Businessman Philip(Lawrence Dane)is about to cash in on a lucrative deal that would bulldozer a farming community with apartments moving in on the land. His wife, Alison(Susan Keller, quite emotionally vacant which actually might work for her character who has married a man she doesn't love probably more out of hurt thanks to a past relationship to the main male character of the movie who went away, Charlie)actually owns the land and decided to "grant permission" for Philip to carry out such plans which will indeed bring a healthy profit. Charlie(Stephen Young)returns from Tahiti after a lengthly absence and still carries a torch for Alison who has since moved on, despite perhaps holding an inner fondness for him. Charlie finds Philip's smugness and flamboyant attitude rather annoying and hence concocts a kidnapping scheme which would stall the contract signing of the farming land. Along with other businessmen who loathe Philip despite having financial ties to him, Rosie(Gary Reineke)a very belligerent, impotent and confrontational alcoholic and Peter(John Bayless)a weakened, fractured man rife with self-loathing who has benefited by giving in to the demands of others(..in a sense selling his soul in order to maintain a wealthy lifestyle). Portly, gentle-hearted, virgin Ollie(John Candy), always seen eating something and consistently ridiculed by Rosie, who may possibly be homo-sexual, agrees to Charlie's plan of kidnapping Alison by ordering clown costumes for all the wealthy guests of a Halloween party. The kidnapping plan, which seems harmless enough, soon slowly unravels as Rosie grows more drunk and angry by the minute with Peter often fueling his antagonistic nature. Soon Alison's life may be in danger as Philip, knocked unconscious by Charlie who leaves a clown card by him as a practical joke, has the police on a man-hunt for the ones wearing costumes who kidnapped her..Rosie, who doesn't want to go to jail and is not thinking very clearly, begins tossing around the idea of killing Alison so no one will know who indeed did whisk her away into the night. Soon, fearing for her life hoping to trump his arrogance as a ladies man, Alison tests Rosie's temperament by making love to Ollie, whose virginity is a constant tool of slander for the nasty drunk. What this group doesn't realize is that someone is among them, wearing one of their clown masks and costumes, who threatens Charlie's life before striking at the others. The film focuses on how each character unfolds to the pressuring situations besetting them..a killer wanting them dead, a police out to find them, and their own frustrations and angst surfacing after being buried for so long.
Despite the title and a DVD cover(..a clown with a wicked grin) which makes this out to be a slasher flick, the film is really a character-driven melodrama. Only towards the final twenty minutes or so does any real threats toward human life by an unknown assailant occur. Endless bickering by the main characters as Philip awaits news of his wife's condition as a police detective questions him about various things such as his relationship with the missus, the ones who might wish to commit such an act, his business dealings, etc. I think if I had known what I was getting into I might not have been as disappointed, but I was expecting this film to gradually eliminate members of the group as the title seems to suggest. Instead, it's essentially these miserable folks constantly at each other's throats as Charlie and Alison attempt to discuss what happened to them in the past. That seems to fall to the wayside as Rosie's behavior causes friction amongst them, with the hidden killer only culminating the difficult situation further with his antics. The film looks like it was found in somebody's basement, really quite a 70's relic, and it's main musical arrangement is a creepy piano tune repeating throughout. The night scenes are actually eerily effective and the killer's chase and attack towards Charlie in the barn quite well executed..only adding to this is when the killer's identity is revealed at the end shedding light on the psyche of those poor hard-working folks whose lives are affected by those with wealth and power. Of course, the killer's identity could also reveal what Charlie's decision to leave and Alison's subsequent decision to sell the land does to those who suffer from such actions.
As a thriller, it doesn't actually succeed, but as a melodrama it's not so bad, I felt. Unfortunately, "The Clown Murders" is marketed as a thriller, when in fact such claims make this a character drama in sheep's clothing, a melodrama masqueraded as a potential slasher flick.
Despite the title and a DVD cover(..a clown with a wicked grin) which makes this out to be a slasher flick, the film is really a character-driven melodrama. Only towards the final twenty minutes or so does any real threats toward human life by an unknown assailant occur. Endless bickering by the main characters as Philip awaits news of his wife's condition as a police detective questions him about various things such as his relationship with the missus, the ones who might wish to commit such an act, his business dealings, etc. I think if I had known what I was getting into I might not have been as disappointed, but I was expecting this film to gradually eliminate members of the group as the title seems to suggest. Instead, it's essentially these miserable folks constantly at each other's throats as Charlie and Alison attempt to discuss what happened to them in the past. That seems to fall to the wayside as Rosie's behavior causes friction amongst them, with the hidden killer only culminating the difficult situation further with his antics. The film looks like it was found in somebody's basement, really quite a 70's relic, and it's main musical arrangement is a creepy piano tune repeating throughout. The night scenes are actually eerily effective and the killer's chase and attack towards Charlie in the barn quite well executed..only adding to this is when the killer's identity is revealed at the end shedding light on the psyche of those poor hard-working folks whose lives are affected by those with wealth and power. Of course, the killer's identity could also reveal what Charlie's decision to leave and Alison's subsequent decision to sell the land does to those who suffer from such actions.
As a thriller, it doesn't actually succeed, but as a melodrama it's not so bad, I felt. Unfortunately, "The Clown Murders" is marketed as a thriller, when in fact such claims make this a character drama in sheep's clothing, a melodrama masqueraded as a potential slasher flick.
