Stitches: O Retorno do Palhaço Assassino

To be honest I didn't expect much when I decided to watch this movie.A cast I hadn't heard of, an irish production and a comedy-horror story involving a killer clown, how good could it be? Well, I liked its cover and I like horror stories a lot so I decided to rent and watch it anyway. The result? I was really surprised about how good and refreshing this movie was. Don't expect to watch a really scary movie though. Stitches has some gory killing scenes but even during those scenes you will probably find yourself laughing (It might scare you a bit if you are not used to watching horror movies but that's it).Yes, the most unique and intriguing point of this movie is its dark, weird and even at times disturbing humor. If you can accept this kind of twisted humor that doesn't take anything seriously you will enjoy this movie a lot like I did. In addition, Stitches has some nice effects and even the killing scenes look decently natural and well-made. The flow is the movie is good and I think it will keep you entertained for its entirety. Another point I liked about this movie is that despite having some sexual content it doesn't really have nudity in it. I have gotten bored of seeing naked women in horror movies just for the sake of fan-service. Of course, it has some bad points too. For instance trying to fit in a love story in the plot was probably a bad choice and there are some common clichés laid here and there but nothing too bad. I think Stitches is a hidden gem and definitely worth watching so give it a try.

I have to admit, I never had heard of the comedian Ross Noble before I watched this movie. And I wouldn't have been that intrigued by him, if I hadn't seen him perform live. Actually that means he opened the Frightfest and introduced Stitches a day later to the audience. The fact that he was talking about his movie made me believe he was the director. He got me fooled (met the real director too, a really nice guy) and maybe some others too.

But back to this movie, that is a real fun little horror movie, that plays with the fear of clowns. Some have a real phobia, those shouldn't watch this movie of course. Or if you are easily offended (be it by violence or nonpolitical correctness) - don't watch. Everyone else: Jump on the the train and have fun during the trip.

I just finished watching this and I must admit that I had MANY truly laugh out loud moments. ONLY the UK people can pull off something like this with the DEAD-pan sense of humour it takes to make this work. Sure, some of the comments the clown makes are pretty corny, but there are far more that are REALLY funny!

There are some nice classic Horror touches too. YES, it is a bit gore heavy; but, the effects are well done and very imaginative. I really appreciated the inclusion of the 'Cat' (YES, I love animals, but I love people too, so if you're gonna make a dang Horror film where a bunch of 'teens' are killed, well...) Anyway, back to the nice Horror touches... Gore withstanding (it's almost NEVER my favourite part anyway) the early scenes with the very creative Clown ceremony and mythology were quite entertaining. The guy playing the clown himself was bloody HILARIOUS! His deadpan comments, especially early on before the 'accident' were great!

So, if you DO like entertaining and well done Comedy / Horror, then this is your film. As mentioned by another reviewer, if you are really sensitive about gore effects, then you might want to proceed carefully (For me personally, this kind of 'cartoon' or 'fantasy' gore is all right, although it IS kind of pushing it. What I absolutely do NOT like at all are these 'Torture Porn' films where evil people are just doing horrible, cruel, and mean-spirited things to other people in ULTRA- realistic ways without any fanciful or supernatural context - Those are complete non-starters with me...)

I'd say that if you really liked 'REANIMATOR', you probably would really like this film. Lots of fun if this is your kind of thing...

If Peter Jackson had been from Ireland instead of New Zealand, Stitches is the movie he might have made first in place of Bad Taste. It's got the same dark humor, most of which falls flat but some of which hits the spot. There's the same gleeful gore, okay perhaps not quite as much as Bad Taste but close. The deaths are inventive and entertaining and the whole movie would have been improved by better editing, a better score and a bigger budget, just like Bad Taste.

The plot is basic slasher fare. Two parts Friday 13th part VI, One Part Nightmare on Elm Street, One part Stephen King's IT, but a dash of it's own originality thrown in as well. It's let down a little by some really odd pacing and editing choices that slow down the action where it should be building up. If you've seen enough low budget indies you'll probably know what I'm talking about, it's a fairly common amateur film problem.

Still, it's a damn good try and it's heart is in the right place. Regular folks will sit through this very bemused, or more likely turn it off after the first half hour, but horror aficionados will be at least entertained if not downright elated.

I watched 'Stitches' mainly because, as well as loving horror, I'm also a big Ross Noble fan and was interested to see how his stand-up would transfer to acting. To be fair, he doesn't have much to do in the way of acting.

His 'unconventional' (sorry, Ross) looks make it easy for the make-up department to transform him into an evil, undead clown, hell-bent on seeking bloodthirsty revenge on the party of children who caused his death in the first place.

In short, Ross Noble steals every scene he's in. Sadly, he's not in it enough. He doesn't really come into it (proper) until midway through and, by then, you've been forced to watch your usual 'teen drama.' As this is a British film, I was hoping for something a little more original than 'uber-geek falls in love with beautiful girl who just so happens to be going out with an arrogant jock.' Sadly, that's all we get. All the (non undead clown) characters are total stereotypes. You'll know exactly who'll die the moment you see them.

And die they do. That's where the film excels. I'm guessing it had quite a small budget, but it really makes the most of the gore. Some of the death scenes are truly disgusting (and hilarious in their over-the-topness).

Stitches is worth watching if you like horror and Ross Noble. He provides all the comedy and gore which will satisfy you. However, sadly the film can never truly be a classic, as the first half is pretty bland and the second half is only ever really alive when the (dead) Ross Nobel is on-screen.

It's a good film that's (sadly) wrapped up in the oldest movie cliché going.