The Clown at Midnight (1998) User Reviews

A dull slasher shot here in Winnipeg

[rdoyle29 · 5/10 · 25 November 2022]

An old opera house is donated to a high school theater program and teacher Margot Kidder brings a group of students there to help clean up the joint. Sarah Lassez has volunteered because her mother's murder by her co-star (in the titular clown outfit) was the incident that closed the theater years ago. She's been suffering from terrible nightmares since finding out and thinks spending a lot of time in the theater will sort things out in her head. (Yeah ... sure it will)

I'm sure you know what happens. The clown killer, or someone pretending to be him, is in the theater and kids die one by one. It's a pretty standard body count slasher film that makes very little sense (the personal belongings of the murder victim are still sitting in her dressing room over a decade later) and is fairly dull and bloodless. Besides Kidder, Christopher Plummer shows up as the owner of the theater, and Tatyana Ali and James Duval are among the kids. All acquit themselves pretty well ... Plummer is actually pretty great.

I'd probably be completely dismissive of the film if it weren't for the fact that it was shot in the Walker Theatre (now the Burton Cummings Theatre) here in Winnipeg. It was an opera house in the early 20th century and became a movie theater in the 1940's. It's been a music venue since the 1990's, and was when this was shot there. I know this place very well, so it was kind of interesting seeing it on film. Even better, there's some exterior shooting that shows the surrounding neighborhood. It's kind of fun to watch for people who live here.

There's one pretty great thing involving costuming near the end that I can't describe without spoiling the ending. I'll just say, the identity of the killer leads to an amusing clown related sequence.

Seen it all before in a virtually bloodless slasher...

[poolandrews · 3/10 · 28 July 2007]

The Clown at Midnight tells the story of teen Kate Williams (Sarah Lessaz) who recently discovered she was adopted, her real mother an opera singer named Lorraine Sedgewick (Vicki Marentette) having been brutally stabbed to death supposedly by a jealous lover after a performance of Pagliacci, a tragic play about a lovesick clown. Kate has been having very vivid nightmares & hallucinations but life goes on as they say... Seven college students including Kate have signed up to help clean up the old Walker Theatre which the head of drama Ms. Gibby (Margot Kidder) has had a grant to reopen, it's not long before Kate is getting freaked out because the Walker is the very theatre where her mom was murdered by a psychotic in a clown costume & he's on the prowl again as he locks the theatre up & begins to kill the teens off one-by-one...

This Canadian production was directed by Jean Pellerin & guess what? It's rubbish. The script by Kenneth J. Hall seems to take itself very seriously & has all the usual clichés, the teens keep splitting up for trivial reasons, the killers motives are thin to say the least, it's utterly predictable & it doesn't come together that well at the end either. How many more dull, lifeless films about annoying American teens do we need? There is a distinct lack of gore, in fact this is one of the driest slashers I've seen & considering it was made in 1998 when special effects were very advanced there's no excuse, it wouldn't be so bad if the character's made up for it but they don't because their all rubbish & the dialogue is poor too. Then there's the generic run down theatre location which is just a bore of a setting & not used to any great effect at all. You know it's over 40 minutes before the clown kills someone, that's 40 minutes of dullsville I'd rather be doing something fun like watching paint dry. Then there's the confused ending in which three people end up dressed exactly the same as the clown, why? For a start why did George go back & get dressed like the clown when he could have been saving Kate? Why did he need to dress as the clown anyway? It's pointless. Then there's the none too shocking revelation that the initial suspect didn't do it, wow what a surprise. He claimed he was trying to help them, yeah right & he did a good job didn't he as 5 people were killed & I didn't see him anywhere frankly until the pathetic twist ending which is so obvious it's embarrassing. You know who the killer is the very first time he appears on screen it's that obvious. To make matters even worse the only half decent looking cast member Liz Crawford is the first to be killed, although it takes a while to get there...

Director Pellerin does nothing to liven things up, the films well made & professional but very dull, flat & lifeless. The stalk scenes are poor, it's not scary, there's no tension as it's all so clichéd & obvious & there isn't even any decent gore in it either. You know slasher films have moved on since 1978 when Halloween came out but you'd never have guessed it watching Clown at Midnight. The violence & gore is tame with no imagination to the kills, someone gets a spear through the stomach, someone is strangled, someone is thrown off the roof, someone is electrocuted, someone is impaled on what looks like spikes although I don't know why someone would keep a load of spikes under a trap door on a theatre stage & someone is decapitated, seen it all before & done better as well.

