''The Clown Murders'' is a 1976 Canadian horror film directed by

Martyn Burke Martyn Burke (born 1952) is a Canadian director, novelist and screenwriter from Toronto, Ontario. Biography Born in Hamilton, Ontario, to Freda and Les Burke who immigrated from England to Canada during World War II as part of the British Civ ...

. It was one of the earliest films in which

John Candy John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian known mainly for his work in Hollywood films. Candy rose to fame in the 1970s as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its '' SCTV'' seri ...

appears. The Executive Producer was

Stephen Stohn John Stephen Stohn (born May 8, 1948) is an American-born Canadian entertainment lawyer and television producer. He is best known for his involvement with the ''Degrassi'' teen drama franchise, particularly as an executive producer on '' Degrassi: ...

, who later produced the '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' TV series.

Plot

Four friends hatch a scheme to dress up like clowns on Halloween and kidnap a businessman's wife (Susan Keller) to prevent him from closing a land deal. Though the scheme is intended as a prank, it takes an ugly turn when real violence is used at the kidnapping. As the kidnappers deal with the fallout from their actions, it becomes apparent that an outside party (also in a clown costume) is stalking them.

Cast

* Stephen Young as Charlie * Susan Keller as Alison *

Lawrence Dane Lawrence Joseph Zahab (April 3, 1937 – March 21, 2022), known professionally as Lawrence Dane, was a Canadian actor and film producer, best known for his role as Lt. Preston in ''Bride of Chucky''. Life and career Born in Masson, Quebec, Dane ...

as Philip *

as Ollie *

Gary Reineke Gary Reineke (born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian actor. Early life Reineke was born in Scarborough, Ontario on May 27, 1945. Career Reineke has appeared in more than eighty films since 1974, and was a Genie Award nominee for Best Supporting Act ...

as Rosie * John Bayliss as Peter *

Al Waxman Albert Samuel Waxman, (March 2, 1935 – January 18, 2001) was a Canadian actor and director of over 1,000 productions on radio, television, film, and stage. He is best known for his starring roles in the television series '' King of Kensingto ...

as Police Sergeant *

William Osler Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet, (; July 12, 1849 – December 29, 1919) was a Canadian physician and one of the "Big Four" founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Osler created the first residency program for specialty training of phys ...

as Harrison * Philip Craig as Tom

Release

The film was released by

Astral Films Astral may refer to: Concepts of the non-physical * Astral body, a subtle body posited by many religious philosophers * Astral journey (or ''astral trip''), the same as having an ''out-of-body experience'' * Astral plane (AKA astral world), a ...

in its native Canada on September 1976.

Home media

In the United States, the film was released on VHS by

Trans World Entertainment Kaspien Holdings, Inc. (formerly Trans World Entertainment) is an American company that provides software and services for ecommerce. Kaspien Holdings operates on Amazon in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, Germany ...

and on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

on July 12, 2007 by

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...

under license from Cinevision International.

Reception

Kurt Dahlke from

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, writing, "''The Clown Murders'' is almost worth a rent for Canadian Cinema scholars or rabid fans of '70s sleazo-crime dramas in this incarnation, but it stinks so much as is that it's really hard to go out on that limb." Todd Martin from ''HorrorNews.net'' gave the film a negative review, calling it "mind-numbingly boring" and also criticized the film's lack of scares. ''Terror Trap'' awarded the film 1/4 stars, stating that the film "doesn't have the requisite firepower - either in terms of its writing, or its ability to generate dramatic tension - to make for a worthwhile watch."

References

External links

* * *

Bibliography

* 1976 films English-language Canadian films 1970s English-language films Canadian horror films Halloween horror films Horror films about clowns Films directed by Martyn Burke 1976 horror films Films with screenplays by Martyn Burke Films scored by John Mills-Cockell 1976 directorial debut films 1970s Canadian films {{1970s-horror-film-stub