Pete Jacelone’s been making horror films since the early 1990’s, though I think he’s recognized for his most recent works a lot more. A quick glance over his resume, and I can spot familiar titles he’s directed including Deep Into the Rabbit Hole, Psycho Street, and Sculpture. As the director, executive producer and co-star of Creepy Clowns, Jacelone needed someone on board to help juggle the many obstacles of creating an independent feature film. Well, look no further than Pete’s frequent associate – screenwriter and producer Trevor Wright. Together, they crafted Creepy Clowns into a melting pot of genres with horror elements as the main ingredients. Part drama, part science fiction, part action, part slasher, and part video game, Creepy Clowns was an unexpectedly enjoyable and wild ride from start to finish, especially when the indie quality gives it a cool VHS shop feel.
Heather Drew, Dylan Ludemann, Pete Jacelone, Chase Bolnick, David Teitel, Matt Radzai, Ben Akaezuwa, Jesse Amici, Edward X. Young and John Link star in Creepy Clowns. What I like the most about this cast list is it features mostly undiscovered talent and Heather Drew gets a big highlight. I’ve met this actress several times in the past and she’s been super sweet in person, but I’ve never had the opportunity to see her work as actress outside of Mass Grave Pictures’ short Knock, Knock. Her role as Peyton in Creepy Clowns is played to the T and she’s absolutely spot on as the crazy, overprotective sister who will go all Die Hard to find her brother… or avenge him. Also, I can tell that Dylan Ludemann had a lot of fun with his role as Peyton’s boyfriend, Connor, and now with two films under his belt, it’ll be interesting to see where he pops up next. And, I’m pretty sure John Link is a vampire. Dude just doesn’t seem to age.
Creepy Clowns follows a timid professor who develops a sinister and savage alter ego after years of repressing a rather unpleasant experience with his carnie stepfather. What happens next is a series of torturous, blood splattering sequences at the hands of the professor (Jacelone) as he loses grip with reality and dons an effective clown mask. His rampage is only thwarted by a young couple, Peyton and Connor, as they search for a lost loved one. Honestly, this could all be boiled down to bad parenting. Should the professor’s mom – who I wanted to see more of, by the way – not been so horrible, the kid wouldn’t have suffered a rather awkward tickle attack that lead to a seizure. Then, if everyone in the world created by Jacelone and Wright weren’t complete fuck-ups, the killer clown wouldn’t have racked up such a high body count. So, really, make wise decisions to keep something like this from happening again.
Produced under THR PRO and now on DVD and VOD through Pop Cinema, Creepy Clowns features cinematography from Michael Dilorenzo and editing by Pete Jacelone. As a production, I felt Creepy Clown was slightly outdated in terms of quality and design style, but that somehow worked in its favor. I have no complaints in terms of filming and editing besides not being a big fan of the scores and background music. What I did like, though, is how comedy was infused into the plot in a subtle way. It definitely made me smile a few times and that’s a rare treat in a multi-genre horror film! I liked that everything is quite artistic, from the projects hand drawn by some of the characters to the better than expected practical and visual effects. And, most of all, I loved how sexually charged this flick was. It kept with that early 90’s flair I keep referencing. Creepy Clowns was everything you’d want in a B movie and even a little bit more. Final Score: 6 out of 10.