Technically the film is pretty good actually & the best thing that can be said about it overall is that it's well made with decent production values. Filmed in the real life Walker Theatre in Winnipeg in Canada. The acting isn't anything special but it's alright, I didn't like anyone particularly but Liz Crawford was quite hot & she gets her top off as well. I take it Chirstopher Plummer & Margot Kidder need the money to agree to appear in this.

Clown at Midnight is a dull slasher film with a low body count, next to no gore, annoying teen character's & a very predictable twist ending which I predicted within 30 minutes, poor all round then really. There are many good slashers out there you really shouldn't be wasting your time or money on this.

Has its moments but it's hampered by poor performances

[LuisitoJoaquinGonzalez · 5/10 · 28 March 2008]

The emergence of Wes Craven's Scream in 1996 had a similar effect on cinema as John Carpenter's Halloween did back in 1978. Once again video-store top shelves were filled with endless low budget knock-offs, so many so in fact that Blockbuster Video reported that it was receiving four times the amount of Horror films from 1998 to 2004 that it had since the organisation's birth in 1985. Although this was also due to the huge popularity of high-grossing titles such as The Blair Witch Project, The Sixth Sense and The Ring; Craven's opus should be credited for its hand in the re-birth of the genre as a bankable medium.

The slasher cycle is still thriving on the Direct-to-Video market mainly due to the fact that it has become a much simpler task to shoot an independent feature and find reasonable distribution than it was some twenty years earlier. But the biggest notable difference between the two periods of slasher-indulgence is the levels of quality. Whilst there certainly were awfully poor entries released during the eighties ('Don't go in the Woods'/'The Forest'), their comical lack of credibility was perhaps saved by the likes of 'Halloween' and 'My Bloody Valentine', which were eminently superior. But this time around, we have not had as many audacious offerings to shield the brunt of the criticism from the numerous mediocre efforts.

The Clown at Midnight was released hot on the heels of Craven's Scream, taking the favoured approach of enthusiasts by incorporating a killer clown into its synopsis. It tells the tale of seven drama students that are forced as part of their course work to clean and prepare a dilapidated theatre for re-opening. It had been closed for many years since a leading actress was brutally butchered by a maniac who escaped the scene without trial. The victim's daughter, Kate Williams (Sarah Lassez), is among the eager group and upon her arrival she begins suffering flashbacks and visions of the fate of her mother. Before long, the group are locked in and the psychopathic clown makes an inevitable reappearance for his swan song performance.

If there is any credit to be given to this scarcely popular new-age slasher, it has to be for the ambitious effort from Jean Pellerin, the junior director. Some of the camera work was neatly planned and his energetic method managed to prevent the movie from slipping into the clutches of complete tedium. However with that said, it feels woefully uninspired and that must be an underlining factor to its lack of a DVD release. Considering the fact that this was first circulated in 1998 by a relatively large studio, its lack of an appearance on digital format is a huge snub in itself.

The main problem with The Clown at Midnight is that it feels half-hearted. The characters are horrendously portrayed by a cast that have proved that they can do better and despite the inclusion of various so-called 'stars of the future', the dramatics remain distinctly sub-par throughout. It's left up to Christopher Plummer to inject some class into a leisurely paced group of performers, but even he's slumming it here.

The mystery is excellently constructed and in fairness, you'll never guess who it is that's sporting the creepy clown attire. But the lack of any thorough cast credibility leaves the twists somewhat redundant. The characters are completely unlikeable and even the stereotypical final girl is unapproachable. Never have I watched a slasher film and disliked the entire cast, which proved to be short-sighted character development from the script-writers. The plot closes with a corny 'light-hearted' ending, which was an unnecessary sugar-sweet topping to a surprisingly un-palatable cake.

