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So before the MCU Spider-Man movies, Jon Watts did a horror movie about a clown. Not what you expected, right? Well, I guess I should've predicted it since James Gunn also did a horror movie before Guardians. And to be honest, I have been watching very few horror movies recently, because I'm trying to make sure my log doesn't feature too many horror movies. I'm trying to keep a bare maximum of 20% on it. However, even for finishing this, I'd be 30 movies ahead of that, so I'm safe for now. Let's learn about early Jon Watts!
Kent's child is having a birthday party, but the clown company screwed up and didn't send one. Kent finds a very old clown suit in a locked container and dons it. However, shortly after the party, he finds that it's impossible to take off, even cut off, wig, hair and all. Afterwards, he starts exhibiting weird and even monstrous behavior, and there are only two ways to take the costume off... and neither of them are pretty.
Let me say that I had absolutely no notions about this movie being anywhere near as good as his Spider-Man trilogy. And at the same time, I didn't even consider that this would be a close knockoff of Stephen King's It because usually it's the B-movies that do either that or just do something original and weird like Killer Klowns from Outer Space.
So this clown costume doesn't give you any real surprises. There are minor shocks along the way, but I didn't really find this particular clown movie to be that scary. I pretty much saw how the scares were gonna go. Having said that, the horror plot and development of our villain wasn't bad. They at least put a working story together that makes you care for any and all victims, including Kent himself. But there's very little going on aside from that. Unfortunately, one of the twists in fact IS taken directly from the Stephen King novel...
I guess the best part about this movie would be Watts' direction. While you know how the scares will go, Watts put in a little artistic buildup here and there, which is especially present during the climax. Once again, this aspect of the movie isn't perfect, as it rarely does anything really "worthwhile" or even "fancy" if you will, but at least this means it also uses the gore effectively. It doesn't flood you, usually.
So, the only reason to see this movie is to see what kind of skills Watts had in his early career. otherwise, Clown is just an OK clown movie with nothing new to offer except a bunch of decency in the basics and few scares and shocks. At least it doesn't feel like a B-movie for even a second, and I can see some horror fans having more fun with this than me for its obvious attempts at making a good movie.
= 60
Jon Watts' Directorial Score (4 Good vs. 0 Bad)
Spider-Man: Far from Home: 99
Spider-Man: No Way Home: 95
Spider-Man: Homecoming: 94
Clown: 60
Score: 87 / 4
Jon Watts' position on my Best Directors List lowers from #38 to #81 in between two other MCD directors (miraculously): Jon Favreau and James Gunn.
Clown
(2014) - Directed by Jon Watts
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Supernatural Horror / Body Horror
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(2014) - Directed by Jon Watts
--------------------------------------------
Supernatural Horror / Body Horror
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"Very few people know the true origin of what we call 'the clown.'"
So before the MCU Spider-Man movies, Jon Watts did a horror movie about a clown. Not what you expected, right? Well, I guess I should've predicted it since James Gunn also did a horror movie before Guardians. And to be honest, I have been watching very few horror movies recently, because I'm trying to make sure my log doesn't feature too many horror movies. I'm trying to keep a bare maximum of 20% on it. However, even for finishing this, I'd be 30 movies ahead of that, so I'm safe for now. Let's learn about early Jon Watts!
Kent's child is having a birthday party, but the clown company screwed up and didn't send one. Kent finds a very old clown suit in a locked container and dons it. However, shortly after the party, he finds that it's impossible to take off, even cut off, wig, hair and all. Afterwards, he starts exhibiting weird and even monstrous behavior, and there are only two ways to take the costume off... and neither of them are pretty.
Let me say that I had absolutely no notions about this movie being anywhere near as good as his Spider-Man trilogy. And at the same time, I didn't even consider that this would be a close knockoff of Stephen King's It because usually it's the B-movies that do either that or just do something original and weird like Killer Klowns from Outer Space.
So this clown costume doesn't give you any real surprises. There are minor shocks along the way, but I didn't really find this particular clown movie to be that scary. I pretty much saw how the scares were gonna go. Having said that, the horror plot and development of our villain wasn't bad. They at least put a working story together that makes you care for any and all victims, including Kent himself. But there's very little going on aside from that. Unfortunately, one of the twists in fact IS taken directly from the Stephen King novel...
I guess the best part about this movie would be Watts' direction. While you know how the scares will go, Watts put in a little artistic buildup here and there, which is especially present during the climax. Once again, this aspect of the movie isn't perfect, as it rarely does anything really "worthwhile" or even "fancy" if you will, but at least this means it also uses the gore effectively. It doesn't flood you, usually.
So, the only reason to see this movie is to see what kind of skills Watts had in his early career. otherwise, Clown is just an OK clown movie with nothing new to offer except a bunch of decency in the basics and few scares and shocks. At least it doesn't feel like a B-movie for even a second, and I can see some horror fans having more fun with this than me for its obvious attempts at making a good movie.
= 60
Jon Watts' Directorial Score (4 Good vs. 0 Bad)
Spider-Man: Far from Home: 99
Spider-Man: No Way Home: 95
Spider-Man: Homecoming: 94
Clown: 60
Score: 87 / 4
Jon Watts' position on my Best Directors List lowers from #38 to #81 in between two other MCD directors (miraculously): Jon Favreau and James Gunn.