When three brothers(with sibling dynamics that, like everything else, especially the aspects concerning the characters, are credible, developed and human) have to spend the night without their parents(both busy with work - middle class; the father is home the least), even their seemingly safe, suburban house(a lot of this is spent there, only in the company of our 3 leads, making for a very isolated and claustrophobic slasher) can't protect them.
Casey(Winters, still afraid - and the theme here is how to deal with that, and whether everyone feels it), the youngest, Geoffrey(McHugh, sympathizes with him and is in general the favorite of the three - that of the parents, and aforementioned kid) the middle one, and Randy(Rockwell in his debut(and yes, you can sense his quirk in a little of it), resents having to be responsible for the other two), the eldest.
What is the fear of? Vivid, pale-faced performers. What? No, not KISS... that would risk the boys' souls. They're only at risk of being killed, so calm down, Christians. Yes, your circus-variety harlequin(be honest, they *are* inherently creepy - particularly when completely silent, communicating via miming, using their vastly expressive faces, as is done here) is the threat. Or, rather, a trio of escaped mental patients dressed up as them(and before donning the three distinct sets of make-up and bright, vibrant colors, we only see close-ups of their manically staring eyes). Yes, you *will* be terrorized by the Insane Clown Posse, demanding to know how magnets work.
Yes, I know of the director's crime; I will not be going into it in this review. He served his time and I feel we should separate a man's personal life from their career. Of what I've watched(the others being the first two Jeepers Creepers), this is Salva's best, by far. This is quite grounded, and a welcome departure from where horror movies were at this point in time. Rather than outlandish, it sets everything up and it all feels genuine, authentic. This is primarily build-up, low on "action". Death scenes are small-scale but effective. There is almost no blood or violence, it's usually the threat and that which is implied that gets to us, the suspense and atmosphere. What's just off-screen, what's in the dark.
This does use clichés, such as the eerie fortune teller - they do tend to work, and this thankfully isn't as loudly 80's as a lot of flicks from the decade. There are few jump-scares, instead we have consistent tension(such as in the use of close-ups, often of hands). In general it's well-filmed, with the opening shots setting the mood and tone impeccably. This is tightly paced and keeps moving throughout, with no scene wasted. It's an hour and 18 minutes sans credits, an hour and 21 minutes with. There is some humor, typically in the dialog - in fact, that's about the only place where it works, as several of the "the guys are having fun" bits are completely off(each time, I honestly thought something else, entirely, was going on), as one of the only things in this. The acting is good from all concerned, with almost no "crappy child actor" curse. Score is well-done.
There is some strong language and brief underage male rear nudity in this. I recommend this to any fan of this kind of film. 6/10
