Clown (2014)

"You don't understand... 

I physically cannot get it off"

If you currently have a fear of clowns or did when you were young, then I definitely don't recommend 'Clown'...

When a loving father finds an old clown costume to wear for his sons birthday party, he soon realises that the costume conceals an evil curse that turns the wearer into a killer.

Despite being branded as an Eli Roth film (director of Hostel and cabin fever) it is actually directed by first time director Jon Watts and produced by Eli Roth.

Admittedly, I wasn't expecting a lot from this film. At most I was hoping for a cheesy horror film with lots of gore and fun. However, what was actually delivered by 'Clown' was a well thought out and well paced horror film that has a lot of fun with some creepy horror. It delivers exactly what it promises in the premise.

We are thrown into the plot with no time wasted, Kent has the clown costume on within the first ten minutes of the film and we get right down to the horror immediately. A refreshing pace for a horror film that knows exactly what it is and what we are waiting for. 

When he gets the news that the clown that was hired for his sons birthday party can't make it, Kent puts on an old clown costume that he finds in the attic of one of the houses that he's trying to sell. An intriguing opening to say the least. We have an abandoned and chained up clown costume that looks as evil as you'd expect and someone who desperately needs to put it on. Kent then can't take it off and we have our horror movie. 

Andy Powers plays Kent and does a relatively decent job. I haven’t seen him in anything else but he delivers a strong performance as he tries to hold on to his sanity and his humanity as the suit takes control. We don’t really get much information about his relationship with his son but you can gather that he’s a good dad just from the information that you have. I would have liked to have seen more of that so that when it all goes down then there’s more at stake between them but it serves its purpose in the film.

You get the sense that it is physically hurting Kent having the suit on and it really adds to the horror of it. The claustrophobic feeling you get when he's trying to get it off is unbearable and something that we haven't really seen before.

What I especially enjoyed about 'Clown' was the transformation that Kent has to deal with when the suit starts to change him. We slowly get more pieces of the puzzle and Kent deteriorates as his "desires" start to take shape in a horrifying way... 

It's almost like a vampire that has to feed, we begin to realise just how evil this suit is and what is at stake for anyone who may cross his path. 
'Clown' isn't a "jumpy" horror but it packs a lot of horror into what is a relatively simple plot. The ideas and imagery explored seem familiar in a good way, clowns are inherently scary and the film knows it.

It capitalises on a fear that hasn't really had a good horror movie in years. We have Stephen King's 'It' but it has dated since the 90's and since then there have been a wave of cheap slasher flicks that have tried to do the same. 

What 'Clown' does to set itself apart from the rest is that it gives us exactly what we are scared of. We aren't scared of some madman wearing a clown suit stabbing teenagers, we are scared of the clown itself. It gives us some interesting lore and history behind it and basically realises our worst fears about clowns. 

The makeup effects are great on the clown as it transforms Kent. They start out as subtle changes but develop as the suit slowly consumes him. These effects are so important to the film and without that level of attention paid to them I doubt it would have been as convincing.

There are some pretty shocking scenes in the film. We don't necessarily see much gore in these scenes but it's the scene content that might be too dark for some people. I think that you have to take it as a bit of tongue-in-cheek and enjoy it for what it is. 

There are some really clever details that will make you smile and some well executed scenes that feel almost like they are straight out of the 80's in their delivery. One scene in particular in a busy Chuck E. Cheese restaurant is a terrifying prospect for any parent, child or audience member. It'll have you laughing and throwing up. 

Overall, it’s a twisted, yet simple, little horror film that delivers what it promises. 

It’s not a horror masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination but it’s a fun horror that is different to the huge budget horror franchises that Hollywood have been churning out recently.

I had a lot of fun with 'Clown' and it's a good flick to watch near Halloween or on a late night with a full moon. 

Except if you have coulrophobia because it’ll definitely give you nightmares... 

That's the last time I'll ever go into a creepy abandoned house, put on an ancient cursed clown costume and go to a kids birthday party...