How Rob Zombie Crowdfunded His Horror Movie “31” With Wild Rewards

Rob Zombie didn’t wait around for a studio to greenlight his nightmare-fueled film “31”. Instead, he went straight to the fans. In 2014, the singer and filmmaker launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise $2 million for the movie.

The film centers on five unlucky people who get kidnapped and tossed into “Murder World”, where they are hunted by killer clowns. Zombie pitched it as gritty, fast, and vicious, a throwback to raw, no-budget horror with teeth. And fans were all in.

Rob Zombie Took a Different Path

Most filmmakers looking for funding head to Hollywood studios or big-name producers. Rob Zombie said nope. “The Educated Horses” hitmaker took a sharp left and went to FanBacked, a smaller crowdfunding site that focused on entertainment. He skipped bigger names like Kickstarter or Indiegogo, which made the move feel personal. FanBacked was built for fans who actually cared about the creator, not just the product.

Zombie / IG / The goal was $2 million. Zombie ran the campaign for 60 days. When the first push ended, fan demand still hadn’t cooled.

So, he relaunched it, giving more people a shot to be part of the madness. The star singer gave fans a menu of insane rewards. For $15, backers got “31” swag like posters, stickers, shirts. At $50, you could get signed merch or even a copy of the film. Not bad.

But things got weird (and fun) at the higher tiers. For $300, Zombie would follow you on Twitter. Drop $750, and your name ended up in the film credits. Go full psycho fan and throw down $10,000, and you’d get listed as an executive producer. Your name, next to Rob Zombie’s.

The best rewards? Props from past movies like “Halloween” and “House of 1000 Corpses”. Some fans even scored a laminate that let them into Zombie’s concerts for life.

The Movie Was a Brutal Nightmare

“31” isn’t some polished, studio-perfect horror flick. Rob Zombie wanted it to feel dirty, raw, and real. The plot drops five people into Murder World, a hellish game where they are hunted by maniacs in clown makeup. They have got 12 hours to survive, and the odds are ugly.

Zombie / IG / Zombie got the idea of the “31” movie from two things. First, he found out Halloween had the highest number of missing persons reports. Then he thought about how clowns freak people out.

Mix those together, and you get “31,” a tight, nasty horror ride with zero room for comfort.

He filmed it in a guerrilla style. That means stripped-down sets, fast takes, and lots of grit. Zombie wanted it to feel like a nightmare you stumbled into, with no way out. And for fans of his earlier work, it totally delivered.

Rob Zombie pitched the crowdfunding as a way for fans to be part of the creative process. Fans got to feel like insiders, not just ticket buyers. For horror lovers, it was a rare chance to shape something from the ground up.

However, not all reactions were cheers. Some critics and creators questioned why someone as established as Rob Zombie needed to crowdfund at all. They argued that it might suck money away from smaller, unknown filmmakers who truly depended on public support to make their first break.

The movie dropped in 2016 and hit horror fans like a hammer. It was bloody, fast, and unforgiving. Just like he promised. Critics were split, but the fans who helped make it happen felt like they were part of something real.