10 Scariest Horror Movie Clowns

Conjuring up terrifying villains is half the battle of making a good horror movie, and it's true that original monsters are like the delicious cherries on top of horror's own somewhat questionable cakes. However, whilst something completely unique is certain to get a few scares, toying with our sense of reality by using a known quantity and then transforming it into something horrifying leaves a far more traumatising impression.

And what's consistently been the best representation of that for years on end? Clowns. Motherf*cking clowns.

Quite why these children's party menaces have persevered this long in the real world remains a mystery, since they've proven time and time again to be some of the most potent nightmare fuel you can throw on the fear fire, but their application into horror is one of the most successful tropes out there. As Pennywise's most recent return to infamy has proven, we definitely haven't had our fill of watching Ronald MacDonald tear families apart in the most literal sense possible.

There's a strange appeal to watching what should be all smiles and balloon animals being pulled out of mystery pockets getting turned into knife wielding mania. So let's celebrate some of the very best of the business. Send in the clowns...

Now, this might seem like an off kilter entry considering Zombieland is, as the title suggests, full of zombies, but it all makes sense come the climax of the movie. Portraying a world ravaged by the apocalypse and populated with a load of stinking undead, a group of misfit survivors try to find safety within it by searching for an allegedly zombie-free amusement park and creating a load of sensible rules - the most important of which gets broken as protagonist Columbus has to face up to his worst fear.

Understandably, this worst fear is clowns. And clowns don't technically exist in this disease-ridden world, so it's actually a clown that has been infected and turned into a zombie. A big old flesh-eating, bloodthirsty, teeth-gnashing zombie clown. Good. That's exactly what we all want to see.

Considering it's a bit part rather than anything substantial, this clown of Zombieland makes it to the list for its turning point in the narrative, getting its head pummelled in by a giant mallet so Columbus can prove he has finally nutted the hell up and save the day. That, and its bloody horrible dribbling visual earns it some well-deserved creepy points. No thank you.