Leaving aside the painful and horrific real life incident that taints the movie for a moment, lets just look at the movie as it is. First off, I love horror movies, some of my faveorites even include ones that are considered "Bad" by tons of movie critics, like the first 4 'Friday the 13th' movies. I love most of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, and the first 2 Halloween movies, and tons others, inlcuding, yes, Victor Salva's own 'Jeepers Creepers', whcih I think is the best horror movie to have come out in the last 5 years.
But Clownhouse is just laughable and annoying and terribly acted. The bickering among the 3 brothers was driving me nuts for one. The characters do so many amazingly stupid things that are cliches in horror movies, and they do them often, more so than in even the dumbest horror movies. Peple here have already noted the very cheesy music that takes away from whatever creepiness there is. The movie is just plain Boring.
The killings are all dull and lifeless. There just didnt seem to be any reason for this movie to exist, I mean its barely 80 minutes long! That is incredibly short for any movie, even a horror movie, which are usually around 90 minutes-plus or minus a few.
The movie is very lazy at explaining who the killers are, we get very little info about them, why they are mental patients, for one-What did they do? I mean what is their method of killing or why are they dangerous. Now that they are loose, what do they want? Money? Do they just wanna kill? Isn't it strange that they don't talk at all? SOme people have actually compared this to the greatest horror movie of them all, John Carpenter's Halloween, now thats a truley scary thought.
The movie was also incredibly predictable and took an incredibly long time to finally have the kids realize the killer clowns were in the house and gonna kill them, and even when the action finally starts, its all too unbeleivable and silly to beleive.
Unfortuneatley, I had a rather disturbing and sinister thought about why this "horror" movie, which almost doesnt even feel like a real horror movie to me, anyway, might have been made. Apparently, Victor Salva , the director had been molesting the young child star of the film, Nathan Forrest Winters, for years since he was age 7, they had previously worked on Victor Salva first film, a short film, some years earlier. Perhaps this whole movie making enterprise was endeavered just so Victor could have even more close proximity with the boy so he could molest him even more. Perhaps that is why Victor made the film. Its ironic that this movie is about evil clowns, because a clown is someone that usually makes kids happy, the kid actually has a line about why clowns are fake and shouldnt be trusted. Its all so weird, like was Victor trying to get himself caught? There is so much incriminating visuals and dialogue in this film that just doesnt belong in a horror movie, but well brings to mind kiddie porn. Apparently Victor was also a friend of the kids family for years. This movie is almost like Victor was bragging about his molestation of the boy, using his camera and storytelling skills to shove in everyone's faces his relationship with the boy.
There is some strange back story in the film that is never really explained that alludes to mental illness, that the boy may have been suicidal and tried to off himself by cutting his hand or perhaps wrist. Its said he has "scars" there. Also that the boy may have been committed, just like the escaped killer clowns? Is Salva drawing a parallel there? Why does the child wet the bed at such an advanced age, Whats his problem anyway? Its never said, but perhaps Salva is hinting that hes gay, who knows. Its interesting that the killers dont just escape out of jail, they excape from a mental facility perhaps they are really just sick individuals, just like the boy ? Is Victor Salva trying to say he and the boy actor in the film both share something that others may say is sick but that they belong together? They say that child molestors search out young boys who they think are homosexual, who are one of them. The clowns are drawn to the boy, yet its also always the boy who see them, almost like hes looking for them like they are both drawn to each other.
I dont know why this film was made, so if my theories rub some here the wrong way, I am sorry, I just cant figure out why someone who would show talent in later horror movies like Jeepers Creepers, would make such a pointless awful and strange horror movie, if not for his own perverted pleasure. Definitely miss this flick, and dont be fooled by all the surprisingly positive reviews here. This movie sucks!
The most horrifying film ever made. Yet why one star?
And yet it must be viewed twice. Once with the innocent eyes of an esthete video aficionado, beer and popcorn at hand, watching a horror movie with its usual familiar devices. This is the first level of text, for which critical engagement is not uncalled for. And yet, the more compelling text is beneath this surface, and points to the final aporia. For this is not fictive horror, this is documentary horror.
The script takes its inspiration from Lon Chaney's assertion that "There is nothing scarier than a clown after midnight," and follows Casey, an eleven-year-old boy with an unexplained fear of clowns. Against his conscience, he joins his two unsympathetic brothers on an excursion to the circus with a partial agenda to confront his fears. That same night three psychopathic killers escape a local mental hospital and appropriate the accoutrements and twisted guise of the circus's clowns, and proceed to the boys' house to "unhinge a jack-in-the-box of nightmares for Casey and his brothers!" This formula is not without charm.
And this is the horror from which we cannot turn away. This is the "fascination of the abomination," this is Ricoeur's archetypes of sin, defilement, and guilt all incarnate in digital images, for this is evil. All engraved in a 1:33.1 aspect ratio for your convenient viewing pleasure.
Yet there is another text at work here: Salva recorded the whole thing. It is almost as if he wanted to be caught, wanted a parent to burst in and chase the monsters away. "Look at me! See what horrible thing I am doing! I'm getting away with it!" the twisted child cries into the night, and grows to complete the circle himself.
