Clown, Dir. Jon Watts 2014

     Ever a sucker for a horror DVD with Eli Roth's name attached, I was excited to pick up Clown in my local rental store. Director Jon Watts has recently come to the movie following publics attention with the announcement that he has been hired for the upcoming Spiderman re-reboot and with the release of his new Kevin Bacon starring thriller Cop Car.

     Clown follows the story of Kent (Andy Powers) a loving father and husband, who in the opening scene is frantically looking for a clown costume for his weirdly clown obsessed son. They have recently moved into the property, Kent is an estate agent, and he discovers a strange antique clown suit in the basement complete with red nose and multicolored wig. After wearing the suit, Kent discovers he cannot take it off, and this leads to lots of socially embarrassing situations and pretty skin crawling scenes, involving building and surgical equipment, as he tries try to free himself from the suit. There is certainly an element of body horror here, and although narratively unlike say the work of David Cronenberg, the low budget look of the film definitely adds a nostalgic, 80's charm.

     As Kent's sense of panic escalates he becomes increasingly desperate to discover what is happening to him. He comes across a costume seller played with brilliant scenery chewing ham by Peter Storemare, a legend of the supporting role, who goes into a pretty silly, but amusing for any horror fan, explanation of the curse of the costume and the sinister history of the clown. For many people clowns hold a sense of terror and dread, and this is a clever play on that fear, confirming what Coulrophobs (yes people with a fear of the red nosed circus devils) always suspected. It turns out the original clown had a taste for the meat of human children, and it's not long before Kent, or whatever is left of him, is biting kids and leaving their tiny stripped down bones in his wake to ease his loudly gurgling stomach.

     There are comedic elements running throughout the film, with some clever jump cuts that made me laugh out loud, a hilarious clown infected blood colour, and scenes of unnerving but slightly amusing failed suicide. The blood and gore although nasty but mostly off screen is well judged and unsettling. The violence towards children is especially brave, and Watts doesn't hold back. Clown is well shot and well paced. I found the timeframe flew past, and all in all is a very neat and tidy little horror film. It blends the comedic elements with horror and violence well, and the make up effects are particularly well done. I am a huge fan of make up and prosthetic effects, especially in horror, and the filmmakers admirably don't go for any CG. The clown's final incarnation had me thinking of Christopher Nolan's villains in his Batman trilogy, with obviously the Joker and less clearly the Scarecrow springing to mind.

     Clown is definitely worth seeking out for all horror fans, and perhaps even you Coulrophobs out there.

4/5