by There are few things that strike the same nerve as a clown smiling in the dark. Coulrophobia is a pretty common ailment these days due to films like IT popularizing painted face antagonists in horror films. With a name like the Clown at Midnight you would think the film in question would be a runaway hit, right? As it turns out the film was a pretty big flop even following the major revival of the slasher genre. I decided to give it a look and perfectly understand now why no one has heard of this one.
Several years before this story starts a talented and beautiful opera singer was murdered in an opera house; a lead in Paggilaci named Lorenzo Orsini who performs the dastardly deed while still in his clown costume. Years later the theater has been closed down and become decrepit and closed down following is the aforementioned tragedy. A group of troubled teens (fitting all the usual tropes and stereotypes) are stuck fixing the place up as it has been donated to the school’s drama department. One of these students just happens to be the daughter of the slain opera singer and has only recently learned she was adopted and the story behind her real mother. She begins having strange visions as the owner of the theater tells the gang the story behind the tragedy inferring that the clown may still be alive somewhere out there.
As it turns out he’s right; the clown is still living in the theater and we soon learn this as he offs the drama club’s teacher with an axe. The teens are puzzled with her disappearance but soon start really exploring the place. This leads them to the scene of the crime wherein they quickly discover the blood on the carpet is still wet, and the actress’ closet is full of love letters. The clown becomes more and more brazen making frequent appearances as he begins creatively murdering the troubled teens one by one. The group discovers that they may not have the whole story behind him, and try to figure out who the murderer is and why he has locked them away in the decrepit old opera house.
The story here is, for lack of better words, weird and convoluted. The filmmakers only needed to create a setting and premise for teenage characters to be hacked and slashed by a creepy clown. Why they decided to give a lot of backstory told through psychic visions, a weird love triangle, and a dramatic love triangle I’ll never know. They tried to make this into a murder mystery of sorts when they should have focused on the basics. A clown stalking people from the darkness is scary; we don’t need to know every single motivation or history of this antagonist. This is a horror film aimed at a younger audience, but the writers just didn’t seem to realize this.
One of the first things I noticed, and was put off by, is that the Clown at Midnight tries too hard to be hip and trendy by late 90s standards. That’s almost impossible to do with a setting such as an opera house. The dialogue can be pretty cheesy, and many scenes are just out of place. We have one scene where two characters are sword fighting while two others are doing inappropriate things in the other room. The scene switches between them which is very awkward while bad R&B music plays over the action. It’s pretty bad to be honest. Furthermore, the characters themselves are one dimensional and awful. You have the spoiled mean girl, the dumb jock, the flaming drama queen, bad boy, and the aspiring fashionista. You could copy and paste any ensemble fitting these motifs and the movie would barely change. Everyone is basically a throwaway and very forgettable.
What also doesn’t help this film is the awful acting. Almost every line delivered in this film is hollow and lacks conviction. It really pulls you out of the action when these people recite their lines like they’re reading them from the script. The only big name actor here is Margot Kidder (I was surprised and happy to see she was still doing horror films at this time) as the drama club’s teacher. She’s the only one of the lot who gives a convincing performance. It’s unfortunate that she meets her end so soon to let the bad actors take the spotlight.
The Clown at Midnight feels like the opposite of a passion project. The people behind it just weren’t very motivated it seems, and the film has the personality of a cardboard box. It’s an ineffective slasher film that tried to cash in on the Scream phase, but it crashed and burned pretty magnificently. The movie doesn’t really do anything new or inventive (even for its time). The Clown at Midnight is a by the books slasher film with a throwaway cast and convoluted premise. You’re better off to pass on this one methinks.
Pros
- Some decent moments
Cons
- The opera theme doesn't lend itself well to the slasher genre
- Some bad acting
