Clowntergeist is a 2017 American horror film that was written by Brad Belemjian and Alan Mirites. Mirites also directed the film. It not only takes the popular fear of clowns, but it integrates it into the world with a slight new twist that hasn’t been seen (at least to my knowledge) in horror films to date. Not only does it take the idea of a killer clown terrorizing people, like Stephen King’s It, but the clown is actually a paranormal entity thus causing the name that we see presented with this release. Serving as a completely original movie thriller that’s based on internet hype and the worst nightmares of a lot of people, Clowntergeist takes the idea of clowns or even monsters hiding under your bed and scaring the shit out of you.

Chronicling the tale of Emma, a college student who suffers from a crippling fear of clowns and the fact that she must come face to face with her worst fear when an evil spirit that has taken shape in the form of a clown is summoned and is terrorizing the town that she calls home. One by one, Emma and her friends receive a balloon that contains the exact time and date of when it will appear to kill them written upon it. After receiving her balloon, she realizes that she only has a couple of days left to live, and she must do whatever she can to fight against the clock and find a way to survive.

The Film Itself (4/5):

I have to be completely honest as I was hesitant when Clowntergeist first showed up at my doorstep.  Seeing the cheesiness of the cover and the synopsis had me a little bit worried.  But, after my wife and I watched it last night, I was pleasantly surprised that this film provides pretty awesome story that offers a completely new take on the ultimate clown terror.  Per the quote on the cover, this film is supposed to feel like it’s a collaboration of Stephen King’s It with Friday the 13th … but, as we watched through this, I felt some hints of Nightmare on Elm Street too.  Now, I’m not sure what the overall production budget of this film was outside of it obviously being on the lower side, but that doesn’t distract from the overall experience of the movie and experience that it has to offer.  My only personal grievance that I have with this film is that there is little to no backstory for Ribcage the clown.  You do learn a little more about him near the end of the film, but the information is minimal at best.

Picture Quality (3/5):

As much as I wished that Clowntergeist was available on Blu-ray, the DVD copy that is available does offer a clean look into the story that’s being told.  While not being HD in the slightest, the overall picture quality is definitely top notch for a DVD release.  Some of the more notable portions were the effects that were used for some of the paranormal experiences that some of the characters had.  With the smaller budget taken into consideration along with the maximum capabilities of the format, those experiences looked really well done.

Audio Quality (4/5):

Working with what’s available to them within the format, Clowntergeist does a really nice job at offering an immersive experience for viewers.  While it’s not a completely immersive experience that a 7.1 audio track would offer, considering that this film is only on DVD, I can’t complain too terribly much.  The inclusion of the rear and front channels as the story moved onward helped place my wife and I right into the center of all of the chaos that was unfolding.  Everything about the audio track on this release was clean, clear and we were able to hear understand everything without any issues whatsoever.

The Packaging (2.5/5):

Clowntergeist comes packaged in your standard single disc DVD case.  Within that case is the standard DVD copy of the film.  The disc does feature artwork that includes Ribcage the clown and differs from that of the case art.  There is no digital copy of the film available nor are there any slipcovers available for this release.

  

Special Features (4/5):

I was genuinely surprised at the additional content that was included with the release of Clowntergeist.  The content that is provided offers not only more insight into the characters of the film, but some of the work that went into making this film available.  Available with this release is:

• A Day On The Set Of Clowntergeist
• Deleted Scenes
• Theatrical Trailer
• The Clown Statue Short Film With Director Introduction
• Feature Audio Commentary With Director Aaron Mirtes
• Coming Soon From High Octane Pictures

Technical Specs:

Video

Codec: MPEG-2

Audio

English: Dolby Digital 2.0

English: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles

English

Runtime

Original Film: 81 minutes

Final Thoughts:

Despite my initial hesitation with Clowntergeist, I was pleasantly surprised with this film.  The story that we’re given offers a new take on a creature that had been done in many regards.  Offering an original experience for those affected by Ribcage’s terror really made for an awesome experience.  The audio track of the release was clean and as immersive as one could really expect with it being a DVD release, while the picture quality of the release was clean and clear and offered a nice look into the story that’s being told.  There’s a decent amount of bonus features that have been included that not only allow you to explore the work that went into making the film, but the characters that are portrayed on screen.  If you’re interested in checking this film out, I would hands down recommend it.  Especially if you’re into the lower budget horror films that are out there.  I do wish though, that it does get a Blu-ray release down the road and offers even more bonus features for its viewers!

Note: This DVD was sent to us for review. This has not affected our judgement or editorial process in any way. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this process.