I read somewhere that The Clown at Midnight has become renowned as the best killer clown movie since the psychological 'Clownhouse'. That statement says more about the lack of quality in that sector of horror than it does about the credibility of this muddled effort. I watched this movie many years back as a young student at Carlos III University de Madrid. The young lady I was dating at the time was a huge fan of 'Scream' and was the kind of girl that would flinch at every jolt in the soundtrack of a scary movie. After watching her reaction, I remember feeling that The Clown at Midnight must have been good to have that kind of effect on her, even if she was something of a vulnerable viewer. Unfortunately after watching the film again seven years later, I was disappointed with not only its mediocre quality, but also with my ability at that time to judge a decent performance. It's surprising how our attitudes and levels of awareness can change isn't it?

There are reports of an uncut copy somewhere in existence, although these have neither been confirmed nor denied. But a huge amount of gore would not subtract from the poor level of performances on display in The Clown at Midnight and with the finances that Pellerin had at his disposal, this really should have been better. It does have its share of ambitious moments (The opening killing marks an excellent use of suspense and creativity), but overall it doesn't have enough of them to warrant a purchase. I agree, there are not enough killer clown movies in existence, but the excellent 'The House on Sorority Row' deserves to be seen over this.

Margot Kidder returns to low-budget horror!

[thomandybish · 6 April 2001]

Those who have followed Margot Kidder's career know that she got her start in low-budget horror flicks(BLACK CHRISTMAS, SISTERS, AMITYVILLE HORROR)and have undoubtably been pining for her return to the genre. Well, wait no more! Ms. Kidder returns in this flick, a rather undistinguished slasher flick concerning a group of college students conscripted by drama teacher Kidder to clean up a previously long-closed theater, owned by Christopher Plummer. The kids are the usual stock cliches(jock, tramp, gay guy, plain fat girl, loner), and their presence angers a pyscho in a clown costume who lives in the theater. Lots of killings in creative ways, which is about all you can say about this movie, except that Margot Kidder and Chris Plummer are in it.

stupid, absurd lame slasher (that's what I really think)

[FieCrier · 2/10 · 29 January 2005]

Some teens work to clean up an old theater that has been closed for about fourteen years, ever since an opera star was killed there. Suspicion for the murder fell on her co-star, who played Pagliacci, a clown character I guess. I must admit, I'm not familiar with the opera, and the movie doesn't fill us in about it. That actor has been missing since the murder, presumably a fugitive, perhaps in Europe.

One of the teens found out six months ago that the murdered actress was her biological mother. I'm not sure whether she just found out that she was adopted as well, or if she knew that, but just not who her biological mother was. Somehow, everyone else in the school also knows. She's also having nightmares and visions of the murder.

The students are all pretty much stereotypes. They also exhibit bad taste, as when they insist on seeing the room the murder occurred in, dress up in the clown costume, etc. all with the victim's daughter present.

There are a lot of things that don't make any sense in the movie. There are lots of things they look at that the police presumably would have taken away at the time of the murder. Jewelry, letters, etc. Unless they had been hidden at the time of the murder, and then placed there later by someone, I suppose. There's also some fresh blood in the murder room that's never really explained.

There's really no secret who the murderer is. Ebert's Law of Economy of Characters will lead you to the killer, as will an early scene in the movie. What isn't explained is why two characters who are not the murderer are wearing the clown costume in the final events of the film, and why one of them is there at all. That was pretty darn absurd.

I had some hope that this might be a giallo - not quite. I had some hope it might at least be a decent slasher, but it's not. The clown is creepy looking, the setting fair, the ladies pretty cute. The acting is so-so, but the movie itself is just stupid, stupid, stupid. It is at times quite boring as well. There's a silly cleaning-up the theater montage to music. There are clichés aplenty. One character comes across one of the people dressed as the clown, who runs at her, and she runs away screaming. When they unmask him, and then ask him why he ran at her, he says he was coming to tell her it was OK, it was just him. Well, why didn't he just say so? Dumb.

Why?

[manny-27 · 3/10 · 14 May 2000]

I am shocked to see all the positive comments on this movie. What i saw was predictable direct to video crap. There are about a hundred other movies just like it. It fails as both a slasher movie (the deaths are unimaginative) and a mystery (what a stupid ending). To the person who said all horror buffs like characters who are cliched is sadly mistaken. The gore wasn't excessive either. Guess you are not a true horror buff after all.

This film is a clown

[movieman_kev · 2/10 · 14 October 2014]

A group of kids are methodically stalked by a killer in clown makeup while they are cleaning up an old opera house. Who lives? Who dies? Who cares?

