Trends and subgenres are always fun in the overall scope of the Horror genre, and while sometimes over saturating the market, it remains extremely competitive for the limit time of viewers, however, often enough, that overabundance has developed sloppy and horrendous creations. Sadly that’s Clown Kill, not an interesting title, as the entitle movie truly focuses on a long-drawn story-line of Jenny versus a dull killing clown. Clown movies no longer just need a person dressed in a clown’s costume, a painted face and big shoes, they need to portray depth of character. Just look at the clowns in horror in the past few years, Circus of the Dead (2014), Terrifier (2016), It (2017) even dating it back to the Sloppy the Psychotic (2012) the demented individuals each brought something to the screen, okay Sloppy was more of so bad, so good production. Nevertheless, documentary director Mark J. Howard gives it all in his first horror feature, distributed by Wild Eye Releasing and served as the writer too, aided with a very raw cast of personal and yet trying to create a tension flick but lacks the serious intent of a sinister clown on the prowl.

The flick opens with the a very strange clown, drugging and sexually attacking a successful advertising executive named Jenny (Jessica Cunningham) in a pub [yes, set in Britain] toilet, and that serves as both the most exploitative and shocking the movie ever achieves. After 6-months and through unknown glimpses of therapy or how she handles the turmoil she returns to work, a former shell of herself, facing problems first from very creepy cleaner nickname Cyclops (Stephen Greenhalgh (Zombie Diaries 2 [2011]) and a slew of very boring co-workers. Quickly bogged down with work and when her bullying heartless boss John (Roy Basnett), who has no sympathy gives her a huge, last minute advertising account with a circus company, she’s forced to work alone throughout the night to complete the assignment. John does make few unwanted sexual advances to her, using suggestive language and groping. She learns she’s definitely not alone as a psychotic clown, working to his own goals in the night, such as hanging out  in a ladies’ bathroom stall reading a newspaper on the off chance someone opens the door. Yes, this is just some of the scenes one can find while viewing this film. Meanwhile two security guards, Colin (James Thompson, who did also served as the composer) and George (Tim Paley) try to give some comedic value to their scenes, and keep the audience entertained, as everyone awaits the killing clown appearance, but that takes a while for him to reappear, unsure if one wants to wait that long, as the bloodlust fairly low representation on the screen.

Clearly Howard’s production lacked the proper finances, and trying to spread it out in an office building setting is difficult, depends on the number rooms and floors available. If one acquires a fairly decent location, use it to your strengths not with a clown sparingly used, the rule let the place speak, it doesn’t matter how mundane it appears, flickering lights, emergency lighting, darkened or locked rooms all of it can function correctly. Now the usage of a clown allows the character to believe, make statement, again there’s a vast amount of resources of movies, leaving him hanging around a women’s bathroom stall does nothing. What is presented on the screen results from an ultra-low budget, stiff acting, no true violence aside from the opening scene and as for the murdering much of the killing occurs off-screen aided by CGI.

Sadly, the tagline for the movie, doesn’t live-up to the excitement, this a rather dull slasher, not the worst ever or near the greatest either, even Roy from Friday the 13th, Part 5: A New Beginning gave more explicit killing. This film misses the point of using both of location and the clown, no funny or raunchy lines, nothing making him rememberable. Want a fast summary of the movie, Jenny faces off with a Killer Clown.

TAGLINE:

• One office worker, three security guards, one psychotic clown – a match made in hell!!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3443208/

IMDb Rating: 3.4/10

Baron’s Rating: 2.5/10