Clownhouse (1989) Review

 

 

Written and Directed by Victor Salva (Jeepers Creepers I & II, Powder)
Featuring:  
            Nathan Forrest Winters as Casey Collins
            Brian McHugh as Geoffrey Collins
            Sam Rockwell (Film Debut) as Randy Collins
Rating: R
Runtime: 81 mins
Victims: 6
Nudity: None (Thankfully)

Clownhouse is one of the most underrated and forgotten movies I have ever seen. I was 8 years old when this film came out, but I knew it was a masterpiece in the low budget realm of B-movies. For years I was unable to remember the title of this film or find anything that resembled it anywhere. I had seen it on one of the premium movie channels and shortly after it was gone like a thief in the night, that was until 2008. I found this movie at BuyBacks Entertainment store in Columbus Ohio. After watching it again and still loving it, I began to research why it was such an unknown movie to people. The answer I found was quite shocking.

 

While filming this movie, the director (Victor Salva) was molesting one of the young actors. He was convicted for the lewd acts he bestowed upon his young victim and spent time in prison and has since had to register as a sex offender. Mr. Salva has blamed this unfortunate encounter on being young, dumb, and the product of a “deeply dysfunctional family.” Since being released Victor has continued making stories about young characters, mostly boys, which are picked on or mistreated. He has many scenes with boys that are shirtless, pant less, and even bottomless. I noticed in other movies of Victor’s there were scenes that just seemed awkward even before I knew about this situation. I will review more of his work in the future so keep an eye peeled. I will be sure to include the uncomfortable situations in those articles. Victor has served his time, and has come out and reentered filmmaking, but I am in no way trying to defend what he did. What I am trying to do is look at this movie as what it is and was made to be; which is a great horror film.


Clownhouse starts off with a young man named Casey (Nathan Forrest Winters) walking through his house in the dark. He is frightened and alone. Suddenly, he looks out the window and a flyer for the circus hits the glass. It shows the joyful face of a clown and the boy pisses all down through his pants and onto the floor. Then it flashes forward to show it was only a dream, none of it was real, well except for the piss, which really happened. Casey takes off his soiled garments and goes back to bed.


The next morning Casey’s brother, Geoffrey (Brian McHugh), walks in on their older brother masturbating (Nothing is shown, just implied, thankfully), then goes to see if Casey is awake. A few seconds later, Randy (Sam Rockwell – Happy Hell Night, The Green Mile, and Seven Psychopaths), barges into Casey’s room threatening Geoffrey never to walk in on him again. All three boys get into an argument, and all three boys are standing around in their underwear (Queue the awkward scenes). The mother says the boys will be left home alone all night and have to stick together and take care of each other. Randy is mad because he has a date at the Circus and doesn’t want his dorky brothers ruining his night. Randy seems to be the typical mid-teen punk that thinks he has to tough talk everyone and be a badass, but doesn’t seem like he could back it up much. Geoffrey is a protective middle brother who is always sticking up for Casey from Randy’s attitude. Casey is an evolving character; he starts out being the wimpy younger child, grows into a more assertive character, and then tries to be a protector of his older brothers.

 

When the boys are heading home from school they see a police car headed to the loony bin and joke about escaped patients. Then joke about evil killer clowns coming for Casey, and then they run off to the carnival where Casey has a run-in with a fortune teller warning the boys of danger; after that, Casey has an altercation with a clown in the main event of the Circus; and is given a hard time from Randy for ruining the evening.

 

After the Circus has closed, the boys head home, and the clowns are cleaning up for the night. The escaped lunatics sneak into the big top and kill off the original clowns and take over their personas. This is when the film begins to get very creepy. I am not even a coulrophobic, but the clowns in this movie were quite sinister. They are very sneaky, eerie, and dreadful jokesters.

 

The acting in this movie can be lackluster at times, but the main stars are fairly young so give them a break. The cryptic clown trio, as I already mentioned, are largely effective in providing a scary tone. The audio track plays well throughout continuing to create a terrifying ride; the camera work also emphasizes this; and in the nature of Michael Myers and Halloween there is little to no gore in this film, but it works just fine. I love this film. It is hard to find; I hate buying low budget movies when they are used, I like to support the arts, but this one is practically out of print. You can find it on Amazon.com or EBay; though, it is quite pricey. I would say if you are a fan of the B-movie craze, it would be well worth the extra money…

 

Honorable Mentions:           

1.)    “No man can hide from his fears; as they are a part of him, they will always know where he is hiding.”    – This quote plays at the end, just before the credits role, and I think is fitting to this film on many levels. a.) It is very true and proves you need to face your fears. b.) In the film, no matter where the boys hid, they could not elude the wicked clowns. and c.) I think this quote has a direct link to the life of Victor Salve. I don’t know him or his past, but I feel he is a man trying to escape his fears and this quote was a prelude to who he really is.

2.)    Sam Rockwell for the funny line he gives us when Casey wants to visit the fortune teller… “You want your fortune told? Give me a buck…You’re ugly and you’ll probably pee in your bed again!!!”

3.)    I have to mention again, the three clowns. They were just such an addition to the delivery of this film…

My View: 4.5 / 5