Wrinkles the Clown

This was a pretty boring documentary about a clown that can be called by parents to scare their kids if they don't behave. It all started when in 2015 a video was uploaded to YouTube where a clown was shown emerging from underneath a bed in a young girl's room. After the clip went viral, apparently lots of parents actually called The Clown by the name of Wrinkles and actually hired him to scare their kids for misbehaving. Four years later this documentary comes out showing the man living his simple life in his van talking to the camera about his experiences as Wrinkles the Clown.

Towards the end there's some sort of twist that tells us the whole truth and if you are generally interested in this whole story you might enjoy this but I was but throughout its rather short runtime. [3,9/10]

It's not a good sign when a film is only 78 minutes and it still feels extremely stretched out and long. Unfortunately that was the case with 'Wrinkles the Clown'. The funny thing is that I'm very glad this documentary brought the fact that this clown exists to my attention. But once I knew that, the film didn't really have any additional information to offer me that I was interested in. I kept hoping there would be a twist or a shocking addition to the story to come. It never did though and it made for a very dull ride.

While I was watching this I thought to myself that I'd actually enjoy doing this in my region. By the end of the documentary though it had convinced me that that would be a very bad idea. From that point of view I suppose it offered something. Otherwise though I found 'Wrinkles the Clown' very much lacking in justification for a documentary. Have a quick read up about this story instead would be my advice.

What started off as YouTube video of a clown sliding out from underneath a little girls bed in 2015 turned an unknown man into a viral fascination across Florida.

Wrinkles the Clown is based on an unnamed man who dresses up as a horrifying looking clown and pimps himself out to parents to scare their misbehaving children. If that sentence doesn't sound terrifying enough, then all you need do is to have one look at this guy you'll instantly understand what nightmares are made of.

The documentary goes around to the people across Florida, and we hear their personal opinions and encounters with Wrinkles. The crew interview the man behind the clown makeup, but keep his face out of every camera frame to withhold his identity and build mystery. He goes on to explain how Wrinkles became a character and the responses he has received from the community. Most interviews are focused on the younger children who either share a strong hatred toward Wrinkles or surprisingly idolise the clown. Some kids even go to the lengths of wanting to be just like Wrinkles. A role model if you dare to label.

The documentary doesn't really reveal too much and honestly left me questioning if I learnt anything from Wrinkles besides him being an old man living every day like it's Halloween and scaring young children to make a quick buck. A very interesting choice that may be linked to the clown sightings back in 2016 where people disguised themselves as clowns around schools, side of the road and nearby forests, and would scare anybody who crossed their path.

The idea of Wrinkles the Clown as a character and his objective is interesting, but I feel as though it would've been better off as a small Netflix series that dug deeper into the life and secrets of this man and his stories. I'm intrigued by this mysterious story as I felt there could've been more to share, but on the other hand I wouldn't lose any sleep if I never heard of this character again.

Is this documentary about "Wrinkles the Clown" as a person? Sorta. Is it about the clown hysteria from a few years ago, and how people reacted to it? It could've been with more focus. Is it about the behind the scenes of making modern day folklore? Again, it could've been with more focus. This documentary, as a concept, could've been incredibly interesting if it decided what it wanted to be. Instead it meanders on "clowns are scary" for a good portion of it's runtime. It's shot well, but with odd (and occasionally bad) editing & pacing. If 30-50 minutes were cut from this it would be a much more solid piece (but if they did that it wouldn't be considered "featured length" anymore.) Ultimately, this probably would've been better as an episode of a mini-series about some related theme (modern day/online horror and how people react to it, etc.)

I was excited to see this after I saw the trailer, but was severely disappointed. This documentary could've been 10 minutes long. There really is no point. The production quality is good, but that's it. The "twist" in the final half hour is lazy and only served to make me angry. Save yourself the hour and a half and watch something else instead.