Clown: Send in the Clowns!
The song is from the Stephen Sondheim musical A Little Night Music, popularized by Frank Sinatra’s 1973 recording.
Contains spoilers!
Over the course of our lifetime, how many clowns do we encounter? From film, to TV, to the circus, it can be hard to spot them. What if, though, one of those clowns was forced to be one, having fallen prey to an ancient Icelandic curse? That’s the question 2014’s Clown attempts to ask. Directed by Jon Watts (of later Spider-Man MCU fame), the film tells the story of Kent McCoy (Andy Powers), who desperately dons a clown costume for his son’s (Christian Distefano) birthday party. After the party, though, Kent finds himself unable to remove the costume and wig, thus becoming the victim of an ancient demon that possesses the suit. It’s up to Kent’s wife Meg (Laura Allen) and Herbert Karlsson (Peter Stormare) to stop him.
The film is as goofy and wacky as one would think after reading that synopsis. Kent’s transformation over the course of the film is disturbing to watch, especially seeing the red nose fuse to his own and attempts to remove it cause pain and bleeding once it is finally removed. The film does also have a fair share of dark humor, as it seems unavoidable given the nature of clowns. Examples of this include Kent attempting suicide to avoid possession, only spraying colorful blood across the wall, and part of the climax happening at a Chuck-E-Cheese; yes, you read that right.
Where the film loses me, though, is the possession by the demon. The transformation into the clown, as mentioned, is disturbing, but the creature that Meg faces at the end leaves a lot to be desired. I would’ve preferred it if they had navigated away from a full-fledged demon and had the suit possess the unexplainable urge to murder and consume children, a twist on the clown’s usual M.O.
It is interesting to see the film subvert expectations in a small way. In most horror films (2009’s Orphan comes to mind with this example), the victim would find out what’s happening to them at the end of the film, explaining the strange events that have happened over the course of the film. Here, it’s revealed quickly to Kent what’s going on, bringing in Karlsson, who explains the backstory.
Clown is a mixed bag for me. It starts off strong but finishes in a paint-by-number climax. It’s a film I’ll return to in the future, but I’m not sure when I’ll revisit this circus.
Cast
Andy Powers as Kent McCoy
Laura Allen as Meg McCoy
Peter Stormare as Herbert Karlsson
Christian Distefano as Jack McCoy
