Clown Panic
Just to elaborate on my points about its messaging:
The good:
- When they talk to an actual clown and he's reasonable, talks about the difference between these people and actual clowns, the "epidemic" itself and what it did to his own profession. There's heart there.
- There's also heart when it focuses on the kid that got killed because he was wearing a clown mask and then got stabbed. You can say what you want about the situation and you're probably right--even though he was likely an edgy 16 year old he shouldn't have been wearing that mask at that time but also he didn't deserve to die--but ultimately it's just sad we got to a point where that happened.
- I also found the Flomo Klown section interesting. I don't remember hearing about that, so that was informative.
The bad:
- It blows this way out of proportion. I was 30 in 2016 so I do remember the clown panic. I frequented a chat room at that time and I remember one of my friends there saying she saw one. Whether that's true or not, I have no idea. I bring this up because while I know memory is flawed, I remember this being a thing but not being this catastrophic.
Even if the central message--of social media leading to things like this, and just being a little shit in general--IS true, it's a little silly to tie the clown panic and political unrest into each other. Or hell, even compare it to something like The Satanic Panic, which was way worse. Don't get me wrong, I think in certain communities, like with the Flomo Klown, it was a much bigger deal. It's just that when the movie is like, [all these bad political things happening] leads to something like this, it's a little much. Like, the clown panic is not the end boss to political unrest but this movie wants you to think it is.
In closing: I do love how this was shot. The imagery was consistently interesting. It's not a long movie so it doesn't overstay its welcome. And I do think it's a pretty good movie, but it would have been better had it stuck to telling the stories that matter--the Flomo Klown, the actual clown, the child dying--and avoided the sensationalism that it falls victim to. Even the final shot includes an orgy of audio clips showcasing how bad things were at the time. I also don't buy that the clown panic was used as a scapegoat. That conclusion is stretching it.
The good:
- When they talk to an actual clown and he's reasonable, talks about the difference between these people and actual clowns, the "epidemic" itself and what it did to his own profession. There's heart there.
- There's also heart when it focuses on the kid that got killed because he was wearing a clown mask and then got stabbed. You can say what you want about the situation and you're probably right--even though he was likely an edgy 16 year old he shouldn't have been wearing that mask at that time but also he didn't deserve to die--but ultimately it's just sad we got to a point where that happened.
- I also found the Flomo Klown section interesting. I don't remember hearing about that, so that was informative.
The bad:
- It blows this way out of proportion. I was 30 in 2016 so I do remember the clown panic. I frequented a chat room at that time and I remember one of my friends there saying she saw one. Whether that's true or not, I have no idea. I bring this up because while I know memory is flawed, I remember this being a thing but not being this catastrophic.
Even if the central message--of social media leading to things like this, and just being a little shit in general--IS true, it's a little silly to tie the clown panic and political unrest into each other. Or hell, even compare it to something like The Satanic Panic, which was way worse. Don't get me wrong, I think in certain communities, like with the Flomo Klown, it was a much bigger deal. It's just that when the movie is like, [all these bad political things happening] leads to something like this, it's a little much. Like, the clown panic is not the end boss to political unrest but this movie wants you to think it is.
In closing: I do love how this was shot. The imagery was consistently interesting. It's not a long movie so it doesn't overstay its welcome. And I do think it's a pretty good movie, but it would have been better had it stuck to telling the stories that matter--the Flomo Klown, the actual clown, the child dying--and avoided the sensationalism that it falls victim to. Even the final shot includes an orgy of audio clips showcasing how bad things were at the time. I also don't buy that the clown panic was used as a scapegoat. That conclusion is stretching it.
Mini Review: It's shot effectively, like a horror movie, with some cool shots, so it's easy to overlook some of the stuff that this is trying to say. When it slows down and focuses, it's pretty emotional and compelling even if it isn't saying much new. At its worst, it tries to tie some things together don't really need to be makes this seem like a bigger deal than it was. But it's an hour twenty and it's an entertaining watch.
Watch the Trailer