Gags The Clown

I didn't really have high hopes for this one, as the reviews were pretty hit and miss. The premise is decent and the material was all there for a truly scary FF film but in the end it just didn't work. I get that clowns are supposed to be funny to some and scary to others but in this film the clown was just a slightly creepy character. They could have made a great film touching on the character of Gags and the surrounding copycats trying to benefit off of him but it just ended up ham-fisted. If they had not decided to put in some "dark humor" it could have worked. I'm not exactly sure if they intended to make part of it funny but that's the way it comes across. They should have ditched the cheesiness and tried to make a serious film. I fell like that would have had a much better chance at succeeding. Overall it was below average.

Gags the Clown (2018) is currently available for free on Amazon Prime, and it's a decent addition to the clown horror genre. The story follows a mysterious clown, Gags, who appears throughout a city leaving behind strange balloons. When these balloons pop, they release a white powder that, if inhaled, causes people to go insane and start killing. The local media and a determined blogger set out to track Gags down, as the police struggle to capture the elusive clown.

Directed by Adam Krause in his first major motion picture, Gags the Clown delivers some solid kill scenes and an entertaining storyline. The dynamic between the blogger and the competing news crews was well-executed, and the final funhouse sequence was a standout moment. The acting by Tracy Perez (The Strain), Lauren Ashley Carter (Pod, Jug Face), and Aaron Christensen (Dead Weight, Gray Matter) was above average and believable, helping to elevate the film.

Overall, this is an entertaining film that's worth a watch, especially for fans of the genre. I'd rate it 5.5/10.

Its definitely not the worst found footage out there but... Clowns? Really? I don't think this topic works anymore on anybody. I can see that decent amount of work went in to making this movie, it has its short moments but the main topic makes it just not very enjoyable but really really meh and boring.

Gags was surprising entertaining and refreshing way of merging clown phobias and the idea of fake news. Its production values looks good and good acting. Apparently the director, Adam Krause and screenwriter, John Pata was inspired by real accounts of a person in California and another person in England who dressed as a clown walking at night, baiting for people take pics of them.

For this film, director Krause took that idea turned it into an interesting fun movie with jump scares and a bit of humor. Some of its cast create memorable characters like the ultra right/social media figure, Charles Wright (played by Aaron Christensen) who goes on a live social media event chase-hunt for Gags. It makes for its funny dialogue!

Recommended it for a fun time and of course clowns are usually creepy, Gags succeeded at being such an enigma. Other characters such as Heater Duprey (played by Lauren Ashley Carter) represent the local public media reportage and channel stations trying to get the latest news of Gaga sightings before the social media coverage does.

After watching Gags I thought "meh." Its underdeveloped, not really gory, mostly creepy, the characters have no depth, and there's not a lot going on. But given a moment to think about, the actors were entertaining, the story moved along, and it was legitimately freaky. Given it looks like it was made on $50 and a bottle of ketchup, I'd have to say I thought Gags the Clown is a fairly done B-movie.