Horror Reporter: Reviews - Dead Clowns

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Dead Clowns

Sub-Genre: Zombie
U.S. Release Date: 2007 (DVD)
Running Length: 1 hr. 35 min.
MPAA Classification: R (horror violence/gore, language and brief drug use)
Cast: Debbie Rochon, Lucien Eisenach, Jeff Dylan Graham, Brinke Stevens, Robyn Griggs
Director: Steve Sessions
Screenplay: Steve Sessions

Report Card: C-

Dead Clowns What's scarier than circus clowns? How about undead circus clowns! Starring veteran scream queens Brinke Stevens, Debbie Rochon, and Robyn Griggs, Dead Clowns is a very low budget picture about a small town that gets struck by a hurricane. During the storm, a band of circus clowns, who died in a tragic train accident some 50 years earlier, come back to life and take revenge on the town that had forgotten them.

In the first part of the film, a needless display of the time was flashed on the screen, with no apparent purpose, at the start of each scene. The premise of the story and the history of the "Dead Clowns" is explained rather unartfully in an early scene by Debbie Rochon's character. After which, director Steve Sessions abandons any further plot development, and delivers one mindless scene after another. Most of the film is no more than "build up" for the next predictable clown attack, and the story ends rather abruptly with no apparent resolution.

Like many ultra-low budget films the movie is full of hokey dialogue, and some very bad acting. The zombie clown makeup looked pretty good, but none of the actors appeared all that particularly scared at the site of the zombie clowns. Rather than screaming in terror, most of the characters would get a confused look on their face and simply run away.

That being said, there were a few things Sessions did very well with the film, despite the obvious lack of a meaningful budget. Again, the zombie clown makeup looked pretty cool and was reminiscent of an old Lucio Fulci film. I also found the music to be rather effective, with a simplistic and brooding vibe that set an ominous atmosphere.

The backdrop of the hurricane also added a nice touch to the haunting environment. The clown attacks were preceded by spooky circus music, which was partially drowned out by the strong wind and rain.

Sessions clearly has some skills as a director, but needs some refining on his ability to write and tell a story. People who enjoy zombie films (and do not mind watching one with hardly any budget) may enjoy this film, as it does have some redeeming qualities. But if low-budget cheese is not your thing, you'll probably want to skip this one.


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