"CIRCUS OF THE DEAD" The Review.
I am a fan of horror. I have been a fan of horror since I was a child. As a consequence I have never been a fan of clowns. Not because of horror films, or stories, but from an illfated trip to a circus where I absolutely hated the notion of grease paint on disgusting and smelly human beings. I have horrible associations with clowns, mostly due to the fact that I have encountered ZERO who made me laugh.
Which brings me to my viewing of Circus Of The Dead.
If you have not seen this film, and just want a brief summary, here it is. Bad things happen to bad people, and good people and it is a tale of incomprehensible violence and insanity. Please watch it.
If you have not seen this film, and want to read a full review, here it is.
You do not simply watch this film. You are a victim, and or a passenger on this ride into clown caused hell.
The film opens with unspeakable violence. It is not pleasant to watch. Eventually we get to the protagonist Donald, who takes his family to the circus. It is this choice that he made that brings attention to him, and his lovely family from the eyes of Papa Corn. Papa Corn is the lead clown in this film, and I think that in all honesty that if there were someone who should be auditioning for the Joker Movie, it is this man.
Papa Corn, and his clown gang fake a grand prize in order to go after Donald and his family.
Donald is escorted off stage and gives his personal information to Papa Corn and that begins the set up for probably the most horrible set of circumstances to follow. Corn and company go to Donald's house where they catch Donald's Wife in a torrid love affair with a police officer. Corn and company decide that it is a good time to act, and put an end to Donald's Wife's infidelity.
Bad things happen. Worse things happen when Donald gets home. Donald is kidnapped and essentially forced to do the bidding of Papa Corn, and from there the story seems to meander a bit taking us in a few different directions of homicidal madness culminating into an ending that quite frankly left me a bit shocked.
Which I will not spoil for you here, as I would really like for you as a movie viewer to rent or buy this movie for yourself.
The Good of this film, is that it has a very surreal color palette, that makes it feel lived in, and at points horribly grotesque. Especially the sequences where there aren't any clowns. There is a veneer to everything that hides things that quite frankly could be more diabolical than a band of killer clowns.
The story itself had a lot of good going for it, but I think that I would have liked to have seen some things happen with the characters that would have made it more powerful. Because there is this card game that plays a part and essentially drives the main villain Papa Corn to deliver "Justice". With the Donald Character being an essentially good person, albeit unhappy with his life, I would have liked to have seen a different approach to that character, and how his story line ends.
The Bad, I think the editing was decent enough but there were parts of the film where it seemed to drag a bit. Some of the interspersed sections with the police look like placeholders for the scenes that involved the clowns and the violence. The sound quality I think could be improved.
The setting of the scenes and camera work had moments where the action was not framed the way it should have been, and I blame no one for that, because in all honesty it made the film feel less like a movie, and more like you were an unwilling participant or an accomplice to the horror you were watching.
Here is where I discuss the actors.
Ryan Clapp, whose character Noodledome The Clown, does some physically demanding things and in all honesty was probably the most unsettling of the clowns, due to the fact that he is a very big clown, and has a very imposing presence. His giggling will probably be the thing that gives me nightmares.
Bill Oberst.
I have seen him in other things before. I am not entirely sure where he went to school for acting, but if you were to show this film to a medical professional, I would bet money dimes to donuts that they would say Bill is not pretending to be crazy in this film.
This is why I believe if there is an actor alive right now that should audition for the new "Joker" film, it is this man. Not kidding. The man is absolutely terrifying in this film.
Parrish Randall.
His character Donald was actually very sympathetic and there were moments where you had some very good acting that was convincing. I think in my estimation had he adlibbed his lines instead of sticking with the script that maybe his performance would have been more organic and that is what I want to see in a protagonist.
On a scale of one to ten, I gave this one an eight. Because I think with a bit of editing and a couple minor tweaks, this film could be tightened up and reach its full potential. I enjoyed it, and absolutely hated it simultaneously but in a way that can only be attributed to having seen something repugnant as hell.
A good horror movie isn't about jump scares, or scary monsters eating people. It's not about the maniac chasing you down the hallway. A good horror movie leaves you feeling like you have witnessed something against your will, and makes you ill to think about what you sat idly by and watched. This movie holds your soul for ransom and eventually lets you go, in order to make you think about what you did.
Some people might disagree with me, it's a free country. They can think as they choose. This movie is upsetting, and will likely leave me with a nightmare or two waiting for me when I sleep.