Say what you will, but clowns are just inherently frightening for some reason. Furthermore, it takes some serious talent to make a killer clown that's not scary in any way, sense, or from. Not one iota. This robs the viewer of even silently cheering while the group of stereotypical, asinine, unlikable characters get slashed. A real chore to sit through.

Eye Candy: Liz Crawford as Ashley gets briefly topless

Not another scary movie!

[Sherazade · 4/10 · 1 May 2006]

Okay, how Christopher Plummer found his way into this horrific horror movie continues to baffle me.

A bunch of teeny-boppers are helping renovate an old opera theatre house in order to stage a play and they have been warned that the place is haunted but continue in their quest because they do not believe the claims. Then, one by one they begin to disappear in the most cliché fashion imaginable and the makers of the film spare no expense. There's the blonde bimbo, there's the "I'll be right back" scene, there's the "let's split up" scene, there's the "black chick alone" scene, there's the quickie sex-that-leads-to-death scene, there's the ugly looking clown at the center of it all just to mention a few.

Tatyana M. Ali of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air fame co-stars.

Bizarre...

[Markus-40 · 7/10 · 8 September 1999]

What a bizarre movie...With a simple plot and standard horror shocks, it still manages at times to be genuinely scary...Or maybe its just the clown that kills people...A mismatched group of schoolkids get bumped off, in a variety of amusing ways, and Lois Lane from the Superman movies gets an axe in her head. However, some parts of it are highly dull and predictable..mmm

Excellent for true horror fans

[Caine-2 · 8/10 · 24 February 1999]

This is a sophisticated slasher film. Christopher Plummer is fantastic! If your idea of horror is teenagers being chopped up while reciting urban legends, then this may not be for you. But, if you are a fan of "The Phantom of the Opera" or "Theater of Blood", then you will enjoy this slight but entertaining thriller. All the performances are exceptional for a made for video film and the directing is just plain creepy; especially on the dream sequences. Although some may find this slow, I liked it for what it was. Yes, there are plot holes. Yes, there is excessive gore. Yes, most of the characters are cliched. This is what horror film buffs like. Not innovation, not recreating the genre, not satirizing popular films. Just good old fashioned scares, gore, and campy performances.

For Fangoria readers, a 10.

A FANTASTIC UNDERRATED 90's VHS ERA SLASHER

[lukem-52760 · 7/10 · 5 January 2020]

"The Clown At Midnight" is an absolute Gem from the huge wave of 90's Slashers that came from the success of Wes Craven's Scream, i saw this great low-budget Slasher late one night on t.v, the Horror channel i think? Anyway i was hooked straight away from the Creepy old theatre opening & i remember thinking this is creepy & Awesome. "The Clown At Midnight" is a cheap B-movie straight to video film but it's made very well & has a dark sinister Atmosphere to it & a fantastic old abandoned theatre setting, a fantastic setting for a stalk'n'slash flick. The cast is low-key B-movie with the likes of Tatyana Ali best known as Ashley Banks from "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" & Margot Kidder from the old "Superman" & "Black Christmas" both 70's Classic films & the great veteran actor Christopher Plummer who is still going great in movies & there's some other in the small cast that are all fine like Sarah Lassez & James Duvall. The music is done well & the look & cinematography is gorgeous actually & the cold snowy winter setting outside makes everything feel more darker,rugged & grittier as this is a Canadian Slasher & not a usual Sunny American slasher, this entry in the Horror Slasher genre feels abit different due to it's Canadian winter setting & big old theatre house & i have always loved but it's a rare gem to find on dvd!!! Although the usual stalk & slash a young hot cast style is the same as every other slasher flick those other elements mentioned & atmosphere & mood make this stand out as different & exciting. Also the actual killer Clown is very scary looking & is very sinister as he appears out of the darkness!!! The characters are all fine if typical but hey it's just some fun late night entertainment & a solid well made entry in the Horror genre.

All in all "The Clown At Midnight" is a fun & entertaining late night Horror with a really nice creepy mood.

Cluttered-Creepy-Silly-Suspenseful

[BHorrorWriter · 15 October 2001]

The opening to this film is exceptional...It delivers a very creepy atmosphere, that continues through the first death scene...The thought of a film set in an old theater, of course, gives this the Phantom of the Opera feel, but It really doesn't feel that way when watching it. The stalking scenes, are at times, silly and predictable...and should be able to be avoided by the character, but nonetheless, people got to die in horror movies.

