my thoughts on.... 'ClownTown'

As with all of my reviews of films for The Creepercast, I fully recommend that you check each and every one of them out. I am one man and this is my opinion. I've seen plenty of movies that received reviews that were the complete opposite of how I saw the film. These writers, directors, producers and actors all put a lot of time and love into these projects. They deserve to be seen and appreciated for what they are. Everyone has a dream and I fully support the people that take the time to make theirs a reality. With that being said....

The dictionary definition of a fear of clowns:

Coulrophobia [kool-ruh-foh-bee-uh] noun 1. an abnormal fear of clowns.

Many people suffer from this specific phobia, but it comes in many forms. In the past 30 years or so, it's become a focal point of the horror genre and a subject that has been used many times over. I don't have this specific fear, but can understand why clowns would be seen as frightening. The greasepaint smile and the unknown person beneath it all. What are their motives? Who are they? Why do they have that creepy sounding horn? I fully get why people don't like them, but the horror genre has yet to create a clown that truly scares me. The 2014 Eli Roth produced film, directed by Jon Watts, came the closest with it's fable like story about a man turning into a clown type monster. Simply titled 'Clown', Mr. Watts created a very effective monster that however fantastical he was, he was still something to be feared. Pennywise the clown, from Stephen King's 'It', comes to mind as another one that struck a horrific chord with audiences. Outside of that, it's been difficult to transition a realistic fear onto the screen, to make it readable by all theater goers. Rob Zombie is about to release his take on the clown genre with '31'. He's going more for the throat with it, but then we have 'ClownTown'. Directed by Tom Nagel and written by Jeff Miller. Possibly bought and distributed to compete with Rob's upcoming epic? I'm not sure, but the comparisons are going to be made regardless. Maybe it's just unfortunate timing or maybe just a weird coincidence, but it doesn't take away from the fact that they will both exist at the same time.

'ClownTown' begins with a shot of a mailbox that reads 'Strode' on the side. Immediately, I could tell that the film maker was wanting to pay tribute to John Carpenter's 'Halloween'. But it takes it even one step further, as a babysitter is telling the kids she's watching, that it's time for bed. As she is headed to the kitchen, the boy appears our of nowhere in a clown costume. From there, he runs upstairs, as the babysitter gets a call from their father. A terrible train accident has happened and he won't be home anytime soon. As soon as she hangs up, an ax comes from off screen and lands firmly in her midsection. Fast forward 15 years, as 4 friends are on their way to a concert. Along the way, they stop at a diner for directions and one of them ends up losing their phone. Once they realize it's gone, they end up calling it to see where it might be, so maybe they can pick it up before finishing their trip to the show. The voice on the other end of the call tells them to meet him at a gazebo in a town just up the road called 'Clinton'. Meanwhile, two guys are heading in that same direction, one drinking and the other getting high. As we come back to the friends, day has turned into night and no one has shown up. Needless to say, no one has shown up anywhere in the town. It's deserted. They begin to head back to their truck to get back on the road, just then they spot a strange looking man dressed as a clown. One of them wants to ask directions, but is pushed on by the others. Soon they realize their truck is dead and they go looking for help. Nobody is around, until one of the girls is nearly hit by the two guys in their truck. As they try to sort out if everyone is okay, three men dressed in clowns appear. A burly one that looks like Tom Hardy's portrayal of 'Bronson' in greasepaint, carrying an ax. Another one that looks like a cracked out carny carrying a can of gasoline. Finally, a fancy looking one with a crowbar. They soon attack and kill on the two men in a truck, as the others stand there doing nothing. Everyone freaks out and begins to run and the cracked out carny hisses at them, while lighting the dead tuck guy on fire. From there, it's a cat and mouse game, through the dimly lit town, as the clowns are looking to kill the remaining trespassers and kidnap the girls.

