Good quality psychotic clown themed horror flicks aren’t always the easiest to pull off. Off the top of my head some films of note that I think our greasepaint covered friends best are Clownhouse, Killer Klowns from Outer Space and the recent blood-soaked offerings, 100 Tears and Klown Kamp Massacre.
I must admit that when I saw the cover for Dark Sky’s release of Conor McMahon’s Stitches I was excited. Lately Dark Sky has had a fine track record with picking up some pretty decent independent horror films so I was cautiously optimistic that this Irish produced comedy/horror movie would be fun.
When a clown act at a kid’s party goes horribly wrong, a foul-mouthed, whore-bangin' clown by the name of "Stitches" (Ross Noble) finds himself with a butcher knife through his skull. As with so many of our favorite slashers, time elapses for several years and our bratty youngsters are now obnoxious teenagers. That is, except for Tom (Tommy Knight) the very well behaved birthday boy whose party saw Stitches' demise. Is he really dead though? Nope.
Stitches gets brought back to life by a clown cult because he never got to finish his act. The clown cult is a hilarious touch. A clown doesn't die unless he can complete his act. Naturally, the kids all get together and have a party that Stitches crashes with various sharp instruments. The gore is pretty awesome in this one. I liken Stitches to movies like Bad Taste and Street Trash and some of the great "splat-stick" films to come out of the 80's and 90's. The laughs are here, and go great with the carnage. Sure, much of it's pretty stupid, but what do you expect.
Ross Noble is very amusing as Stitches. He brings a nice maniacal energy and comic presence that carries through to the bloody finish. Stitches is as simple as it comes, so don't expect to be blown away by a powerful narrative but do expect a fast-paced, goofy and gruesome show that belongs up there with the best clown horror flicks. Recommended
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