Thanks to the likes of Stephen King, Poltergeist, and American Horror Story clowns are not cool. Lately, in fact, people dressed as clowns are attempting to lure small children into wooded areas in middle America. Why? That’s just sick! In Tom Nagel‘s new film CLOWNTOWN, a group of friends is stranded in what appears to be an abandoned town, until crazies dressed as clowns try to kill them. 
There is good, bad, and ugly about this film. We’ll start with the bad. The story is missing just enough explanation to bother me. The back story does not go far enough into the connection of why. That’s all I’ll say for now, because I do think the film deserves an audience. The ugly, while I’m being relatively nit-picky at this point, is as follows. The film runs long. It could have been much tighter getting to the “good stuff”. That’s basically all in that category. And now, for the good or I should actually say, the great: the acting. I have to say, with the exception of one character, this film has exceptional performances. I have to give our leading ladies a shout out for the level of terror portrayed on their faces. It reads completely genuine to me. Our clown friends are beyond unsettling. On the whole, I was impressed on this front. My favorite part of the entire film has got to be the opening scene. It harkens back to classic horror tropes featuring a babysitter and the creepy kids, brief gratuitous nudity included. It was a fantastic intro to a story that had all the potential in the world. Also, high five for the homage final shout. I’ll let you discover that fun gem on your own.
Clowntown opens in theaters tomorrow, September 30th.
Written and directed by Joe Begos (Almost Human), The Mind’s Eye reunites him with his Almost Human film star Graham Skipper along with cast members Lauren Ashley Carter (Premium Rush, The Woman), John Speredakos (The House of the Devil), and Noah Segan (Some Kind of Hate, Looper). THE MIND’S EYE is undeniably an homage to David Cronenberg‘s Scanners. Low budget and over the top schlock are at it’s best and tailored for the midnight audience.
Almost entirely shot in the woods, our lead character Ann has only her vehicle and two small camps on a lake. Screenwriter David Ebeltoft’s immensely effective script, utilizes intermittent flashbacks to show us how Ann came to be on her own. Once traveling with her husband and infant daughter, the audience must allow themselves to be with Ann in the present in order to feel emotionally connected. She is smart and resilient. She has learned that practicality is the only way to survive. Her newly gained skills sometimes fumble, adding to the realism factor. The minute she allows her emotions to control her path, things are bound to go awry. When Ann stumbles upon Chris and his step-daughter Olivia, her motherly instinct may be her undoing. Two mindsets are at play; Stay put or keep moving. Which would you choose? Blackhurst’s use of nudity is never without purpose. There is no glamour factor here, which is much appreciated in the genre in general. Lucy Walters‘ lead performance is breathtaking. It’s not until the very end that we discover what happened to Ann’s daughter. That particular scene, which we know from the very beginning we’ve been building up to, is one of the most gut-wrenching I’ve seen on film. Maybe it’s the new Mommy hormones, maybe it’s Ebeltoft specifically crafted script, or maybe it’s the perfect storm of the two. I don’t think I have ever wept while watching a horror film until now. In a “what would you do?” scenario from hell, HERE ALONE tears your heart out and challenges how you think you’d react in a doomsday situation. When you’re down to your last bullet, it’s life or death.
We’ve all been there at one time or another. Sitting in a cubicle, or the like, wanting desperately to staple a co-worker’s mouth shut or just whiteout our own eyes. But we think, hey, if I work hard enough, I’ll get that promotion and maybe, just maybe, this won’t suck as much as I think it does. Welcome to BLOODSUCKING BASTARDS, where all your daydreams and nightmares come true.
I’ve been a nanny and a teacher. We all know, even working outside early childhood education that some parents ans children are just plain weird. Yup. I said it. Weird. In Juanra Fernandez‘s new Spanish horror creation PARA ELISA, weird takes on a whole new meaning. 
In need of some quick and easy cash, Ana arrives for a job interview as a nanny. The mother of the house is an eccentric musician with a screw loose. One giant dilemma stands in Ana’s way; Mom is not only certifiably insane but her daughter, Elisa, is even more disturbed. Her sense of reality has been twisted by years of abuse combined with what seems like mental illness. Ana is made into a living doll for Elisa to “toy” with. 
Our heroine is played in realistic fashion by Ona Casamiquela. I do not know what I would do faced with this scenario but she fights her ass off. Scary mommy Diamantina is played brilliantly by Luisa Gavasa. Think Sunset Boulevard lost her mind. I would watch an entire film about her back story in a heart beat. Elisa is portrayed by Ana Turpin. She skillfully created a character you find yourself caring for and fearing. This is a fearless performance. I would seek out more work from her. Someone get Guillermo Del Toro in touch with Turpin, please? 
Not since Grand Piano have I been this unsettled by the sights and sounds of a piano in an opening credits sequence. This sets the stage for the entire rest of Para Elisa. Taking a page right out if Stephen King‘s Misery, add in a dash of People Under The Stairs parenting style and you’ve got yourself a rousing good time. The violence ramps up and up as the story progresses, all action occurring within one night, and at a tight 71 minute run time, Para Elisa is one satisfying nightmare.
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