On first viewing there is a pointlessly long shot of Winters undressing to his underwear, which only marginally contributes to the tension of vulnerability. But on second viewing, when we know that we are watching the film through the eyes of Winter's rapist, it becomes the most horrifying shot in the film, and is in fact the probably method of Salva's seduction. Is that Salva's voice calling to Winters "Let's rehearse this scene [and then I'll rape you]?"
Only Paolo Pasolini's "Salo: One Hundred Days of Sodom" approaches the debasement of this film, yet Pasolini's painful sadomasochistic abuse of children was all faked. In "Clown House," Salva's off-camera rape of Nathan Forrest Winters is real, and as the narrative unfolds we witness the light extinguished from his eyes and his depression set in. For Winters, the film's "jack-in-the-box of nightmares" was in Salva's pants. How happy Winters must originally have been to think he was going to be a movie star when Salva cast him. How abandoned Winters must of felt when Salva returned that happy trust with daily rape and depraved self-gratification at Winters expense. All this psychological horror for this young actor is captured here on film.
Dante Alighieri lacked the vision to construct an appropriate circle of Hell for director Salva. But for this film and his abuse of Winters, he is surely going there. That should give us some comfort.
Great old movie!
I have been trying for YEARS to find this "Clownhouse" movie. It is such a hoot to watch, but also has some really creepy scenes that make your hair stand on end. Clowns have always given me the creeps, my entire life, and this movie can really scare someone like me! I watched it with a group of people, and all of us would jump at parts here and there. No sci fi or special effects in this movie, just a good "really could happen" horror movie. What fun!!! This is one of those old movies that you know you will watch over and over for years.
I have always remembered this movie after it was released. Parts of it just stuck with me, in a good way. It is a very fun movie, and although it is a bit dated, it is better than some of the movies coming out these days. The movie is actually more suspenseful than scary. It'll keep you guessing till the end. If you ever find yourself with an afternoon or evening free, just go rent this movie, and have an old fashioned good ol' time! You might want to fix some POPCORN to snack on while watching it!!!! More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Jill Schoelen - Tom Villard Director(s): Alan Ormsby - Mark Herrier DVD Release Date: Released the 31 July 2001 Usually ships in 6 to 8 days
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First, this was directed by Tobe Hooper who has had an interesting if uneven career. He's made some great films like Poltergeist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Life Force and then some real duds like The Mangler and Spontaneous Combustion. Funhouse falls somewhere in between with enough good stuff to make it worth a view.
The plot is standard fare...A pair of teen couples Amy & Buxx and Richie and Liz go to the local carnival. They enjoy all the usual carny attractions and then get the bright idea of spending the night in the Funhouse. Amy is the young, pure as the driven snow heroine and at first hesitant but then agrees. The couple hop on the ride and begin going though the funhouse. They hop off the cars while inside and wait for the park to close for the night. ... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Tobe Hooper DVD Release Date: Released the 07 September 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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You may never have heard of this neglected 1974 gem, but you've probably seen one of its many imitators. Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder (also look for Andrea Martin of SCTV fame) star as two residents of a sorority house that is emptying out as Christmas approaches. The atmosphere is jolly and carefree, except for an ongoing series of menacing telephone calls, and, oh yes, we've just seen someone climb into the attic with apparent ill intent. Kidder does some scene-stealing as the bad girl, Hussey illustrates one of the downsides to having beautiful long '70s hair, and Keir Dullea does a nice turn as the creepy boyfriend. Director Robert Clark knows that the unseen is far scarier than what can be seen and he ratchets up the tension beautifully, making good use of ominous shadows,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Olivia Hussey - Keir Dullea Director(s): Bob Clark (III) DVD Release Date: Released the 06 November 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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1987's "American Gothic" was a mystery to me when I was a kid; I didn't know WHAT the title was all about. I only knew the faces from the video cover, and I thought they looked scary. However, I never actually saw this relatively-obscure flick until about three hours ago.
Those faces, I would learn, belonged to Yvonne (TV's "The Munsters") De Carlo and Rod Steiger, who's been in a million things. They play 'Ma' and 'Pa', two Puritanical maniacs who reside on a forested, and mostly deserted, island. This island suggests a backwoods Southern locale, but 'American Gothic' is a painting by artist Grant Wood, who just so happens to be from my home state of Iowa, thanks very much. And indeed, the video cover, as well as Ma and Pa themselves,... More Info about this DVD Director(s): John Hough DVD Release Date: Released the 28 September 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The movie opens with Ryan (Jesse James) getting locked in a dark, creepy building. Does the dark trigger feelings of fear? Yes. Director K.C. Bascombe is able to create several disturbing and frightening scenes early in the film using little or no special effects. I was impressed.
Ryan senses doom when the power and telephone goes out in a thunderstorm. Bascombe brings out the special effects and it works to a limited extent. Here the viewer is subjected to the shock of the appearance of the "night creatures" rather than terrifying scenes (the "night creatures" do not speak). Although the "night creatures" are shocking, there is no gore or killing. The main characters act like normal teenagers. Ryan's brother Dale (Kevin Zegers) does a good job of playing big brother... More Info about this DVD Director(s): K.C. Bascombe DVD Release Date: Released the 30 March 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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