Have we really explored the creepy clown subgenre of horror enough over the years? Maybe. Maybe not. But Crepitus is coming to add at least one more into the mix. This is one that’s been in the pipeline for some time and it’s finally making its way out into the world later this year. So how’d it turn out? What the movie may lack in production value, it makes up for with a terrifying clown for the ages, to go along with some hideous imagery and interesting ideas. It may not be for everyone, but certain hardcore horror nuts may well find some meat on these gory, twisted bones.
Crepitus centers on a seventeen year old named Elizabeth and her younger sister Sam who are doing their best to manage their less than perfect lives while being forced to live with their abusive, drunken mother. After moving into their grandfather’s old house, they begin to learn of horrible things scattered about their family history. To go along with the very real-life horrors they face in trying to escape the abuse clutches of their mother, they must also deal with a cannibalistic clown who has disturbingly evil plans for them both.
Crepitus feels like a scary YouTube horror short that one might find late at night and then send to their friends, but stretched to the length of a feature. That’s not meant to be a knock, but just a way in which to set expectations. Undoubtedly, this movie will draw (probably unfair) comparisons to IT, thanks to the creepy clown at its core and really, the movies similarities mostly begin and end there.
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First time director Haynze Whitmore paints a picture filled with horrors that go beyond the fact that there’s a clown that likes to eat people at the center of this story. Many of the sequences, which feature the two kids being abused by their drunk mother, are difficult to watch. It’s real-life and, tragically for some, relatable horror.
The low-budget nature of the movie, for better or for worse, makes itself known throughout. Don’t expect something that looks/feels like a big-budget studio flick. Though, it’s scrappy nature makes the effective elements of its story and the scares it manages to pull off all the more impressive. Many of these are centered on the titular character, and many of them are quite gruesome.
As is often the case with smaller horror flicks, the performances mostly aren’t doing this one any favors. That is, save for Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects, Texas Chainsaw) as the titular clown. Moseley is a certified pro and has been a staple of the horror genre for years. All of that experience and his dedication to the role helps to make this movie worth certain horror lovers’ time. Oddly, even though a clown that eats people would, on the surface, be compared to Pennywise, he actually shares a bit more with Leprechaun, with his rhyming, quips and blaze attitude toward murder. Only, he eats his victims instead of desiring a pot of gold.
While this horror flick is a little rough around the edges, this should provide hardcore horror fans with a creepy little midnight snack. This may not be for the casaul horror-themed thrill seeker, but for those who live, eat and breathe this sort of thing, your Shudder subscriber perhaps, this may well do the trick. Crepitus is set to arrive later in 2019 from Ginger Knight Entertainment.
