As a fan of killer clowns, I've seen pretty much every movie as such that's out there, including Clownhouse, Killjoy, and of course, Killer Klowns From Outer Space. A low budget movie has been added to the mix, entitled Fear of Clowns.

Unfortunately, I did not really enjoy this movie. First of all, 90% of the death scenes you don't see, since it always cuts-away right before each one. This is a big disappointment for horror fans, as seeing the carnage makes for more enjoyable horror. I mean, it's like renting a porno that cuts away to a different scene right before Ron Jeremy pulls his pants down.

The acting was really bad, particularly that of the token black policeman. He had such a small role in the film, yet his acting in those few minutes he had was so bad, it became the most memorable part of the film. Never have I wanted to kick somebody in the teeth so hard in my life.

The clown himself wasn't scary, at all. He was just some buff, shirtless man with a grease paint covered bald head, and Limp Bizkit eyes. That's not intimidating at all, but even if it had just one shred of horror, that becomes completely diminished when you hear him speak. I'm sorry, but a Vin Diesel clone in clown paint who sounds like a drunken wizard couldn't even scare a newborn baby with caulrophobia.

It's also funny how a half-naked clown holding King Arthur's axe casually walks around town and cuts people's heads off (although his body never gets stained with blood),and nobody notices. Unless they have a local circus in town whose clowns do double shifts as jousters at a Medieval Times restaurant, I'm pretty sure this guy would definitely warrant some concern with the citizens.

In a nutshell, this movie is not good at all. It's not because of the fact that it was low budget. The story was bad, leaving many loose ends and much nonsense. I'll give this movie 4 stars, but only because the camp value may keep you somewhat entertained. View this movie as a comedy, and not as a horror/thriller.

I saw this movie at the video store the other day and couldn't resist. The first five minutes of the movie do a great job of confusing the hell out of the viewer, which is an awesome start, but the editing nightmare is just beginning. The whole movie appears to be shot with a cheap camera with a "fisheye" lens effect. Also, the characters in the movie are so bafflingly stupid that one wishes for a shotgun with which to shoot the DVD. For example, there's a scene where the two protagonists are locked inside a room with the killer clown trying to break in. There is a fire extinguisher RIGHT BY the damn door, but what does the idiot boyfriend do? Picks up A MOP HANDLE! Yeah.... like a mop handle is going to be effective against a muscle-bound mental patient in clown make-up. Couple this with agonizingly bad acting, some of the worst camera work I've ever seen, completely fake reactions of the characters, and shoddy editing, and you have the masterpiece known as "Fear of Clowns."

(written December 2006)

This movie was quite good, better then I expected. Nobody seems able to make a good clown horror film, but this one's not too bad at all. It's got some good scares in here, and the acting's not as bad as I expected out of a B film like this. The characters are genuinely interesting, and I don't find myself looking back on this film with any contempt. It's a solid movie. Nothing really unpleasant or glaringly awful about it. I wouldn't even call this a B-film necessarily, it feels a bit more polished then that, not as messy and unprofessional.

I do have to point out, however, that this film never really grabs you by the throat and goes full-throttle either. It's good, but it had the potential to really pull out some huge shocks, and thrill you like a top-class movie would. It never climaxes, never reaches a high point. It does stay on a good level of quality all the way through, but it never rises above 'good' at all, unfortunately.

The ending was very good, too.

Recommended to horror fans only.