Written by Kenneth J. Hall (Puppet Master, Blonde Heaven, Dr. Alien), it is not wonder there is some flaw to this. However, it really delivers more than one would expect from a DTV (direct to video) horror film.

My big Gripe! The use of the standard Horror movie characters: The Jock, The bitchy Princess, The black girl, The gay Guy, the creepy guy no one can figure out, the weird lesbo-type girl into the paranormal, and a dim-witted teacher....and of course the basket-case main character...They follow all the stereotypes for their characters, and it tends to sway from the story, and make utter nonesense.

Tatayan Ali, in my opinion is best performer in the film...Her death scene, however, leaves much to be desired (the girl just didn't Die well).

Corny, predicatable Dialouge, slow, but creepy paced...the film really isn't that bad...but I disagree with one review saying this is a HOrror film for true horror fans...It is a decent slasher, but nothing we haven't seen before....The end, was no big surprise...but I didn't quite figure out everything until almost the very end....

Enjoyable watch....I plan on watching it again...

7 out of 10

The Clown At Midnight

[rochericky · 7/10 · 19 June 2006]

Distributor: Columbia Tristar Home Video

Plot: 15 years after a beautiful opera singer was killed, her daughter, Kat is plagued by nightmares of a clown trying to kill her. Her friend Monica signs them up for a drama class at the theater where her mother was killed. Once the students enter the theater, they discover the phone's are dead, and the doors are locked from the outside. Someone is dressed like a clown and is ready to strike...it's almost midnight.

Audio/Video: Quality is excellent.

Extras: Nothing.

Fianl Thoughts: This is a pretty average late 90's slasher flick. I wouldn't advise people to buy it right away, but rent it if you can to see if you like it or not. It has not been released on DVD, so the best you can get is VHS.

Better than Expected.

[FrightMeter · 8/10 · 10 August 2001]

Slasher films tended to go downhill after their popular run in the 80's. Occasionally, in the 90's, a worthy horror film would pop up, but with the release of 1996's blockbuster "SCREAM", the genre got the well deserved regain in popularity that it needed. However, with the late 90's horror film explosion, something was missing. The charm and effect of the 80's slasher was lost in the huge Hollywood budgets and hip young casts that have become fixtures of recent horror films.

"The Clown at Midnight" is an exception to this rule. With a relatively unknown cast of teens (the exception is "French Prince of Bel-Air) actress Tatayani Ali) and a foreboding setup, it manages to develop into a well crafted, well acted, creepy horror film that evokes the atmosphere and effectiveness of some of the best slashers of the 80's.

The plot centers around young Kate Williams (Sara Lassez), whose mother was brutally murdered in an opera house years before. Her and some of her classmates volunteer to clean up the same opera house to prepare it for their college music department. Well, needless to say, an unpleasant time awaits each of them as a killer dressed as a clown locks them in the downright creepy building and kills them in very grim ways.

The Good: The film looks great. The direction is sharp, the lighting perfect, and the film stock high quality. In fact, it looks better than some of the films that have made it into the theaters recently. The plot is interesting enough, and though each character is a cliché (the jock, the bitch, the brain) the actors pull them off quite well and make us connect to them. Better yet, they are actually teenagers and not thirty year olds trying to act like teenagers. Margot Kidder and Christopher Plummer also put in strong cameos and give the film a sense of credibility. What is interesting is that the most likable characters are disposed of in the most gruesome ways which does provide some slight emotional impact. As mentioned, the setting is creepy and very effective and the killer clown lurking around is unsettling. But what I liked most about the film is the atmosphere and the fact that it doesn't try to be anything other than a slasher film. There are no comedic undertones, no over-the-top characters, just pure stalk and slash very reminiscent of the 80's. It really is one of the better post-"Scream" slasher films that actually is extremely competent and enjoyable.

The Bad: Very little, actually. Clichés do abound and it really isn't THAT hard to figure out who the killer really is. We also know from the first frame who the surviving girl will be, so any early stalk scenes with her are ineffective because we know she won't die. The ending leaves a lot to be desired and seems rushed. There really could have been a longer chase sequence and the whole "Popcorn" inspired final minute were unnecessary because, again, we know how who will live. The are some gruesome deaths, but most of them are very tame. This probably won't please gore hounds.

