better version of the movie. Zombie’s specialty is intense gore and disturbing visuals, so even if the edits are just gratuitous money shots, they’ll likely help make characters like Doom-Head even more intimidating. Zombie has released director’s cuts of his other movies, but he’s gone silent on the topic of the uncut version of 31. Whether that means he’s abandoned the release or is just figuring out a way to give it the attention that it deserves remains to be seen.