Clown (film)

Clown
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jon Watts
Produced by	Mac Cappuccino Eli Roth Cody Ryder
Written by	Christopher D. Ford Jon Watts
Starring	Laura Allen Christian Distefano Andy Powers Peter Stormare
Music by	Matt Veligdan
Cinematography	Matthew Santo
Edited by	Robert Ryang
Production company	Cross Creek Pictures PS 260 Vertebra Films Zed Filmworks Method Studios Dragonfly Entertainment
Distributed by	Dimension Films
Release dates	November 13, 2014 (2014-11-13) (Italy) June 17, 2016 (2016-06-17) (United States)
Running time	100 minutes[1]
Country	United States Canada
Language	English
Budget	$1.5 million[2]
Box office	$2.1 million[3]

Clown is a 2014 Canadian-American 3D supernatural horror film directed by Jon Watts, produced by Mac Cappuccino, Eli Roth and Cody Ryder, and written by Christopher D. Ford and Watts. The film stars Laura Allen, Andy Powers, and Peter Stormare. The visual effects for the clown monster were done by Alterian, Inc. and Tony Gardner. Principal photography began in November 2012, in Ottawa. The film was released in Italy on November 13, 2014,^[4] and was released in the UK on the 2 March, 2015, and in the United States on June 17, 2016, by Dimension Films.^[5]

Plot

Kent McCoy is a loving husband and father who hosts a birthday party for his son Jack complete with a clown. The clown he hired accidentally goes to another party, but luckily Kent discovers an old clown costume in the basement of a house he is selling and dresses himself to entertain everyone. After the party Kent falls asleep wearing the clown costume, and the next morning he is unable to take it off. The body suit, wig, and red nose are progressively adhering to his skin.

Kent is forced to go to work wearing the costume and the three guys who are helping him renovate the house laugh at him. He tries to remove the costume, cutting his wrist with a knife and breaking a vibrating hand saw. He goes home and tells his wife Meg what is happening, so she tries to help him remove the fake nose; it rips his flesh and wounds him. Suddenly Kent also begins to show strange behavior and a deep sense of hunger, with a noisy gurgling in his stomach. He eats all the food in the house, wrecking the kitchen.

Kent tries to understand what is happening to him and tracks down Herbert Karlsson, the brother of cancer treatment specialist Dr. Martin Karlsson and its previous owner. Martin tells him on the phone to avoid the costume. Kent learns the origin of the clown is an ancient demon from Northern Europe now forgotten: the "Cloyne", which attracted five children to devour. Karlsson drugs Kent with tea, revealing that the only way to stop the demon is to behead the wearer. Karlsson lands the knife in Kent's shoulder as Kent jumps up and asks what he is doing. Kent learns that the costume is the demon's skin and hair.

Kent moves away from his family and into a hotel, where he fights his hunger and contemplates suicide. He shoots himself in the mouth but does not die, spattering the wall with rainbow blood. He then attempts to behead himself with a pair of buzzsaws but fails, causing a little boy to be killed instead. Eventually giving in, Kent becomes the demon and devours his first victim, a child who had bullied Jack earlier. Meg becomes involved, trying to understand what is afflicting Kent and to help him fight against the demon. Desperate, she partners with Karlsson with the intent of freeing Kent from the suit, although Karlsson is prepared to kill Kent if necessary.

Meg learns from Karlsson that freedom from the clown costume can be gained by offering the demon what it wants: five children. Karlsson put on the costume to entertain the children at the oncology clinic that Martin worked for. Martin smuggled out five dying children from the cancer ward to free Herbert from the costume. Karlsson also warns Meg that the curse follows any part of it, explaining how earlier the family dog had become afflicted by the curse after eating Kent's clown "nose"; which forced him to kill it by chopping off its head.

Kent, now almost fully lost, succumbs to the demon and begins hunting more children. He sneaks into an indoor playground/arcade and devours two children. Karlsson fails to kill Kent, and Meg tries to get through to her husband. Instead, the demon offers her a deal: feed it one more child, and it will release Kent. It tells her to bring the final child to their "special place".

Meg works as a dental nurse, and a child from her clinic recognizes her. The girl asks for a lift home when she cannot find her parents. Meg drives her to the "special place" and locks her out of the car. She suddenly changes her mind when the girl sees Kent.

