Cleavers: Killer Clowns

A UK Independent No Budget feature Film that promises a lot and delivers on many levels.

The film is very much set in the US but filmed in the UK on a "zero budget" basis. But the quality of the film far exceeds that 'no money' situation. More incredible is that this film is one of a series in the Mycho Universe. The limitations of filming in the UK and yet setting the story in the US are cleverly worked out in advance so that it is very believable what is seen on the screen. There are some inventive solutions to difficulties in attempting some of the horror moment and the story itself is captivating enough that you don't need to have seen the prequel - just accept that there is a clown called Cleaver and he happens to kill people...

One of the trademarks of the Mycho-verse is the quality of colourful lighting on scenes and thats true in Cleavers as well. A good, fun, watchable film that is enjoyable and clever.

Oh, and a few characteristic verbal jokes along the way.

The end of my night last night led me to discover that there was ANOTHER Cleaver movie. Its not quite the same as the first one, its less colors and more of a gritty style. It feel a lot like Leatherface movies.

The characters in this one were more interesting I think, and they were all very broken and devastating characters. The clown looks better this time and the little clown girl is REALLY creepy.

I loved it. More of these please.

Several years after a strange abduction, a woman looking into the incidents finds a potential clue from an escaped victim of a serial killer dressed as a clown and sets out to find him, eventually finding he's targeted a family while on vacation across the country and has to save them from the killer.

For the most part, this was a pretty enjoyable effort. One of the stronger aspects of this one comes from the intriguing storyline that has quite a lot to like. The opening abduction and confrontation give a solid enough background on the evil nature of the clown with them tracking him down for the previously-established spree that already took place while also featuring a nice series of clues as to how to spot the potential for a rampage that upsets the new residents in the new town. The overall effect this has not just on setting up the situation around the town but also the treatment she gets while dealing with her mindset of trying to find the killer clown all providing a stellar starting point for getting the hints to the reappearance setup. That provides quite a solid base so that when his intentions are found to be directed at the vacating family it leads to some fine stalking scenes. The initial encounters out on their trip are fun enough to bring them into contact with not just the killer clown and his family but the main detective tracking him with the released victim who's been chasing him down the entire time. That figures into the main part of the film where they find themselves trapped in the house and tortured by the clowns in a series of fantastically brutal confrontations that take place in their house. There's a dark energy that takes place with how they get tortured and brutally chased down throughout the house, requiring the police officer to track down the family to save everyone, bringing about some enjoyable factors here. There are some issues to be had with this one. The main issue with this one is the overall setup in place making for a much more drawn-out story than expected so there's not a whole lot of actual stalking and slashing going on. The overlong start to this one featuring the sheriff determined to track him down, the clues being revealed to lead everyone together, and the family vacation that all leads to such a strong starting point also manages to keep the pacing down as this doesn't lead to a lot of action due to the extended setup. The other big drawback to this one is a series of strange encounters in the finale where so much of this one takes place merely because the characters keep dropping weapons while having the advantage or taking the weapon away only to get jumped again that gets old and hold this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

I thought the film was great. For a microbudget production, I thought the direction was great, scenes and locations were quite expansive and varied, and the story was well written. There was also well developed and likeable characters, great acting all round and a good sense of humour, suspense and horror motifs. It is certainly worth a watch for any fans of proper indie horror!

'Cleavers: Killer Clowns' is a Welsh production, with the cast putting on decent American accents. Director MJ Dixon's cast also includes a couple of names often associated with fellow countryman Andrew Jones's prolific North Bank Entertainment. The cinematography, either coincidentally or by design, reminds me of the style used on an early Jones' project, 2014's 'Theatre of Fear'. Lots of tight close-us and a sickly colour palette don't just obscure the limits of a low budget, but also give the film a feel all of its own, a claustrophobic atmosphere which is good for horror.

Dixon's writing isn't quite as successful, with some fairly repetitive dialogue. The storyline meanders a little too - but on the whole, I enjoyed this.

There seem to have been a lot of films recently similar to 'Killer Clowns'; names like Jones, Louisa Warren and MJ Dixon can be found behind the growing list, and this is one of the better ones. Of course, it won't impress those who are eager for fast-moving CGI and a few more bangs and whistles, but I've seen a lot worse.

Slow moving it may be, but it's competently made and has a certain queasy atmosphere which is pretty unnerving at times. 7 out of 10.