Clownface (2019) Review
Clownface (2019) Review
A deranged young man (Philip Bailey), donned in a clown mask made of human flesh, terrorizes a small town with a series of abductions and murders. Neighbours Jenna (Hannah Douglas) and Owen (Richard Buck) search for their missing friend Zoe (Dani Tonks), who may be the latest victim of this local urban legend known as Clownface.
Written and directed by Alex Bourne, British slasher flick CLOWNFACE originally started life as a short before being expanded into a feature-length film. His debut feature film THE HOUSE OF THE SCREAMING DEATH (2017) was nominated and went on to win awards. It’s apparent, from watching CLOWNFACE, that Bourne knows his horror – there are nods to the original HALLOWEEN, FRIDAY THE 13TH and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET – however the delivery is flawed despite the best efforts and passion the cast and crew put into the project.
For the most part I could overlook the film’s flaws and indulge in some much needed slasher silliness. For example, Bourne’s film is crammed full of people that decide to either stand or sit still as a masked killer starts bloodily dispatching everyone in the vicinity. When Zoe sees her partner axed to death she simply stands there. She could have grabbed a knife from the kitchen and attacked Clownface, or ran out of the flat and banged on a neighbour’s door for help or even called the police. The same applies to the party guests later in the film, yet again they either just stand or sit in place, mouths open doing nothing to stop Clownface’s murderous rampage as a collective or individually.
The basic ideas are in place but such is the enthusiasm to deliver those ideas that common sense, sometimes logic and back story are lacking. Yes we get plenty of flashbacks detailing Zoe’s abduction but elsewhere we are left wondering how exactly Clownface knew that there was a party happening, or indeed how it is he manages to wander around suburbia unseen giving his garish appearance. Michael Myers wandered around with a Halloween mask on in plain sight in the Carpenter classic but he could get away with that, after all it was Halloween.
Goth stalker Charlotte has a ‘FRIDAY THE 13TH-Crazy Ralf-vibe’ turning up everywhere that our lead character Jenna happens to be proves to be rather amusing and elsewhere there’s an investigator that relies on newspaper cuttings rather than bookmarking relevant news stories on his laptop who has a rather unconventional way of delving into matters that are Clownface related. He lurks around a local woodland looking more like he’s cruising for some naughty fun than actually investigating anything. By his own admission he’s ‘not used to being around people’ but he’s so of kilter that his scenes often jar with the fun to be had elsewhere.
And yes, CLOWNFACE is fun, it’s messy, it rarely makes logical sense but somehow it still holds together. It’s well-filmed, although the sound mix is occasionally a little muddled, and the enthusiasm of the cast and director carry the film through its odder patches. Hans Michael Enselmo’s score is decent and the female members of the cast carry off the acting honours with Hannah Douglas as Jenna coming up top as the film’s sympathetic lead. There’s enough promise here to mark writer and director Alex Bourne as a name to keep an eye on. It may be messy but it is still fun and there’s definitely room for that in the world right now.
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