It seems this film has become quite rare. As of now, it is only available on VHS and I don't think a DVD release is planned for anytime soon. But I highly recommend this film to you lovers of the 80's stalk and slash films because overall it is an well-made and enjoyable film.

My Grade: B+

SCARY !!!!!!

[SUPERNOVA HEIGHTS · 7/10 · 20 July 2001]

Last horror films Don´t scary me but this it do it.I watch the film after the midnight with my friends and when the film finish we have fright.This strange but films like SCREAM or I KNOW WHAT... don´t make fright and others like the clown at midnight produce it. SENTENCE FOR THE CLOWN AT MIDNIGHT:Excellent Horror Film

Good, scary fun.

[bigpappa1--2 · 25 December 2000]

A group of students are reopening a theater soon, so during Christmas vacation they volunteer to stay and get it into shape, but the theather was plagued with the horrible murder of its star attraction. And one of the students is that star's daughter. Will history repeat itself?

Creepy and eerie from start to finish with a nice setting for the action to take place and featuring compenent direction and good performances. What makes it work so well though is the strong characterization of its central character and the appealing supporting characters.

My rating: 8 out of 10.

Decent Enough

[janeannafoote · 6/10 · 20 October 2020]

Christopher Plummer and Margot Kidder were somehow talked into doing this tame, but entertaining 90's slasher flick that takes place in a creepy opera house. The killer, in certain lights, does look appropriately threatening and the killer reveal did take me by surprise, but it's not the most memorable slasher film from this (or any) era.

not bad!

[Denny · 10/10 · 27 June 1999]

So, ok. In lieu of the completely dumb title, this movie is actually kind of good- do not be deceived! It kind of lost me at the end, because I had no idea who was who. Like all horror movies it did include a pointless sex scene, but who's complaining? The flashbacks of the mother were great, and the setting of this movie was very innovative- an old theater is a great place to stage a horror movie. The scenery rocked my world three times over. I can't quite put my finger on it but this movie was different that all the other teen slasher flicks. The lead character looked startlingly like one of my friends, who coincidentally, is named Sarah. While watching The Clown At Midnight, I was thinking Phantom of the Opera meets Scream. I definitely recommend this movie to anyone who likes horror movies a lot and would like to view a good, modern one. Enjoy!

It's direct-to-video, what can I say?

[doctor_dolittle · 6/10 · 27 August 2000]

Well, actually, I can say a bit. Ok, we all know this is direct-to-video, but it is actually pretty good considering. Actually, the late 90s produced a few direct-to-video flicks worth viewing. At times I even think that the direct-to-video flicks are better than some horror films that manage to go to theaters. I mean, at least these know they're bad and don't pull us in with good marketing.

But that's enough about horror movies in general. "The Clown At Midnight" is a slasher film that brings you back to the 80s, when horror movies were trying to be fun, and occasionally scary. That is what this movie is like.

First off, unlike some direct-to-video slasher films, this movie has some potential. The cast is surprisingly pretty talented. We are actually given actors that we might have heard of somewhere out of the horror realm: Margot Kidder (well...), Christopher Plummer, Tatyana Ali, James Duvall, etc.

Second, the story is reasonably good. Maybe it's just my general paranoia of clowns, but I actually found the movie creepy. At times, the movie actually delivers some pretty good scares. Wow! Yeah, I'm just as surprised as you.

Finally, this movie tries to give it's body count some depth. Yeah, most of the teenagers in this film are just there to get killed off, but they have personalities. Back in the eighties, around the time we got to "Friday the 13th part... 30," characters in horror movies were just meant to show up, have sex, and get killed. The characters here, though a couple do follow this pattern, still have... something to them. We are given bitchy characters, smart-ass characters, sweet characters, wimpy characters, and, of course, horny characters. You know, the kind that figure: "hmmm... we're in a creepy old theater house where people were murdered before and, as far as we know, the killer was never found. Let's have sex!"

Ok, so we have a bunch of teenagers in a place they should never have gone to and die off one by one. We've all seen it before, but who cares. Some of us actually appreciate cheese... and this cheese tries to be scary... and delivers at times. It's direct-to-video, it's not classic, it's fun, and it's creepy!