I am a fan of horror. I have been a fan of horror since I was a child. As a consequence I have never been a fan of clowns. Not because of horror films, or stories, but from an illfated trip to a circus where I absolutely hated the notion of grease paint on disgusting and smelly human beings. I have horrible associations with clowns, mostly due to the fact that I have encountered ZERO who made me laugh.
Which brings me to my viewing of Circus Of The Dead.
If you have not seen this film, and just want a brief summary, here it is. Bad things happen to bad people, and good people and it is a tale of incomprehensible violence and insanity. Please watch it.
If you have not seen this film, and want to read a full review, here it is.
You do not simply watch this film. You are a victim, and or a passenger on this ride into clown caused hell.
The film opens with unspeakable violence. It is not pleasant to watch. Eventually we get to the protagonist Donald, who takes his family to the circus. It is this choice that he made that brings attention to him, and his lovely family from the eyes of Papa Corn. Papa Corn is the lead clown in this film, and I think that in all honesty that if there were someone who should be auditioning for the Joker Movie, it is this man.
Papa Corn, and his clown gang fake a grand prize in order to go after Donald and his family.
Donald is escorted off stage and gives his personal information to Papa Corn and that begins the set up for probably the most horrible set of circumstances to follow. Corn and company go to Donald's house where they catch Donald's Wife in a torrid love affair with a police officer. Corn and company decide that it is a good time to act, and put an end to Donald's Wife's infidelity.
Bad things happen. Worse things happen when Donald gets home. Donald is kidnapped and essentially forced to do the bidding of Papa Corn, and from there the story seems to meander a bit taking us in a few different directions of homicidal madness culminating into an ending that quite frankly left me a bit shocked.
Which I will not spoil for you here, as I would really like for you as a movie viewer to rent or buy this movie for yourself.
The Good of this film, is that it has a very surreal color palette, that makes it feel lived in, and at points horribly grotesque. Especially the sequences where there aren't any clowns. There is a veneer to everything that hides things that quite frankly could be more diabolical than a band of killer clowns.
The story itself had a lot of good going for it, but I think that I would have liked to have seen some things happen with the characters that would have made it more powerful. Because there is this card game that plays a part and essentially drives the main villain Papa Corn to deliver "Justice". With the Donald Character being an essentially good person, albeit unhappy with his life, I would have liked to have seen a different approach to that character, and how his story line ends.
The Bad, I think the editing was decent enough but there were parts of the film where it seemed to drag a bit. Some of the interspersed sections with the police look like placeholders for the scenes that involved the clowns and the violence. The sound quality I think could be improved.
The setting of the scenes and camera work had moments where the action was not framed the way it should have been, and I blame no one for that, because in all honesty it made the film feel less like a movie, and more like you were an unwilling participant or an accomplice to the horror you were watching.
Here is where I discuss the actors.
Ryan Clapp, whose character Noodledome The Clown, does some physically demanding things and in all honesty was probably the most unsettling of the clowns, due to the fact that he is a very big clown, and has a very imposing presence. His giggling will probably be the thing that gives me nightmares.
Bill Oberst.
I have seen him in other things before. I am not entirely sure where he went to school for acting, but if you were to show this film to a medical professional, I would bet money dimes to donuts that they would say Bill is not pretending to be crazy in this film.
This is why I believe if there is an actor alive right now that should audition for the new "Joker" film, it is this man. Not kidding. The man is absolutely terrifying in this film.
Parrish Randall.
His character Donald was actually very sympathetic and there were moments where you had some very good acting that was convincing. I think in my estimation had he adlibbed his lines instead of sticking with the script that maybe his performance would have been more organic and that is what I want to see in a protagonist.
On a scale of one to ten, I gave this one an eight. Because I think with a bit of editing and a couple minor tweaks, this film could be tightened up and reach its full potential. I enjoyed it, and absolutely hated it simultaneously but in a way that can only be attributed to having seen something repugnant as hell.
A good horror movie isn't about jump scares, or scary monsters eating people. It's not about the maniac chasing you down the hallway. A good horror movie leaves you feeling like you have witnessed something against your will, and makes you ill to think about what you sat idly by and watched. This movie holds your soul for ransom and eventually lets you go, in order to make you think about what you did.
Some people might disagree with me, it's a free country. They can think as they choose. This movie is upsetting, and will likely leave me with a nightmare or two waiting for me when I sleep.