The demon clown searches for Jack, killing Jack's grandfather and ripping off his jaw. Meg fights against her husband, but the demon is drawn to her womb, as it is revealed she is pregnant. After a long chase inside the house, Meg is forced to knock his head off with a hammer, killing the demon and her husband. In the end, the costume is packed up to be analyzed by the police.

Cast

• Laura Allen as Meg McCoy
• Andy Powers as Kent McCoy
• Peter Stormare as Herbert Karlsson
• Eli Roth as Frowny the Clown
• Elizabeth Whitmere as Denise
• Christian Distefano as Jack McCoy
• Chuck Shamata as Walt
• Robert Reynolds as Dr. Martin Karlsson
• Lucas Kelly as Colton
• Michael Riendeau as Robbie
• Matthew Stefiuk as Detective
• Miller Timlin as Camper

Production

Eli Roth was the film's producer and actor.

In November 2010, Jon Watts and Christopher D. Ford uploaded a fake trailer to YouTube that announced Eli Roth would produce the film; Roth was not involved at the time. Roth spoke about the film, saying: "I loved how ballsy they were, issuing a trailer that said, 'From the Master of Horror, Eli Roth.' Some people thought I'd made the movie, or that it was another fake Grindhouse trailer... I really felt these guys deserved a shot, and that people are truly freaked out by evil clowns. It's new territory to make this a version of The Fly, where this guy can feel himself changing, blacking out only to find blood all over his clown suit. You're sympathetic toward a monster until the monster actually takes over."^[6]

Principal photography began in November 2012 in Ottawa. Roth joined as a producer, and Watts directed based on a screenplay co-written with Ford.^[7]

Soundtrack

Matt Veligdan composed the film's score, and eight songs were featured on its soundtrack.

• Benjamin Dickinson – "Frowny the Clown"
• Brian McKenna – "Mexican Lindo"
• Jared Gutstadt – "Taste of Mexico"
• Gods of Fire – "The Long Walk"
• Matt Veligdan – "Sonata La Squarzona"
• Neil Sedaka – "King of Clowns"
• Matt Veligdan – "Hardship"
• Nirvana – "Everybody Loves a Clown"

Release

In September 2012, Dimension Films and FilmNation Entertainment acquired distribution rights to the film.^[8] The film was released on November 13, 2014 in Italy.^[9] The UK premiere was February 27, 2015, in Scotland at FrightFest Glasgow 2015, followed by the DVD and Blu-ray release March 2, 2015.^[10] The film was also released in the Philippines on March 25, 2015 and in Mexico on May 22, 2015. After being delayed, the film was released in the United States on June 17, 2016.^[11]

Critical response

Dominic Cuthbert of Starburst rated it 7/10 stars and wrote, "Clown may be formulaic and filled up to the guts with familiar tropes, but it is tremendous fun and an effective body horror."^[12] Howard Gorman of Scream magazine rated it 5/5 stars and wrote, "With Clown the filmmakers have created an all-new monster of demonic proportions and it's a concept that certainly deserves to spawn a sequel or two as the sky really is the limit."^[13] Jeremy Aspinall of the Radio Times rated it 2/5 stars and described it as "efficiently put together if a little sedate in pace".^[14] Anton Bitel of Little White Lies wrote that the film doubles as an equally harrowing story of "a family man's losing struggle with his own paedophiliac impulses".^[15] Brad Miska of Bloody Disgusting rated it 3/5 stars and wrote, "Even though it's mostly a bore, there's still some really cool and fun stuff scattered throughout."^[16] Keri O'Shea of Brutal as Hell wrote, "Neither frightening nor funny, here's another lesson to prove that fake trailers are often fine just as they are."^[17] Joel Harley of HorrorTalk rated it 2/5 stars and wrote, "What could have been one of the few great killer clown movies winds up as yet another disappointment, being too uneven in tone and pace to be considered a success."^[18] Nav Qateel of Influx Magazine rated it B− and wrote, "While the film may be lacking gore, something the desensitized fans of today may find difficult to reconcile, it makes it up in other ways."^[19] Clown currently has 42% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Awards

References

External links

• Clown at the Internet Movie Database
• Clown at Rotten Tomatoes