As usual, I'm not going to give you the whole plot, as that is a disservice to the film makers who crafted the story to be experienced and not to be re-told by me. Even without knowing all the finer points of the plot, you may already be able to tell that 'ClownTown' fell short on the scare factor and really short on the logic factor. I mean, we get that these killers aren't clowning around, but they just come off so incredibly silly that it takes you out of any real sense of danger and eventually makes you stop caring about who lives or dies. The only thing that matters is if you can survive watching the rest of the film. For example, someone they meet along the way, while hiding from the killer clowns, is a man who tells them about what's going on. How the town slowly died after the train crash (remember from earlier?) and soon the clowns appeared as the locals began disappearing. In a flashback we see various locals meeting their fate, as the town shuts down in fear and a lack of financial stability. Yet, somehow, a woman decides to go sunbathing a midst all of the chaos and.... yup, gets killed by a clown. Really? Is this what passes for good storytelling? This film is basically a hodge podge of 'Wrong Turn' meets 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (2003) with a hint of Michael Moore's 'Roger and Me'. It just doesn't ever gel into anything that I feel I need to see again. Even the poster for it doesn't match up to anything in the film. None of the clowns wear actual clown attire and there is no woman that looks like the one crawling for help.

At the end of the day, they leave this open for a sequel and I hope that the circus doesn't ever come back to town. This film could have been something more than it was, but so many elements were sewn together in a tapestry of confusion. It was as if they were trying to create something using a bunch of different elements from other horror films, that work on their own, but not when they're jammed together into one screenplay. Not too mention, almost every scene in this film was so dark that it made things hard to make out and created a very amateurish feel to the end product. Granted, I've seen a lot of amateur horror films that may be low on budget, but big on production values and pulled a lot out of a very little. This movie had some financing behind it, but it wasn't put to good use. I can see what Jeff Miller and Tom Nagel were going for, but it just didn't work out the way they planned or maybe it did? I had low expectations going into this one and usually I'm rewarded by something that exceeds what I had thought I was going to be shown. This proved to be everything I feared and more. If you're looking for something scary, maybe something with clowns in it, I don't recommend investing your time into 'ClownTown'. I applaud everyone involved for doing the best with what they had, but before they set out to make their next film, they should consider the 'less is more' theory of movie making and just tell a good story. The rest will come. 1 out of 5 stars and I'm not entirely sure what I actually liked about this one. This was a slow burn, that never caught fire. Unless maybe it was a dumpster fire?

If you want something with clowns, that may be more satisfying, check out: 'Killer Klowns From Outer Space', 'Clown' (2014) or 'All Hallows' Eve' (now THAT has a clown that will keep you up at night!)

my thoughts on.... 'Before I Wake' (2016)

As with all of my reviews of films for The Creepercast, I fully recommend that you check each and every one of them out. I am one man and this is my opinion. I've seen plenty of movies that received reviews that were the complete opposite of how I saw the film. These writers, directors, producers and actors all put a lot of time and love into these projects. They deserve to be seen and appreciated for what they are. Everyone has a dream and I fully support the people that take the time to make theirs a reality. With that being said....
* There may be minor spoilers ahead *
Who didn't want their dreams to come to life, as a kid? But on the flip side, who was afraid to see their nightmares come to life? In 'Before I Wake', we find out exactly what that reality might be like.
Directed and co-written by Mike Flanagan ('Oculus', 'Hush' and 'Absentia'), he's one of the new crop of horror directors slowly making a name for himself. Granted, I see him taking more of a mainstream approach to his film making, he still has a solid sense of style and substance. His filmography contains slick, well produced, horror films with themes of fear and loss. In the past two months, I've had the chance to watch everything he's done, so far ,and I've already seen a progression in his direction and style. I don't feel that his best work has happened yet, but he's got a solid future ahead of him, if he continues on this same path. 'Before I Wake' stars Kate Bosworth as Jessie ('Blue Crush', '21' and 'Superman Returns'), Thomas Jane as Mark ('The Punisher', 'Drive Hard' and 'The Mist') and Annabeth Gish as Natalie ('Beautiful Girls' and 'Mystic Pizza'). All of them brought fairly well rounded characters to the screen and provided a solid base for the newcomer, Jacob Tremblay who plays Cody. In reality, Jacob's charm and charisma is what holds this film together. He's got a very natural style, almost unusually natural and that makes his take on Cody seem very genuine. It's hard to even say that for some seasoned actors, let alone a boy his age. With music by Danny Elfman and The Newton Brothers, they round out a very solid cast and crew, that all set the tone for a rather unique horror going experience. Something that I don't know that I've ever quite seen before and the more I've thought about it, the better the concepts have become.

