Clownhouse (1989)

Clownhouse is a 1989 American horror film written and directed by Victor Salva. It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the dramatic category at the 1989 Sundance film festival. Clownhouse was the film debut of actor Sam Rockwell.

Just before Halloween, three young brothers alone in a big house are menaced by three escaped mental patients who have murdered some traveling circus clowns and taken their identities.

Plot
The story follows Casey, a normal boy whose life is constantly influenced by his intense fear of clowns. His two older brothers, Geoffrey and Randy, are mostly disobliging. One night, the three boys are left alone when their mother visits relatives, so they decide to visit a local circus for a night of amusement, despite Casey's uncontrollable coulrophobia. Meanwhile, the local state insane asylum has sent a majority of the hospital's inmates to the carnival for therapy, but three psychotic mental patients break away from the group and kill three clowns, taking their makeup and costumes. While at the circus, Casey innocently visits a fortune teller despite Randy's better judgment. The fortune teller reveals to Casey that his life line has been cut short, and says to him: 
 * "Beware, beware, in the darkest of dark
 * Though the flesh is young and the hearts are strong
 * Precious life cannot be long
 * When darkest death has left its mark."

As the boys go home from the circus, a shaken Casey thinks his nightmare is over, but it has only just begun. The three patients move from house to house, sadistically killing their residents while mimicking their dying motions with clownlike jest. When the clowns target their home, Casey is forced to face his fears once and for all. Casey and his brothers are locked inside their isolated farmhouse and the power is turned off. Casey attempts to call the police, but because Casey says that the "clowns from the circus are trying to get him", the police officers assume that Casey's fear of clowns caused him to have a realistic nightmare. The officers tell Casey that everything will be fine if he goes back to sleep, and hang up. The three boys are forced to band together in a desperate fight for survival during a deadly game of cat and mouse where they try to outwit the killers, who are stalking them around the property. Randy mockingly dresses up as a clown, disbelieving of Casey's claims that clowns are inside the house, and he scares Casey with his costume before being captured and stabbed to death by one of the clowns.

Casey manages to kill the first clown by pushing him down a flight of stairs and breaking his neck. Later on, after tricking the clown, Casey and Geoffrey push another clown out a window to his death. And Geoffrey being attacked and presumably killed by the final clown, who chases Casey into the upstairs game room. Casey manages to hide for the time being, but after the clown leaves, Casey accidentally steps on a noisemaking toy, alerting the clown of his presence. The enraged clown attempts to strangle Casey to death, but he is then killed by Geoffrey, who survived the clown's attack, buries a Fire axe in the killer's back, and the two exhausted and traumatized brothers hug each other as the police finally arrive to help them.

The film ends with this narraration: "No man can hide from his fears; as they are a part of him, they will always know where he is hiding."

Cast

 * Nathan Forrest Winters as Casey
 * Brian McHugh as Geoffrey
 * Sam Rockwell as Randy
 * Michael Jerome West as Lunatic Cheezo
 * Bryan Weible as Lunatic Bippo
 * David C. Reinecker as Lunatic Dippo
 * Timothy Enos as Real Cheezo
 * Frank Diamanti as Real Bippo
 * Karl Heinz Teuber as Real Dippo
 * Viletta Skillman as Mother
 * Gloria Belsky as Fortune teller
 * Tom Mottram as Ringmaster

Production controversy
In 1988 Salva was charged with the sexual abuse of Nathan Forrest Winters, the lead actor who played Casey, during the making of this film. Salva served 15 months of a 3 year prison term and was released on parole. Winters came forward again in 1996, when Salva's film Powder was released.

Salva became noticeable again in the film industry in 2001 with the release of his sleeper hit Jeepers Creepers, followed by its 2003 sequel Jeepers Creepers 2.

Release
The film was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1989, and released theatrically on July 20, 1990.

Critical response
Arlene Calkins of the Daily Utah Chronicle wrote that "This movie, for me, rivals anything I've seen done by Stephen King at his best... Salva's direction is crisp and right on the mark." TV Guide gave the film two out of four stars, writing that the film "plays cleverly on the visceral dislike many people feel for clowns and the result is often truly creepy." Joan Bunke of The Des Moines Register noted that the film "looks like a family-and-friends project... Salva...  has cobbled together the usual outrageously phony horror flick plot," adding: "The fright-making shadows of Mortarotti's photography and the moody music underscoring the kids' horror of what is overtaking them helps blank out the irrationality of the plot."

The film was included in a 2017 list of the "creepiest clowns in movies" compiled by Variety, in which it was noted: "The film’s claustrophobic setting and eerie atmosphere makes it one of the scariest thrillers on this list."

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 40% approval score based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10.

Home media
Mainly due to the controversy during its production, Clownhouse became a sleeper hit, but soon fell into obscurity. The film was released on VHS and Laserdisc in 1990. On August 26, 2003, the film was released on DVD by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but was pulled from shelves due to protest surrounding the sex abuse incident that occurred during production. The DVD has long since been out of print and any copies that are actually Factory Pressed and not bootleg are near impossible to find. Scream Factory, the spin-off label of Shout Factory, declined to release this film on Blu-ray due to the controversy.