9 Creepiest Clown Movies Of All Time
It's no laughing matter.
Stephen King has been quoted as saying, “nobody likes a clown at midnight.” As something of an authority on the hate of harlequins, The Master of Suspense is correct in his assessment. However, that quote needs amendment - with all due respect... It should really read "Nobody likes a clown… period."
There’s just something about that painted façade, no doubt hiding sinister intentions, that sits badly with even the bravest of souls. And ti's something that both film0makers and real world criminals have channelled repeatedly.
Over the years filmmakers have exploited it, to various levels of success. There’s the good (It… for the most part), the bad (Killjoy) and the ugly (Killjoy Goes To Hell). And even though there's a collected, crippling fear of clown (coulrophobia for the pub quiz fans), the truly great times they appear on film are some of the most compelling horror movies ever released. It's almost like it's impossible to look away.
With filming having wrapped on the It remake, now is the perfect time to rake up some memories and look back at the creepiest clowns ever to appear in movies.
9. To Catch A Killer
This 1992 made-for-TV movie is, to be fair, not very good. It’s rather boorish and so long it feels like a test of endurance.
But what it lacks in, well, everything, it makes up for in the one shining aspect - Brian Dennehy’s performance as John Wayne Gacy, the so-called Killer Clown.
To Catch A Killer tells the story of Michael Riley’s Lt. Joe Kozenczak tracking Dennehy’s Gacy, because he’s convinced that Gacy is a serial killer who has murdered over 30 young men and buried them under his crawlspace. Gacy, naturally, is outraged and the fact that you’re almost compelled to root for him to “stick it to the authority” speaks volumes to the quality of Dennehy’s performance.
The problem, clearly, is that Gacy actually is a serial killer that murdered over 30 young men and buried them under his crawlspace. But that's by the by.
This film is oft-forgotten in the slew in “Killer Clown Movies,” because it acts more as a crime drama than a horror film, but it’s still a fascinating story to tell and the few scenes that Dennehy is actually dressed as Pogo the Clown will still chill you to your bones.