Clown (2008) User Reviews (6)

interesting, don't really know what to say about this...

[NateWatchesCoolMovies · 4/10 · 21 July 2010]

i watched this solely because of Peter Greene and Norman Reedus, and I must say it was a rather demented little short film. the first act is a grimy, unpleasant flashback to this 'clown's' childhood where he fervently dispatches what appears to be his father, a very sadistic and dirty clown. Peter Greene plays the older version of this guy, who runs into a traveling circus and becomes its protector against religious fanatic townsfolk.

Its a very odd , twisted piece of work that definitely could have benefited from being a little longer, perhaps even feature length , and having Norman Reedus in a recognizable role, because i didn't see him freaking anywhere.

Did absolutely nothing for me

[Horst_In_Translation · 2/10 · 21 September 2018]

"Clown" is a 2008 live action short film directed by Tate Steinsiek and he is also one of the two writers here. well.. the title says pretty much what this one is about: clowns. Younger ones, older ones, but pretty much always scary ones. Clowns do have their place in (film) history and if you see them, you understand why it totally makes sense that so many horror movies are linked to them, last but not least the pretty recent (fairly overrated in my opinion) new version of "It". But here it is more clowns versus clowns you could say. The recent rise inpopularity this film has gotten has mostly to do with the fact that Oscar nominee (maybe soon Oscar winner?) Timothée Chalamet is in it playing one of the major characters. And Walking dead fans will see a familiar face too. If they recognize it, that is. I must say I struggled with recognizing both Chalamet and Reedus under the heavy make-up. But yeah you cannot really say anything negative about them, their forgettable portrayals also have a whole lot to do with how they were written. Still I am a bit surprised that the most memorable performance here did not come from either of the two, but from the pretty unknown actor mentioned by the other reviewer as well. Then again, his part was also the showiest. How Chalamet's character turns out at the end is really the epitome of bloody and shocking for the sake of it, but completely lacking good (let alone great) story-telling. A bit of a disappointment I must say and I hoped this would be better, so I am not too thrilled either seeing Steinsiek returned to filmmaking recently again as the man in charge after a long career where he delivered in the special effects department. His movie here gets a big thumbs-down from me. Not even worth seeing for the biggest Chalamet and Reedus fans. Watch something else instead.

First 2 minutes rocks and then goes 'B'

[carlaswayder · 7/10 · 20 March 2013]

The beginning was the best part of the short. After that it was just anti-climatic. The boy, newbie actor Timothée Chalamet (as the young clown) was good but could have been a little more terrified, I would have been. And later, the older version clown played by veteran actor Peter Greene was good in his expressions. Greene did his job in what little time he had to go from new freak show addition to protector of the group. Guessing that Norman Reedus was the guy with the unrecognizable Slash from Guns n' Roses make up (wtf was that). Wondering why Reedus couldn't be himself with a little make up or scar or prosthetic, was he hiding his face because he didn't want to be a part of it?

What really made it for me was the mannerisms, accent, and pure evilness of Shamus clown at the beginning, played by stage trained and versed actor Paul Sampson (who seems to have vanished off the face of the earth), once more proving himself as a viable character actor, again hiding his male good looks. He rocks the moment severely, making something out of simple clown make up and intense conversation (loved the accent). I knew it was him from his orgasmic-ally hypnotic eyes, however, jury still out on if they are real or not, but he has them 'in' all his movies and photos. Also, didn't realize he (Sampson)still had that kind of killer body. Wow and wow again. Call me sick and twisted, but I'd go for a walk in his fun house anytime. Have me some Shamus clown meat.

Shamus the Clown made this film

[doyoufeelthat09 · 7/10 · 1 August 2013]

I loved this short film. The character Shamus the Clown played by Paul Sampson was amazing. My biggest disappointment was that he was only in the first few minutes of the film. He was the most memorable part of the entire thing. That's the reason I gave the film a 7 and not a 10. If I was basing my review entirely on Shamus it would have gotten a definite 10. I haven't seen a character this amazing since Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Michael Myers. In my opinion Shamus could put them all down in a second. Shamus is demented, evil, sadistic, and cruel and he was only on the screen for a couple of minutes. Can you imaging a full length movie? WE WANT MORE SHAMUS!

I watched it for the wrong reason, too, but loved it!

[benbaecher · 9/10 · 20 March 2013]

I watched it, too, like the other reviewers because I saw it on a web site with a couple of names in it. But they paled in comparison to the actor character who stole the show and is the reason for its 'awesom-ness'. The first half, and most interesting and realistic part of the short is about the boy getting tormented by the most scariest clown I have ever seen in my life, being scary in the sense that he could actually exist. Shamus the Clown was the name of the clown, and Paul Sampson was the actors name in the end credits with playing him. I don't know where he came from or what demonic entity spawned him, but he is by far the leader of the pack. He and Stephen King's "TT" Pennywise Clown together would be by far the scariest combination in the world of all time! They would kick the crap out of any modern day scary duo in a cage match. They'd be the tag team champs. Pennywise may still be my number one, but Shamus is a very close second and to me is more real, making him possibly number one. I would have gave the short a 10 but I felt the first half of the short was a 12 (seriously) and the second half without Shamus was a 7 at most, that's my reason for a 9 rating. It should have ended when Shamus leaves the tent and the kid still tied in the chair. That would have been a better film.

Abstract

[Patrick_Cass · 7/10 · 20 December 2012]

I watched Clown yesterday only because of Peter Greene. Didn't know Norman Reedus was in it too.

I liked the idea of having one's childhood memories affecting their adulthood. But I think there were much more to the story, or there could be more details and background to the clown's childhood. Why he was there with other clowns in the first place? Although it's an abstract work so very detailed information might not be needed at all.

It could have been longer. I don't think you can show a lot in 6 minutes.

Wonder if there'll ever be more to this short video? Because the story was rather interesting.