Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Mr_Ectoplasma "Clownhouse" is a film whose reputation will forever outlive whatever cinematic merit it may actually have. Its reputation is so tarnished that it never made it to theaters; so tarnished that MGM pulled the DVD release from shelves in 2003, and will probably never release it again; so tarnished that I had to pay a ludicrous amount of money to be able to own and watch it. Since we all know what unfortunately happened on the set of the film, I see no point in going into it. The plot is really straightforward here: it follows three brothers (the youngest of whom is mortified by clowns) who wind up being terrorized while home alone by three escaped psychiatric patients dressed up as the clowns from the local circus. The film operates as an exercise and study case in phobias and childhood fears, and expands into a full-fledged horror film in the last half, although the gratuitous violence you may expect is absent— it's a fairly cerebral horror film in that regard.As many others have noted, it is extremely atmospheric, and that may be Victor Salva's greatest achievement here. The house in which the film takes place and its surrounding settings are reminiscent of an "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" episode, but there's something irresistibly fun about that. As somebody who is not afraid of clowns, the clown aspect in and of itself did not bother me while watching this film, though I can see how mortifying it would be for someone who is afraid of them. There is some great photography of the clowns that is actually quite frightening, as well as some playful orchestration of "stalking" scenes that are as amusing as they are wasted potential for legitimate frights.The acting in the film is actually really awful overall— even Sam Rockwell is bad here, but hey, it was his debut, right? As I alluded to before though, the film has an early-'90s TV horror vibe, so the poor acting is permissible here just for the sake of enjoyment. Underneath it all though, "Clownhouse" has truly been overblown into the status of legend because of what occurred onset during its making, and the real truth is that the mythology behind the film perhaps flatters it a bit too much. It's extremely rare and MGM will probably never give it the light of day again, ever, so there's the obscurity factor that draws people to it— it definitely did me— but, when you really shake it down, "Clownhouse" is little more than a moderately fun horror film with some nice concepts and atmosphere, but a plot that is paper-thin, and ultimately a film that is far less spooky than it seems it should be. Or maybe that's just because I'm not scared of clowns. 6/10.

Foreverisacastironmess I've scarcely seen many other slashers in my time that have displayed such a masterfully effective use of shadows and suspense as this one does. The picture is basically a series of various set-ups of suspenseful situations and that, coupled with the eerie ambiance is what I think it does the best and is what I love the most about it. I don't think they could get away with making movies this visually dark these days, you just don't see them anymore. This film does a lot of stuff dead right. It's scary without relying on jump scares or gory effects, with hardly a drop of blood being spilt throughout. And maybe for some people that hurts the movie but I'd personally enjoy it just as much either way. I think it brilliantly demonstrates that horror doesn't need blood in order to be effectively frightening. The theme music is very memorable, and instantly sets a distinctly strange and unsettling tone. I really believe this is as perfect a killer clown movie as there could ever possibly be, there's only so much you can do with that. Although it excellently plays off the fear of clowns, you sure as heck don't need it to be freaked out by these ones! Alright, to be fair it's only really the leader, a stony-faced fiend with a ghastly piercing expression, who has any strong sense of unnatural menace to him - which is perfectly fine, as he packs more than enough threat for all three! He's no Pennywise, but I think the man's performance makes this movie, and imbues it with the most primal fear. The other two weren't all that much at all really. The one with the pointy hat behaved as if he were a retarded person, his death brings a laugh, and the one with the purple hair was plain pathetic, looking like nothing more than a bored, spaced-out man in a clown suit whom the kids manage to defeat by bonking him over the head with a plank of wood! But that said, I did like the way the clowns never came off as silly despite being the flamboyantly colourful rainbow-haired variety. I like how, save for one maniacal laugh at the beginning, they never say a word or barely a sound, almost being like ghosts at points. And that's something really interesting that the film somewhat delves into and like what Casey says is that, it's not necessarily about clowns as such, but the idea of something twisted and evil hiding behind a false happy mask of makeup. Of course it doesn't help that these particular harlequins do have pretty scary faces! And when it's actually kids in a horror movie that are being terrorised, that's a whole different brand of terror. ::: What I liked the best about the combined performances of Winters Mchugh and Rockwell, was that although their acting wasn't perfect, I actually believed them as brothers, the brother dynamic between them was very well captured and established, as were their individual characters and places in the brotherly hierarchy. I thought the relationship between Geoffrey and Casey seemed really sweet and genuine. And Randy, while just seeming to be a threatening bully to Geoffrey, occasionally showed a softer more concerned side when it came to Casey, so he wasn't really a complete jackass. And I must say, the only thing I did dislike about this film was Nathan Forest Winters, He was way too whiny, and so mumbly with his lines that most of the time I couldn't tell a word he was saying, and to me he just made for one very poor lead. ::: I love the numerous excellent little moments throughout where a clown will dart past in the background or something, and just as someone will turn to look they'll be gone. All that stuff just greatly enriched and heightened the fearful atmosphere of dread and creepy claustrophobic feel of this classic. Like in the early scene where the maniacs have just killed the real clowns and first put on their spooky makeup. The only real colour in the shadowy room is the brilliant white of the face paint as one of them ominously smears it across his face, and it's like the donning of the warpaint! And thus truly begins the madness... And in another moment that occurs at the end of a skillfully done sequence where the boys take turns telling a scary story and get a little carried away and inadvertently attract the clowns' attention. The way the lead clown slowly turns and stares straight at Casey just as he happens to look out the window at the wrong moment is so incredibly chilling. Marked for death... And I don't know about you, but if I were to look out my window and see that in the dead of night? I dare say that would be scary as hell! The whole film is like a dream, or a nightmare. It starts slow and progresses deeper and deeper into this, almost surreal kind of madness, culminating in the surprisingly brutal axe-in-the-back grim ending. Great to watch around Halloween or just whenever you may feel like some tried and trusted, sweet old '80's frights and fun! Bye!

Toronto85 Clownhouse is one of the creepiest horror movies I've ever seen. Clowns have always made me "nervous" so to speak, but add a big scary/dark house, escaped mental patients, well done chase scenes; and you've got yourself a really scary movie. The movie is about a young boy named Casey who is deathly scared of clowns. One night, his older brothers take him to the carnival and he freaks out at the mere sight of them. We also find out that three patients from the psychiatric facility in town have escaped and supposedly in the area. The patients end up killing three clowns at the carnival and take their costumes to hide their identity. Pretty soon, the brothers find themselves in a scary game of cat and mouse throughout the house.The atmosphere and setting of Clownhouse is very creepy. The dark wooded path down to the local convenience store is freaky enough without insane clowns stalking the teens from behind. And the really scary thing about the killers is that they don't talk at all or show any emotion. They are truly insane. The music score is perfect. The cast is pretty good as well, Sam Rockwell (before he was famous) stars as the bully of the three brothers.This is one of the scariest and unsettling horror films I've ever seen. Something about those crazy clowns being so close to the brothers around every corner is very unnerving. If you like horror, this is a must watch. Clownhouse on DVD is hard to find (apparently due to some behind the scenes stuff with the director). I bought the VHS cheap.9/10 - Highly recommended

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. ****