6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A loving father finds a clown suit for his son's birthday party, only to realize the suit is part of an evil curse that turns its wearer into a killer.
Starring: Peter Stormare, Eli Roth, Laura Allen (II), Elizabeth Whitmere, Christian DistefanoHorror | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Eli Roth's name is all over promotional materials for Clown, but his fingerprints aren't near as prominent. The love-him-or-hate-him filmmaker, best known for his ultra-gory-for-gore's-sake pictures like Hostel and The Green Inferno, doesn't exactly concern himself with story, content to simply smear the screen with as much blood and violence as is possible. "Torture Porn," his films are commonly called. Clown isn't that. It's a bit gory, but not at Eli Roth standards, either for violence depicted or story ignored. Roth, who served as producer on the film, gives way on directorial duties to Jon Watts, the helmer behind one of 2015's best under-the-radar movies, Cop Car. His Clown is more dark psychological study and creepy transformation film and less an intensely visually horrific film. It's moody and well constructed, stumbles through a more procedural second half but elevates beyond typical Roth drivel into a well-made chiller with very dark and, yes, occasionally very violent overtones.
That won't end well.
Clown's 1080p transfer isn't a laugher, but it's not quite perfect, either. The digital source seems of a lower grade than other top-tier films. Textural details are often a little smooth and flat, where even roughly formed surfaces, like bricks outside the family's home, appear as smooth as they do rugged. Clothing detail, even the cruddy, yucky clown suit, never quite extends beyond basic definition. Ditto faces. Color saturation isn't remarkable, and the movie appears to be shooting for a somewhat reserved, darker, desaturated look. Beyond the very beginning where cake icing and birthday decorations offer a fairly punchy presence, the palette grows ever more fatigued alongside Kent's deterioration. Black levels hold fairly dark without straying to pale, purple, or crush. Flesh tones are a bit desaturated with the palette, at least as the movie progresses. Light noise and mild compression artifacts appear, but rarely to a distracting level. Though hardly the best looking movie on Blu-ray, Anchor Bay's release at least appears proficient and rather faithful to its source.
Clown laughs it up -- or scares it up -- on Blu-ray with a solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The film's first act plays out more sonically reserved than the rest. Music is light, support details and ambient effects gentle, and there's not much surround spread or low end accompaniment. Things get significantly more robust as the film progresses. Music opens up to a deep, full-throated experience, whether heavy, pounding notes or shrieking highs. Spacing is terrific, enveloping the rear channels as well as pushing far to the front edges. Low end effects are tight and potent, but never overpowering. Buzzing electric saws, screams, crashes, and other key effects are appropriately dynamic. There's not an overflow of deep, detailed ambient effects, however. Dialogue plays with strong prioritization, excellent intelligibility, and unwavering front-center positioning.
Clown contains one featurette. Making 'Clown' Featuring Producer Eli Roth (1080p, 6:24) takes a quick look at the story, Roth's love of the original fan-made trailer for the film and his decision to make it into a feature film, the clown's mythos and the character's evolution, the film's structure and noir inspirations, crafting key visuals, performances, and more. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.
Clown starts strong and ends rather conventionally, but it's very well done and convincing in look, tone, and execution. Violence compliments, not dominates, the film. The lead performance is strong, and the movie's ability to honestly make the skin crawl and breathe fresh life into the Horror genre come most welcome. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray is unfortunately absent a more thorough supplemental department, but video and audio presentations are fine. Recommended.
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