Washington

[FlyingMonkeyJay · 21 January 2001]

A fun movie. Although the last 20 minutes left me bored, the rest was very well done. Sarah Lassez does very well in the lead, she reminds me a lot of Julia Roberts. I enjoy movie's with clowns in them and this one might get under your skin. Decent acting and plot but as I stated before, the ending could have used a little more work.

Entertaining 90's slasher

[acidburn-10 · 6/10 · 28 March 2011]

The plot = A group of teenagers spends they're time after school fixing up an old theatre, where years ago a young woman got murdered by a clown and now the teenagers start to get picked off one by one.

One of the better straight to video slashers to come out of the post scream boom of the late nineties and strangely enough never been released on DVD but yet crap like (Do You Wanna Know A Secret and Lover's Lane) has, odd in my opinion. Okay it's not perfect it does have a few flaws like the acting is a bit ropey and the plot is rather thin and rather muddled at times especially when multiple characters tries on the clown outfit, but however though fun characters the film has ability to win the audience. The teens make up the film, who make a change where it is the jock, not the usual nerd, who is getting made fun of in the film. There is almost a sense of sadness when a majority of the likable teens die.

Mainly a cast of unknowns apart from screen veterans Christopher Plummer and Margot Kidder neither has enough screen time, especially Margot Kidder, her character I rather like but every time she's in a horror she dies (Black Christmas and Someone's Watching Me) and this one's no different, but she dies way too soon in this. And of course Tatyana Ali (Fresh Prince Of Bel Air) of course and Ryan Bittle (Todd from Sweet Valley High). But the rest of the cast are unknowns and even though they are typical stereo typical characters such as Walnut the geek, Marty the gay one, Ashley the bitchy cheerleader, Taylor soulless jock, Monica the black girl fodder, George the rebel and Kate the final girl and also doing her best Neve Campbell impression.

The death scenes aren't ultra-gory but the directing of Pellerin provides enough suspense, colourful atmosphere and jumps in them to make the gore take a back seat. But sadly the ending was a bit of a disappointment, it didn't go off with bang like I hoped for more of a whimper.

All in all a fun entertaining little movie that won't turn anyone in this into big stars, I mean where are they all now, but never the less still a fun waste of time and should be released on DVD.

A good slasher movies for horror fans.

[jimmyplm · 10/10 · 7 December 1999]

I found this movie to be a refreshing return to the traditional style of slasher movies (as in the 1980's and before). I am not against the 90's style of trendy horror, but I am a sucker for the old tits and blood style of scares. :-) That is exactly what this movie offered me. Check it out for a sinful pleasure. I highly recommend it.

Not very good overall but with a few moments.

[bensan9 · 7/10 · 1 July 2019]

I am a fan of horror films and so when I found this on vhs and saw the relatively high rating here(6,2), I was quick to get it.

The problem with the movie is it just goes over the top with corniness. The first hour is really bad, as we get to know all the cliched characters. The sex scene/ sword fighting sequence was so so awful that I almost quit watching the movie. Anyway, things were getting so bad I decided to write a review and give it a super low rating. Then, once the clown murders got going it actually had some good moments and made me have to admit it's worth seeing. Certainly never actually gets scary or intense, but at least it got interesting.

So go ahead and see it, but I would much more recommend the giallo Aquarius (1987) or even the movie Popcorn(1991). Both of these slasher films also take place in a theater setting and are much better.

This movie stinks!!!

[dmuel · 28 July 2000]

Just a re-hash of 80's slasher movies with a "Phantom of the Opera" twist--and not much of a twist at that. Acting is terrible, script writing is terrible. It's too bad all the goofy characters weren't killed. Rent something else.

Decent slasher,but nothing really impressive.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 6/10 · 11 April 2002]

"The Clown at Midnight" is an enjoyable slasher,which owes a lot to Michele Soavi's brilliant "Deliria"(1987).It has some genuinely creepy moments,a scary looking clown killer plus a pretty gruesome death scenes.It's well-acted and competently made,unfortunately any traces of originality are completely gone.There's also not enough gore for my liking.The mystery element isn't spectacular either!All in all,I still enjoyed this one-it's certainly better than such crap like "I Know What You Did Last Summer","School's Out" or "Urban Legend",but I wouldn't go so far to call this one a masterpiece.It's a solid piece of horror-nothing more,nothing less!6 out of 10.