The film opens with a man entering the room of a little boy. He's carrying a gun and it's implied that he's there to kill the little boy. After shooting into the darkness instead, we realize that there's more going on than we initially thought. From there, we find out the boys name is Cody. He's been passed from foster family to foster family and is now going to live with Jessie and Mark. Two parents who lost their son to an accidental drowning in their bathtub. Cody immediately makes a good impression, but they found out he's carrying some baggage. He has massive trouble sleeping and when they're already in bed, he's up drinking energy drinks and reading books about butterflies. Soon, Mark and Jessie are up late, after Cody is in bed and become surrounded by butterflies. Unsure where they've come from and trying to find the source, their little boy appears. He's as real as they are, until he just as quickly as he came, he vanishes. It becomes apparent that Cody is bringing all of this to life through his dreams, but he tells Jessie to be careful, because The Canker Man will be coming soon to eat them. After a few other nights of Jessie trying to bring back her son again, we finally meet The Canker Man. A sunken eyed monster, who whispers in a gravely voice, while surrounded by butterflies. The body count slowly starts to rise, as Cody is eventually taken away and Jessie starts her journey to find out the truth behind The Canker Man and how she can get Cody back.
As per my usual tactics, that's all I'm going to give you. After all, this movie hasn't even hit the theaters yet and isn't due out until September 9th. I wouldn't want to spoil anything for you, before you've had a chance to see it. This film is a mixed bag, in terms of so many things, but that's not a negative in this case. Being a somewhat jaded horror lover, in terms of the bigger budget Hollywood attempts, this one already had a slightly lower expectation than it really should have. Mike Flanagan has already proven that he can create suspense, dread and good, solid scares, when he wants too. What set this film apart from those other cookie cutter type spooky monster movies, is the creativity behind it all. The concept that a little boys dreams of an event he witnessed through his own eyes, manifesting itself in the real world, is really unique. It takes the things that used to hide under our bed and pulls them out into the open. All the things that we used to imagine were in the dark corner, behind the chair with the coat on it, are now right in front of us. Suddenly the monsters we feared are no longer just an over active imagination. Despite the negative results, the reality is that Cody actually has a gift. That brings me to the next aspect of this film that makes it different from all the rest. It contains a lot of very beautiful and quite magical images. Especially the Christmas light butterflies. It's almost like something out of a fairy tale. When you take something like that and suddenly twist it into the glowing eyes of your worst nightmares, it's unsettling and incredibly effective. The beautiful and the ugly come together to create something else. This, alone, is reason enough to recommend 'Before I Wake'.

This film starts out really strong, like all of Mr. Flanagan's other films, but does suffer from a few pacing problems. It also has some technical issues with The Canker Man, himself. Once he's out of the shadows, you see a bit too much of him and after that, the mystery is gone. Granted, you have to see him at some point, in order for the ending to make sense, but he could have worked to keep him more of a secret for a longer period of time. Perhaps if there were more practical effects than CGI? If I wasn't so tired of the use of CGI monsters and ghosts, I might have had a more positive response right away. Especially considering the overuse of it in the final act. I don't understand why special effects houses continue using the same stylistic choices with creature design? There are a lot of flaws in this film, ironically with the monsters themselves, who are one of the focal points. It's really the only major issue I have with this film. Otherwise, I feel like he succeeded in making a horror film that not only gives you a sense of wonder and child like awe, but also some real moments of terror and sadness.
My initial reaction was not as positive as this review may sound, but I slept on things last night and when I re-visited everything that happened in the film, I realized exactly how smart and well done this really was. With that being said, if you've made it this far into my review, please watch 'Before I Wake' with the mindset that The Canker Man and the others he's consumed, is only a piece of a much larger puzzle that is telling a story of love, loss and magic. Something I never thought I'd say about a horror film. With a second or third viewing, I believe this will reveal a few more truths, but for now, I'm giving it 4 out of 5 stars. Not necessarily because I absolutely loved it, but because it took risks and provided something new to the genre. 'Before I Wake' also did it with very seamless skill that made me not even notice the man behind the curtain, until it was over. I recommend going to see this one, when it hits the theaters. If you think you've seen everything that the world of scary movies has to offer.... you might be wrong.

If you like this, also check out Mike Flanagan's other work: 'Oculus', 'Absentia' and 'Hush'