Listen… people hate clowns. There’s just something about the drawn on smiles, the fake joy and happiness… it makes their skin crawl. Add to that the grimy, sleazy feeling of old carnivals and fly-by-night circuses, and popular movies that have made clowns symbols of fear… oh yeah, and remember when there was a rash of clown crime a few years ago? What was that about? Suffice it to say, we hate clowns. CLOWN FEAR reminds us exactly why.

CLOWN FEAR introduces us to a whole new side of clown “culture”. The idea of clown ancestry, clown bloodlines, clown business- these are all parts of CLOWN FEAR. Clown City USA is just outside of Vegas (how apropos). Among the clown detritus and clown themed tourist traps is a Clown Motel. This is where our story takes place. Of course, the Clown Motel is run by actual clowns and clown family members, and every inch of the place is adorned with clown memorabilia. Surely not a reassuring sight as you stop in for the night after a long day of travel. This is exactly where Carlee (Sadie Katz) and her bridesmaids end up after her fiance leaves her at the altar. At the front desk they meet Myrtle (Darcy DeMoss), and her daughter Kat (Courtney Akbar). Myrtle is gruff, kind of trashy, and gives the girls a hard time about everything from their age to using the internet to watch porn. Thankfully, Kat comes in to save the day, and instantly makes a connection with Carlee. Kat offers to take the girls out to the hot springs the next day, after they’ve had a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, their sleep isn’t so good, and more than a few creepy and bizarre things happen during the night at the hotel. The next day on their trip to the hot springs, the story of Clown City starts to unfold. 

Nothing could prepare Carlee and her bridesmaids for the stories they hear, and they quickly decide to try to get out of town as soon as possible. As you’d expect, everything that could possibly stall them – car trouble, no cell service, sudden shocking injuries – all lead to them having to spend one last fateful night in Clown City. What occurs from there is a horror show that will change the rest of their lives.

CLOWN FEAR has a rock star cast, including horror/slasher familiar face Augie Duke as Carlee’s maid of honor, Mia, and a special cameo from Sarah French, channeling her very best Marion Crane. Without the completely stellar ensemble cast, even the creepiest and clowniest parts of this story would fall prey to lower production values and a weak, if fun story. The chemistry and fun is all there – you get the idea this cast had a blast, and that drives the energy of what is otherwise a moderately uneventful and repetitive film. 

This film makes the most of its R rating, playing with language and plenty of female partial nudity… so much so that it almost becomes boring. Yep, I said it — Too many gratuitous boobs, I get bored. Shockingly Tiffani Fest and Nikki Kris, as Amber and Nicole, manage to keep their bras on the whole time. Of course, there is no male nudity to speak of.

It seems CLOWN FEAR somehow manages to convey an original, different concept in a fairly unoriginal package. It isn’t for lack of trying – clearly a lot of effort came from the cast and crew to make something special, but time after time moments of originality and ingenuity deflate like a balloon from the circus. There are pieces of charm that shine through, in spite of the schlock from stem to stern, largely driven by the cast, who continue to win us over at every turn. Swinging wildly between cute, campy fun and horrific gore and major creep-out factor, CLOWN FEAR is the kind of wild carnival ride that has you stumbling and dizzy, but somehow still giddy, when you get off.

5/10