Examining 4 Obscure Killer Clown Movies
Evil clowns are one of horror’s most common tropes. Like other horror movie monsters, their popularity has waxed and waned over the years. But killer clown movies remain very popular, as the box office success of the Terrifier sequels can attest.
Society’s fascination with killer clowns hit its peak (so far) in October 2016, when a stunning surge of killer clown sightings swept the nation. The craze spread across the world, bedeviling the United Kingdom and Australia. Mass coulrophobia hysteria quickly fizzed after that Halloween.
Most of these “sightings” can be chalked up to hoaxes and pranks, but police investigated many of the reports. A similar phenomenon occurred a few times during the ’80s, but it was smaller and more localized. In an era before social media and camera phones, it was much more difficult for the terror to spread. To me, stuff like this is a fascinating social phenomenon.
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Everyone knows the famous evil clowns like Pennywise, Art, and the Killer Klown space aliens. I’ve already covered those characters and their movies extensively. But what about the lesser known films? Here are four overlooked killer clown movies. I’ve ranked them from weakest to strongest.
4. 31
In October 1976, a group of friends are kidnapped by a gang of evil Nazi clowns and forced to battle for their lives while trapped inside a large maze. The victims must survive for 12 hours to win the “game.” The clowns make betting odds on who will die next.
This is a great concept, but 31 doesn’t live up to its potential. This is a Rob Zombie movie. If you’ve seen any of his films, you’ll know exactly what to expect here. Every character is a vulgar, foul-mouthed redneck and there is no reason to care about anybody. There’s a ton of action and gore, but ultimately it falls flat due to the lack of compelling characters.
3. Clown
This is a weird one. A dad dresses up as a clown for his son’s birthday party, but discovers that he can’t take off the clown suit. Turns out that the damn thing is demonically possessed! The dad gradually transforms into an evil clown, putting his family and community in mortal danger.
Clown gets surprisingly brutal and disturbing. People who don’t want to watch movies that kill off kids should skip this one. I like the idea of a villain who starts off normal and then transforms into a monster. But it felt like the movie wants us to feel sorry for the dad, and I never found him likeable enough to feel sympathy.
2. Stitches
Most killer clown movies are made in North America, but Stitches hails from Ireland. A clown dies after a prank at a kid’s birthday party goes horribly wrong. Years later, he is resurrected by a magic egg (yes, really) and returns to take revenge against the now teenage perpetrators. Stitches isn’t particularly original, but it’s a fun slasher flick with lively performances by the cast.
As far as I know, this is the only evil clown movie from the Emerald Isle. There’s plenty of humor mixed in with the violence, and the cheerfully ridiculous tone helps keep the movie entertaining.
Stitches is heavily influenced by 1980s American slasher movies. It has gore galore and plenty of creative ways for the clown to dispatch his victims.
1. Wrinkles the Clown
Wrinkles the Clown is a documentary about an unidentified performer with a vaguely northeastern American accent who gets hired by parents to scare their misbehaving children. Creepy videos of Wrinkles, including one where he appears under the bed of a sleeping little girl, go viral on the internet.
Stickers with Wrinkle’s phone number and email are scattered around Naples, Florida. Thousands of parents and kids try get in contact with him, turning the clown into a local urban legend.
The filmmakers meet an elderly man who says that he’s Wrinkles. This dude, who previously lived in Rhode Island (hence the accent) lives in a trailer and frequents strip clubs when he’s not on clown duty. As the filmmakers unravel the mystery of the man behind the mask, they realize that the truth is far weirder, and more complex, than expected.
Anyone who is interested in a stronger understanding of events like the 2016 clown sightings should watch this movie. It’s about how folklore and urban legends can deeply affect communities, regardless of the objective truth (or lack thereof) behind them.
