Creature Features in Review: Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
The Blob, but with clowns. That will get you close to understanding what this film has in store if you haven’t seen it yet, but it doesn’t quite cover it. In fact, despite the Chiodo brothers’ stated intent to pay homage to The Blob, as well as the 50s alien invasion film in general, chalking it up to a simple homage would be a disservice. Killer Klowns from Outer Space is such a great movie in so many ways, but one of its most important features is its originality. Continue Reading
Book Featurette: Blood Moon Big Top
When Kendrick the drifter joins a circus and becomes Marbles the Clown, he discovers the art of transformation; an escape from the woes of his everyday life. An unfortunate encounter with a feral child in the woods, as the Full Moon prepares to meet the approaching dawn, sets off a gradual transformation beyond anything Marbles could imagine. His deterioration over the following two weeks leads to his apparent death and the circus moves on. Waking up in the morgue a few days later, the slow transformation of Marbles the Clown begins. In a desperate bid to catch up with the circus as it travels from town to town, city to city, Marbles embarks on a two-week journey of nightmare carnage and unconquerable insanity, finally reaching his destination in time for the real and terrifying transformation to take hold.
Blood Moon Big Top, according to reviewers:
“…a fast-paced, engaging werewolf novella recounting the story of Marbles the Clown, a loner who finally finds a place for himself performing in a family circus. One of the fascinations of the book is the emphasis on the transformation itself and the sensations that Marbles undergoes. It is not at all a smooth ride, involving both physical suffering and psychological trauma. Marbles tries to resist the increasingly compelling drive to hunt, kill and eat human victims, even trying to limit his diet to creatures of the forest. Slowly his resistance is overwhelmed as he evolves from a human afflicted with lycanthropic urges to a soulless ravening beast. Another intriguing element is the care and attention provided to him by the members of his circus family. Marbles himself was a loner before he joined the circus and he stuck to himself, but he still gained the friendship and allegiance of the circus fraternity. Even in the depths of his transformation into a werewolf, there are touching scenes of support and camaraderie. The one human instinct that remains with Marbles is his desire to rejoin the circus that left him behind during the depths of his illness. And that, in fact, is where the book’s tumultuous climax occurs – inside the Big Top. Don’t get me wrong, Blood Moon Big Top is a rip-roaring page-turner, but it also finds time to explore the human side of the horrific transformation from a man into a beast. The writing is rich and lush, with just the right amount of description to establish atmosphere. Toneye Eyenot possesses strong narrative storytelling skills, which are very much in evidence in this classic werewolf tale. Highly recommended!”
“What a bloody good read, I received this book for an honest review. And I gotta say Toneye does not disappoint, it had everything , clowns, werewolves , murder , and cannibalism, I recommend to all fan’s of modern horror”
“Eyenot weaves a brutal lycanthropic tale about a man who becomes a beast. The mingling of clown horror with some truly epic werewolf savagery makes this a unique horror read. I read this in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. This writer is one of my favorites.”
“Most people are terrified of clowns, and werewolves is old legends. This was a very interesting twist on the 2 combined.”
You can purchase YOUR copy of Blood Moon Big Top…………..
Toneye Eyenot hails from The Blue Mountains in Australia. Although writing horrible tales for the better part of 25 years, 2014 has seen his first published work in REJECTED For Content – Splattergore, through J. Ellington Ashton Press, an anthology showcasing alongside many other esteemed authors of the bloodsoaked word. BLOOD MOON BIG TOP is his latest release (Oct. 7, 2016) from J. Ellington Ashton Press. A werewolf/clown Horror novella. His first extended story, in the form of a Dark Fantasy/Horror novella, THE SCARLETT CURSE is book one in the Sacred Blade Of Profanity series, released through J. Ellington Ashton Press and available now in print and on Kindle. Book II in the series- JOSHUA’S FOLLY has also just been released through JEA Mar.13, 2016. Book III in the Sacred Blade Of Profanity series is currently being conjured. With more anthology appearances in both, REJECTED FOR CONTENT 2-Aberrant Menagerie and REJECTED FOR CONTENT 3-Vicious Vengeance, also Doorway To Death, Jeapers Creepers and Lost Gods And Forgotten Cities, and more in Cellar Door III – Animals/Hell II – Citizens by James Ward Kirk Fiction, as well as The Grays by James Ward Kirk fiction and more anthologies awaiting publication. Eyenot is also the editor for a werewolf themed anthology-FULL MOON SLAUGHTER.
