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The Clown Murders

  • 1976
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 36m
IMDb RATING
3.6/10
533
YOUR RATING
The Clown Murders (1976)
DramaHorrorMysteryThriller

Four men kidnap an old girlfriend on Halloween night as a joke to ruin a real estate deal, only to have a very real clown-masked killer stalk them seeking revenge.Four men kidnap an old girlfriend on Halloween night as a joke to ruin a real estate deal, only to have a very real clown-masked killer stalk them seeking revenge.Four men kidnap an old girlfriend on Halloween night as a joke to ruin a real estate deal, only to have a very real clown-masked killer stalk them seeking revenge.

  • Director
    • Martyn Burke
  • Writer
    • Martyn Burke
  • Stars
    • Stephen Young
    • Susan Keller
    • Lawrence Dane
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    3.6/10
    533
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Martyn Burke
    • Writer
      • Martyn Burke
    • Stars
      • Stephen Young
      • Susan Keller
      • Lawrence Dane
    • 17User reviews
    • 14Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos41

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    Top cast27

    Edit
    Stephen Young
    Stephen Young
    • Charlie
    Susan Keller
    • Alison
    Lawrence Dane
    Lawrence Dane
    • Philip
    John Candy
    John Candy
    • Ollie
    Gary Reineke
    Gary Reineke
    • Rosie
    John Bayliss
    • Peter
    Al Waxman
    Al Waxman
    • Police Sergeant
    Michael Magee
    • Compton
    Cec Linder
    Cec Linder
    • The Developer
    William Osler
    William Osler
    • Harrison
    Philip Craig
    Philip Craig
    • Tom
    Dan Boltman
    • Polo Player
    Peter Calverley
    • Polo Player
    Glenn Ferrier
    • Polo Player
    Tom Offen
    • Polo Player
    Kenny Phillips
    • Polo Player
    Paul Sage
    • Polo Player
    Lou Scott
    • Polo Player
    • Director
      • Martyn Burke
    • Writer
      • Martyn Burke
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews17

    3.6533
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    Featured reviews

    Dethcharm

    "It's A Donut, A Plain Donut!"...

    In THE CLOWN MURDERS, a prank goes wrong, resulting in madness and death.

    While this may sound exciting, don't get your hopes up. This is an unexciting, non-entertaining, and fairly silly movie. Worst of all, it commits the unpardonable sin of being extremely boring. The viewer will wait, pray, beg for something, anything even remotely interesting to happen. All for naught.

    It takes until the midway point of the movie for the maniac to -finally- put on the clown mask and get down to business. By the time anyone meets their maker, you'll be ready for death yourself!

    Astonishingly, the final 10 minutes are pretty intense. If only the other 86 minutes had been this good it might have been endurable!

    Co-stars John Candy as Otis. Beware the Otis "love scene"!...
    5HumanoidOfFlesh

    The rising of boredom.

    A group of young professionals decides to play a practical joke on one of their ex-girlfriends who married a rich man who is about to close a major real estate deal.They will kidnap her and mess up the deal.But the joke becomes deadly serious when someone gets killed."The Clown Murders" is a boring thriller with John Candy and Lawrence Dane of "Rituals" fame.It's basically a hostage drama with 10 minutes of slasher in the finale.The killer wears clown costume and the scene in the barn is pretty eerie,but the action is slow and dull.If you liked "Straw Dogs" or "Death Weekend" you may give this one a look,but don't expect too much.5 clowns out of 10.
    kita117

    I had this movie on VHS...

    and the tape broke. Believe me I was very glad that it did. This movie is very boring and stupid. I do not plan to get this movie ever again even to rent it. Take my advice and be smart not to have anything to do with this movie.
    5meddlecore

    A Feminist Slasher From Canada Featuring John Candy.

    Canadian horror icon Stephen Young stars alongside John Candy, in this 70's slasher flick.

    Where a group of friends plan to stop one of their more douchey brethren, from exploiting his wife, in order to cash in on a lucrative land deal.

    Knowing that she owns the property, and must sign over the deed...they plan to dress up like clowns, and kidnap her, until the deadline passes at midnight, on Halloween.

    However, none of them expected that what starts off as a joke will end up progressing to murder.

    One mistake leads to another, they all start turning against each other.

    Just as the cops are beginning to hone in on them.

    Because on top of the scuffed kidnapping...a nefarious actor is hiding amongst them...trying to kill them off one-by-one...

    While the woman they've kidnapped is doing whatever she can, in order to survive.

    Things go from bad to worse as paranoia sets in amongst the group.

    Will any of them make it out alive?

    Or has this sick joke gone too far already?

    Either way, it looks like they've stopped the land deal from going through...

    It's certainly not your average slasher flick.

    Because, while the motives of each character are pretty clear...the way the plot plays out is really quite bizarre, and slightly confusing.

    Because even though the end game of each player is effectively the same...it becomes a kind of proxy war to control- even possess- the victim.

    As they've all desired her, at one point, or another.

    Luckily for her, she is clearly more grounded than any of them.

    And, having realized this, she uses it to her advantage...to play them against one another.

    So, while the men all end up bruised and broken...if not dead...she walks out of the whole ordeal generally unscathed...arguably, even stronger than she was before.

    Thus, hidden beneath the layers of drama is a moral tale with an underlying feminist message.

    A very interesting little flick, indeed.

    5.5 out of 10.
    2Coventry

    Rotten Candy

    The only reason why this dud of a film hasn't disappeared into complete obscurity just yet is because it features an early role of John Candy; - the proudly Canadian actor/comedian who would become very popular throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, and die at the far too young age of 43. Fans of John Candy shouldn't bother to track down "The Clown Murders", though. In fact, nobody should bother to track it down, because it's one of the single most boring, uneventful and inept thrillers of the entire 70s decade. Four pathetic losers, including Candy, joke about kidnapping their attractive friend Alisson, simply because they can't accept that she's now married to a successful businessman and busy selling the farming estate where they all played whilst growing up. They execute their plan during a Halloween party, dressed as clowns, and lock her up in her own farm. The opening sequences and character introductions were already tedious, but the actual kidnapping and hostage situation are downright dreadful. Absolutely nothing happens, except for arguing between the four losers mutually and shots of John Candy shoving fast-food down his throat. The plot promised another mysterious clown killer coming after them, but he only pops up during the finale and doesn't do a lot of murdering, neither. One to avoid at all costs, that's the only sane and righteous recommendation I can make.

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    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      An early role for John Candy, many contemporary releases hype up his role in the film.
    • Connections
      Referenced in Found (2012)

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    FAQ15

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 17, 1976 (Canada)
    • Country of origin
      • Canada
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The clown murders
    • Filming locations
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Magnum Pictures
      • Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • CA$135,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 36m(96 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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