Clownhouse (1989)

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.

Director:

Victor Salva

Writer:

Victor Salva

Stars:

Nathan Forrest Winters, Brian McHugh, Sam Rockwell

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nathan Forrest Winters	...	Casey Collins
Brian McHugh	...	Geoffrey Collins
Sam Rockwell	...	Randy
Michael Jerome West	...	Lunatic Cheezo (as Tree)
Byron Weible	...	Lunatic Bippo
David C. Reinecker	...	Lunatic Dippo
Timothy Enos	...	Real Cheezo / Georgie
Frank Diamanti	...	Real Bippo / Charlie
Karl-Heinz Teuber	...	Real Dippo (as Karl Heinz Teuber)
Viletta Skillman	...	Mrs. Collins - Mother
Gloria Belsky	...	Fortune Teller
Tom Mottram	...	Ringmaster
Erika Young	...	Ellie - Storekeeper
Jasper Watts	...	Jasper
Bobby Salem	...	Booth Barker

Storyline

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

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Plot Keywords:

circus | halloween | escaped mental patient | clown | brother | 

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Taglines:

Welcome To A Circus Of Terror!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 April 1990 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Clown dolofonoi

Filming Locations:

3033 Bonifacio Street, Concord, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Commercial Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sam Rockwell's film debut.

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Goofs

When Casey and Geoffrey are in the bedroom together they lock the door after hearing Randy trying to scare them from downstairs. However after they hear the glass breaking they walk up to the door and turn the key anti-clockwise yet the door is now unlocked.

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Quotes

Fortune Teller: Beware, beware, in the darkest of dark. Though the mind is young, and the hearts are strong, precious life, cannot be long, when darkest death, has left its mark...

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Crazy Credits

Before the credits role: No man can hide from his fears; as they are a part of him, they will always know where he is hiding.

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Connections

References The Outsiders (1983)

User Reviews

Close but.............

Watched this movie last night.....

1. It is creepy every time you see that the boys are in their undies, knowing the backstory of the director and the youngest kid.

2. The film oddly parallels HALLOWEEN in many ways. The music sounds very much like the eerie soundtrack of HALLOWEEN and some of the scenes are very much like HALLOWEEN in substance.

3. The "lead" clown is frightening but the other two are just not all that scary. I wish they had kept the clowns in darkness and made them all a little bit more sinister.

4. I did find the part in the basement when you see a clown in almost strobe-lighting and also when you see just the clown's eye peering in at the boys.

5. All in all, the movie showed effort and potential but it would be interesting to see what the same director would do with it today given the advances in film-making and a better budget.

6. A little gratuitous nudity involving women wouldn't have hurt the movie...but then, is there any movie where that wouldn't be true?????