Clown (2014)

Welcome one and all to my review for the 2014 horror film "Clown". Before I begin I want to encourage you to check out my recent review of "Emelie". If you have any feedback or comments please leave them in the section below or by following me on Twitter or Instagram.

As I mentioned in previous posts I am a huge horror fan and my wife will sit through pretty much anything but, when she first saw the trailer for "Clown" she flat refused to ever watch it with me. So I found myself with a few hours to kill and an empty house so I finally dared to watch this fantastic horror film. "Clown" was released in 2014 and was produced by horror master Eli Roth. What a lot of people won't realise that this was the debut film for director Jon Watts who would later go on to direct "Spider-man: Homecoming" and it's upcoming sequel and this film couldn't be any different.

"Clown" follows Kent McCoy, a realtor that would do anything to please his son on his birthday and after the entertainment cancels Kent decides to use a mysterious clown costume he finds in the basement of a house he is selling. The next morning Kent tries to take of the costume and paint but, it won't come off. Kent learns that the suit has a more sinister side that puts everyone he cares about in danger.

I really loved "Clown" on the surface this could have been a throw away jump scare fest but, instead what the audience gets is a well told story with a lot of gore. The tension moves along at a great pace, the full transformation of Kent doesn't happen until the last half hour of the film which is something a lot of modern horrors could benefit from. the problem I have with a lot of modern horror is that the villain is introduced far too early and there is no mystery or suspense. What "Clown" does is teases and shows the transformation bit by bit.

What I loved about "Clown" was that there was a bit of mythology added to the clown character that is lacking from other clown themed horrors. It's not simply that the clown is evil, there is a reason and a historical reason for the suit and wig causing the terrifying things happening to Kent and his family. I also loved that there was a vulnerability to Kent as he transforms against his own will. The audience is left feeling sympathetic towards the character you are supposed to fear or even hate.

The way in which is the film was shot is a real contrast to the central character. I loved that the film was shot in a way where almost all of the colour was drained from the picture and the clowns paint and costume were all muted colours. This created a realism to a subject matter that is purely fantastical. The gore and bloodshed is sometimes a little bit too much, it made me feel uncomfortable at times. I know that this sounds strange, considering the film is a horror but, there is a lot of gruesome death scenes that aren't for the faint of heart.

Overall "Clown" is a fantastic horror film, gruesome and dark with a really well written story. Worth a watch for even the biggest coulorphobic viewer.