Clownhouse (1989)
Psycho Clowns
An incredibly eerie and haunting killer clown film from Victor Salva. This is one of the few films that capture something of the spooky suspense of John Carpenter’s Halloween
Killer Clowns
Since the 1980s, the killer clown has been a regular figure in horror film. The trope was popularised by the tv adaptation of the Stephen King novel with It (1990). Although the most popular of killer clowns was The Joker in the various Batman films and tv series.
The killer clown film has become a regular feature in a series of mostly low-budget films since the mid-2000s and especially after the theatrical remake of It (2017). These vary between regular psychopathic clowns and those that are supernaturally empowered.
Joker (2019)
Comic-Book Super-Villain
This origin story of Batman’s Joker is less epic superheroics than a mundanely grounded work about one individual’s rage against modern life and alienation that comes closest to Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver
The Bad Man (2018)
Couple Imprisoned by a Depraved Clown
This is one of the most twisted films I have ever come across in recent years in which a couple have their home invaded by a clown who makes them into his sexual playthings
The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
Meta-Fictional Horror Film
Joss Whedon scripted work that is less a horror film than a meta-horror film that is constantly deconstructing the genre and subverting its cliches. A rare genre entry less about visceral impact than it has brains to spare
It (1990)
Stephen King Adaptation/Killer Clown Monster
Stephen King adapted mini-series and one of the best. A dark Coming of Age tale, Tim Curry makes an unsettling Pennywise (in doing so popularised the figure of the killer clown)
Terrifier (2016)
Killer Clown
A variation on the killer clown film that does rack up quite a degree of tension and pushes the material for something edgy. A popular hit that has produced two sequels.
Clown (2014)
Possession by a Clown Costume
The first film from Jon Watts, director of the Tom Holland Spider-Man films, and produced by Eli Roth, about a clown costume that possesses the wearer. You have to admire the film for the ballsiness with which it was made
All Hallows’ Eve (2013)
Horror Anthology
From the director of the Terrifier films, a horror anthology in which a babysitter and kids sit down to watch a mysterious videotape on Halloween night. The first screen appearance of Art the Clown
Camp Blood (2000)
Slasher Film
The first in a surprisingly prolific series of slasher films, which has produced some fourteen sequels at current count. Made on a micro-budget, this vigorously homages the 1980s basics
Spawn (1997)
Demon Superhero/Comic-Book Adaptation
A very disappointing film adaptation of Todd MacFarlane’s cult comic-book where all of the moody darkness emerges with one-dimensional effect as little more than The Punisher with horns
Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
Clown Alien Invaders
Killer clown film directed by the Chiodo Brothers best known for their makeup effects who come up with an appealing arsenal of sinister clown figures. On the other hand, the film is a one-note joke
Killer Book Club (2023)
Slasher Film
A Spanish slasher film reminiscent of I Know What You Did Last Summer, albeit rewritten for the Cancel Culture era, where a clown-masked killer eliminates their way through members of a book club
Joker: Folie a Deux (2024)
Comic-Book Super-Villain
Joker was a huge hit with Joaquin Phoenix winning an Academy Award for his role. This sequel emerged to very mixed reception, partly due to its rejection of the first film and then heading off to become a musical
Camp Blood 2 (2000)
Slasher Film
The second entry in a surprisingly prolific series of low-budget films – currently running to fifteen films – that homage the 1980s slasher film
It: Chapter Two (2019)
Stephen King Adaptation/Killer Clown Monster
I had mixed feelings about the first part Andy Muschietti’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. The second part here is a better film, although it too eventually gets buried in over an hour’s worth of Muschietti’s jumpshocks
It (2017)
Stephen King Adaptation/Killer Clown Monster
I far preferred the 1990 mini-series to the cinematic remake of the Stephen King book. This emerges as a lesser copy of tv’s Stranger Things, which did the whole 80s nostalgia/horror story far better
House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
Backroads Brutality
Rob Zombie’s debut film was propelled into an infamy it didn’t deserve it was banned by its distributor. Zombie only slavishly rehashes The Texas Chain Saw Massacre with a constant posturing for shock effect that becomes tiresome
Crimson (2020)
Found Footage/Killer Clowns
A film based around real-life YouTube influencer Brian ‘Faze Rug’ Awadis as he buys a new mansion only to move in and find his neighbours are an alley of sinister clowns
Clowntergeist (2017)
Supernatural Killer Clown
There is a heap of crappy low-budget killer clown films. However, I couldn’t quite bring myself to entirely dislike this entry about a supernatural killer clown, which does produce a number of jumps
Clownado (2019)
Storm of Killer Clowns
This may possibly win the award for the all-time most ridiculous premise for a film. It tries to outdo Sharknado by offering up a storm of killer clowns
Clown in a Cornfield (2025)
Killer Clowns
The killer clown film has become its own genre niche since the remake of It, offering assorted wacky genre mash-ups. This is a better budgeted entry than usual from the director of the cult Tucker and Dale vs Evil
Clown Motel (2019)
Killer Clowns
There have been a spate of killer clown films in the last few years almost none of which have escaped being cheap and crappy. This one is based around the real-life clown motel in Nevada
Circus Kane (2017)
Circus Master’s House of Death Traps
Film from Fred Olen Ray’s son Christopher where a group of people have to survive the death traps in the house of a circus master. Christopher reveals himself as a Rob Zombie wannabe on an impoverished budget
Carnival of Souls (1998)
Haunting and Hallucination
Carnival of Souls was rediscovered as a cult classic in the 1980s. Then there was this remake that misses all of the haunted mood of the original in favour of makeup effects jumps and reality blurrings that make no sense
Joker’s Wild (2016)
Theatre Haunted by Killer Clowns
Completely ridiculous killer clown film with a theatre haunted by clowns where nothing makes any sense. Even more absurdly, it becomes a preachy diatribe in favour of the right to gun ownership
Clown (2019)
Killer Clown
The Asylum’s mockbuster version of It: Chapter Two. From Eric Forsberg, one of the better directors to emerge from The Asylum, this involves a group of teens being pursued around a funhouse by a killer clown.
Charlie Charlie (2016)
Oracular Game
Charlie Charlie was supposedly an oracular game that made headlines when a satiric site claimed that teenagers were being killed playing it and some news sites took this seriously. This is a pathetic and feeble film made exploiting the game’s five minutes of notoriety
Clown Kill (2016)
Killer Clown in an Office Building
A British effort where a girl working late in an office building who is stalked by a creepy clown. Made with an incredibly amateurism, this is possibly the worst entry in the killer clown genre