Director: Joseph P. Kelly
Year: 2019
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: Clown Motel: Spirits Arise
Genre: Killer Clowns; Ghosts
Plot:
Meeting together by chance, a bachelorette party and a group of amateur ghost hunters forced to stay at an abandoned clown motel realize they’ve been lead there as a trap to get killed by a group of malevolent, ghostly clowns for what happened to them years earlier and forces the group to find the truth behind their stay to get away alive.
Review:
This one was a solid enough indie effort. Among the film’s better qualities here is the main setup that gives us a great group of characters to get behind. Told explicitly that the main clowns aren’t anything to be feared and were a cheerful, peaceful group who wanted to be on their own, they’re clearly the friendly and lovable kind of clowns in very short order. This then helps us sympathize with them easily when the jealous group ends up killing them by burning the motel down and setting off the kind of proper rampage later on due to this setup. As well, the clowns here are genuinely creepy and unnerving as ghost clowns where they get a fine overhaul from their happy make-up to their scary look which is a great plus for the film.
This also goes along with the creepy and desolate look of the area. It’s no surprise that a great deal of that comes from trading on the creepiness of clowns in general, as the lobby of the motel stuffed to the rafters with clown memorabilia and statues which give off an eerie vibe alone without the abject desolation of the motel. The changeover into the ghost clowns coming to get them, as the encounter in the motel room, the clowns springing the trap by the stranded car or the big action scene of them trying to escape inside the stalled RV while the clowns attempt to break into the vehicle. The ensuing chase through the grounds of the motel provides solid action, creepy stalking through the underground tunnels and some standout gore scenes in their brutal kills that get quite messy. These here provide the film with a lot to like about it.
There are a few minor problems here. The biggest issue here is a general sense of nothing making any sense at all. There’s nothing here about what caused the groups to get stranded at the motel or what they’re doing there, nor why the clowns have the ability to get hurt like humans when they’re supernatural beings who live on through a curse. Likewise, a scene where the motel itself seems to come alive through supernatural means in a blur of psychedelic waves that are never brought up again what they mean, and the marking found on one of their bodies is treated as a shock jump more than anything more serious. Finally, there’s absolutely nothing about the finale which tends to jump to random conclusions and offer up nothing about what they mean or the connection to anything before finishing on a confusing and irritating tactic that fits with the confusion.
The other real problem, which is one that shouldn’t be held too much against the film, is the low-budget limitations that show up. The idea of shooting at the actual location during the day means there are obvious scares where the light outside changes between individual shots or creating a plane, flat look that’s quite distracting. As well, the look-away during the kills to show select moments or just the aftermath shots feel like a cheat even though we do get enough gore in the other kills which shouldn’t be that detrimental even if they are troublesome. The most problematic is at the end where the darkness in the underground tunnels which is way too dark to see what’s going on and the shaking camera for the scenes are just utterly nauseating. These aren’t really true flaws but should be held against the film.
Overview: ***.5/5
Trading on a lot of rather creepy and chilling ideas while also keeping this one action-packed enough to matter, there’s quite a lot to like here even though it does have some minor limitations to it. Give it a chance if you’re a fan of these kinds of efforts or have an affinity for killer clown films while those that look for more impactful fare or aren’t fans of the style should heed caution with this one.
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