Visit Toneye at his website: http://toneyeeyenot.weebly.com/
Connect with Toneye on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Toneye-Eyenot-Dark-Author-Musician-1128293857187537/
Fright Fest: Clown (2014)
Over the last few weeks, the news has been inundated with reports of people dressed as clowns mysteriously appearing in communities across the globe. At first, their appearances were largely non-threatening, often loitering like a low rate Michael Myers but then elevated to wielding knives and armed robberies. This has been met with a mix of intrigue and derision, and the general public has been less than receptive to the idea of a creepy clown hanging around their property or stalking their family for nothing else but their own amusement. There is an inherent distrust of clowns for the most part, with Coulrophobia being the phobia of them, despite the fact that they are supposed to elicit humor and happiness.
Perhaps it’s fitting then that director Jon Watts project Clown began as something of a joke. Watts and Chris Ford, the screenwriter, made a now infamous fake trailer and even credited Eli Roth as a producer despite the fact he wasn’t associated with the project at all at that time. This ballsy move prompted many to believe that the film was a real thing, and convinced Roth himself to make the project a reality with Watts and Ford and it began shooting in 2012.
After languishing in the release date graveyard the film saw a staggered release across the globe that started in Italy 2014 and ended most recently with the USA in the summer of 2016.
And it is with firm belief that I state Clown, in my opinion, is one of the best monster films in years that deliver an incredibly unique cinematic creature and slow burn body horror amidst the family drama.
The story tells the tale of Kent McCoy (Andy Powers), a generic everyman working as a real estate agent. While juggling the renovation of a new property and his child’s birthday party he uncovers a clown costume with the property’s basement. With the clown, he’d booked for his kid’s party needing replacing he thinks quick and dons the costume and pretends to be an entertainer. However, he soon realizes something is amiss when he is unable to remove the suit, and it is in fact possessed by an ancient demonic entity “The Cloyne” that acts like a parasite feeding off of its host, becoming one with them and making them yearn to eat the flesh of children.
At first, the set-up is darkly humorous with Kent’s fruitless attempts to remove the costume played with a wry smile but soon the comedy evaporates as each attempt leaves him more desperate, distraught and disfigured. His skin grows paler, his rubber nose turns into a redraw scab and his hands and feet distort with boney cracks and claws.
In his desperate search for a cure, he encounters Herbert Karlsson (Peter Stormare), somebody who knows the secrets of “The Cloyne” after his own brother fell afoul of its curse. Karlsson breaks the news to McCoy that the curse is permanent and the only release for him is death.
Clown strikes the delicate balance between pitch-black humor and horror with masterful strokes, and despite the inherent absurdity of the concept it plays it straight-faced with one hundred percent commitment. It is this sincerity that elevates the film to something special for me. As a lifelong fan of cinematic monsters, Clown is a breath of fresh air in today’s extreme horror world. Its set-up is simple, its delivery elegant and its payoff brilliantly tragic. Most importantly at its heart a monster that is memorable and unique, something its concept could have easily fumbled but it introduces a legitimate and otherworldly threat with aplomb.
I dare say this film is nostalgic at a time when horror films increasingly turn to shock tactics and gross out concepts to one-up each other. Fans who like simmering dread, iconic creatures and a story that’s not afraid to have the audience sympathize with the titular creature, as we watch a once good man slowly enveloped by a horrific curse and dares you to come along for the ride.
Daniel Marc Chant – Is no stranger to Machine Mean, having reviewed for us both The Mummy (1932) and The Creature Walks Among Us(1956) during our Universal Monsters in Review series. Mr. Chant is also the published author of several terrifying tales, including Maldicion, Burning House,, Mr. Robespierre, Aimee Bancroft and The Singularity Storm, and his latest release with Into Fear. Daniel is also one of the founders of The Sinister Horror Company, the publishing team that brought us such frights as, The Black Room Manuscripts Vol. 1 and 2 and God Bomb!. You can follow Daniel on his blog, here. And you can read his review on The Mummyhere.
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