Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Stephan Hammond It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Predrag "Clownhouse" is a film that takes me back to my childhood. For me "Clownhouse" is a great 80's horror film. If you can put all the behind the scenes issues out of your head then the film itself is very enjoyable. It has a certain creepy feel all over it making you feel slightly uneasy the whole way through. The atmosphere really puts this one over the edge for me. Yes it looks old when watching it but that's part of the charm. The grainy look just adds an extra element of horror making this one very underrated in my opinion.Clowns have always been an interest of mine, and lately I've become even more interested. So, as a horror buff, I figured "Clownhouse" had to be the perfect flick for my evilly kooky taste. Well, while there are a few parts of the film that are certainly less than genius, I was quite impressed. Most B-movies have to take themselves lightly, or they will be a wreck. But there are a few of them that try to be full-on horror and suspense and accomplish their goal. "Clownhouse" wasn't particularly scary to me, but I thought for it's lack of comedic approach that it was executed very well. The acting isn't all that great, but it's not too distracting either. Once the psycho clowns start doing their business, you forget all about any underlying flaws. I think the atmosphere was what this was all about. Not to mention the fact that it was mostly believable. Almost every scene took a fairly realistic approach to the story. This sometimes causes a little boredom here and there, but for the most part makes the movie much more entertaining.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Michael_Elliott Clownhouse (1989) * 1/2 (out of 4) Three brothers are left home alone when their mother must go out of town. That night they go to the circus even though the youngest brother has a major fear of clowns. Later that night the three brothers and especially the youngest must face their fears when three mental patients escape from a local hospital, put on clown make-up and come after them.Written and directed by Victor Salva, I'm pretty sure everyone knows the incident that happened behind the cameras so I'm not going to go into any other details about that. Outside of that, I had always heard terrific things about CLOWNHOUSE but I've obviously missed something because I found the film to be a real chore to sit through. I've heard people call this movie terrifying but perhaps that will depend on whether or not you're afraid of clowns? This movie has a good cult following to it but I will gladly admit that I'm confused as to why because I didn't find too much entertaining here.I guess the best thing that could be said about the film is that Salva manages to build up an atmosphere and make the film look quite professional when you consider the budget. I'd also say that the three young actors were good in their roles. Outside of that, as I said, I obviously missed something as I didn't find a single scare anywhere in the picture. There were some mildly effective scenes of the clowns chasing the boy down a dark road but not once did I ever feel that he was really in trouble.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews When three brothers(with sibling dynamics that, like everything else, especially the aspects concerning the characters, are credible, developed and human) have to spend the night without their parents(both busy with work - middle class; the father is home the least), even their seemingly safe, suburban house(a lot of this is spent there, only in the company of our 3 leads, making for a very isolated and claustrophobic slasher) can't protect them.Casey(Winters, still afraid - and the theme here is how to deal with that, and whether everyone feels it), the youngest, Geoffrey(McHugh, sympathizes with him and is in general the favorite of the three - that of the parents, and aforementioned kid) the middle one, and Randy(Rockwell in his debut(and yes, you can sense his quirk in a little of it), resents having to be responsible for the other two), the eldest.What is the fear of? Vivid, pale-faced performers. What? No, not KISS... that would risk the boys' souls. They're only at risk of being killed, so calm down, Christians. Yes, your circus-variety harlequin(be honest, they *are* inherently creepy - particularly when completely silent, communicating via miming, using their vastly expressive faces, as is done here) is the threat. Or, rather, a trio of escaped mental patients dressed up as them(and before donning the three distinct sets of make-up and bright, vibrant colors, we only see close-ups of their manically staring eyes). Yes, you *will* be terrorized by the Insane Clown Posse, demanding to know how magnets work.Yes, I know of the director's crime; I will not be going into it in this review. He served his time and I feel we should separate a man's personal life from their career. Of what I've watched(the others being the first two Jeepers Creepers), this is Salva's best, by far. This is quite grounded, and a welcome departure from where horror movies were at this point in time. Rather than outlandish, it sets everything up and it all feels genuine, authentic. This is primarily build-up, low on "action". Death scenes are small-scale but effective. There is almost no blood or violence, it's usually the threat and that which is implied that gets to us, the suspense and atmosphere. What's just off-screen, what's in the dark.This does use clichés, such as the eerie fortune teller - they do tend to work, and this thankfully isn't as loudly 80's as a lot of flicks from the decade. There are few jump-scares, instead we have consistent tension(such as in the use of close-ups, often of hands). In general it's well-filmed, with the opening shots setting the mood and tone impeccably. This is tightly paced and keeps moving throughout, with no scene wasted. It's an hour and 18 minutes sans credits, an hour and 21 minutes with. There is some humor, typically in the dialog - in fact, that's about the only place where it works, as several of the "the guys are having fun" bits are completely off(each time, I honestly thought something else, entirely, was going on), as one of the only things in this. The acting is good from all concerned, with almost no "crappy child actor" curse. Score is well-done.There is some strong language and brief underage male rear nudity in this. I recommend this to any fan of this kind of film. 6/10

thinker1691 Childhood fears belong to anyone who has grown up frightened by shapes, shadows or stories. Most of us have outgrown those fears. In our adult lives, we have discovered that reality of life is so much more terrifying. However, despite our courage and our rational explanations for the myths, monsters and things that go Bump in the night, there always remains that tiny voice which give credence to our doubts. But then our own powers kick in with the knowledge that 'only the fearful can know the true value of courage.' That is so true in this film called " Clownhouse. " Three boys, indeed brothers, Randy (Sammy Rockwell), Geoffrey (Brian McHugh) and Casey Collins (Nathan Winters)are growing up with the usual baggage accrued when raised together. When they become aware of their all too real peril, must put away their squabbling, bickering and petty animosities to deal with actual fears. Three violent, mentally deranged escape inmates from a Mental Insane asylum escape, murder some clowns, assume their identities. When the boys are left alone by their parents, they encounter these murderous fiends and realize they are like black phantoms out to kill them. Despite Randy's superficial bravado and Geoffery's convincing mental prowess, the audience soon realizes, it's Casey who has the greatest fear of all, due to his adolescent fear of Clowns. Famed for his other slasher films of the past, writer/director, Victor Salva establishes groundbreaking techniques with this offering. With a haunting theme work by Michael Becker, this movie holds itself together with suspense and drama. The three young actors do a fine job in their own right. So much so, it's safe to predict this film will become a Classic. ****