Gags the Clown (2018) [review]
Gags the Clown (2018) [review]
Not a good film, but an enjoyable one
Quick Review
Watch it once.
A horror comedy devoid of horror and comedy. Normally a bad thing, but there’s something strangely watchable about this mess. It may have played out better as pure horror or comedy.
There’s a clown popping up randomly around town which scares the snowflakes. Probably warranted, as those encountering Gags mostly end up dead. Seemingly related to a white powder released from black balloons. There’s meant to be a supernatural element, however Gags makes so few appearances that it has no bearing on the story. He teleports a lot. Is that scary?
We’re spending a dismal Saturday night following 4 distinct groups: TV news crew, police patrol, live streamer and some kids. They all share an evening tracking the least funniest clown since? Was there ever a funny clown? A few people get injured, not many die and fewer seem to care. Not even the viewer.
Shots are all from first person camera perspectives, though in a very professional manner. ‘Gags the Clown’ is not a Sony Handycam college project. Although maybe it would have gained notoriety if produced a more amateur style?
Considering the breadth of characters and variety of tales being told, there should be enough here to entertain the most opposite of couples. Decide who’s to blame for picking this movie before watching.
Overview
Genre(s): Horror, Comedy, Clown
Location(s): Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA
Writer(s): Adam Krause, John Pata
Director(s): Adam Krause
Main Actor(s):
'Lauren Ashley Carter' as 'Heather Duprey' (reporter)
‘Aaron Christensen’ as ‘Charles Wright’ (streamer)
‘Halley Sharp’ as ‘Sara Renard’ (kid)
‘Tracy Perez’ as ‘Chrissy Renard’ (stepmother)
‘Eric Heuvelman’ as ‘Gag's’ (not that you’d notice)
Official Synopsis:
“When a sinister clown roams the city streets terrorizing the population a local news reporter scrambles to reveal his identity while a group of high school kids see the clown's antics as an excuse to create trouble. As the police try to maintain order a vigilante vows to put a stop to the clown whilst broadcasting his ‘hunt’ live on social media. based on a true-life incident and the viral hysteria that followed with the clown sightings reported worldwide...”
Box Art:
In More Detail (no major spoilers)
No major spoilers here, but film structure and plot is analysed in detail. If in doubt, just watch the film.
If the synopsis sounds familiar, it’s because this film is “Based on the real phenomenon”. That’s not a lie. “Based on” is quite a lose term in the movie industry, with meanings varying from “in name only” to “absolutely nothing in common with".
Does anyone remember the great clowning of 2016? Can’t imagine why anyone would. There was a short spate of people dressing up as clowns and standing in public. That’s all. Snowflakes got scared and called the police, fearing for the lives. Something I would expect Frank Drebin to investigate.
It pretty much triggered a national emergency in the USA. At least that’s what the media made it out to be. There were cases reported in other parts of the world but, at least in the UK, we laughed it off. Which was the correct response. No one was hurt. It was a joke and… fuck me people are pathetic these days.
‘Gags the Clown’ is a movie everyone should hate. However, it’s not bad. It’s also not good. The two cancel each other out. Fence-sitting is not tolerated here, so I must commit to labeling it as a good movie.
First of all, what makes it bad?
Story. There’s not much progression. People move from one area to another but it doesn’t feel like anything of consequence is happening. There’s no origin story. Ending is weak. Inconsistencies with villain.
Acting. Half the cast are really bad actors.
Writing. It occasionally feels like dialog is missing. As though we’re supposed to absorb some visual spectacle which isn’t there. At times scenes feel improvised by actors who may not be experienced enough to do so.
Villain. Is it supposed to be a spirit or physical entity? Does it kill people or cause some mania? What are its motives? Could have been fleshed out more. Is not scary.
OK, what makes it good?
Story. Evil clown, people are dying, what’s not to like? Pacing is good, variety in locations, doesn’t jump around too much and is easy to follow. I can’t imagine not sitting through to the end.
Acting. Half the cast are really good actors.
Writing. The dialog is written better than it’s, sometimes, delivered. All 4 groups feel diverse, relatable and merge together well by the end.
Villain. Well designed. Some may find it unsettling with silence and demeanor. What little we know is intriguing enough for a sequel. Clowns are a good choice to create complexity and confusion with impostors.
My problem is the bad elements are also good. I’ve watched the movie at least 5 times and will likely give it a few more runs in the future. If it were bad, I wouldn’t want to watch. So it’s good!
My view of the movie may be tainted by the puppy crushingly adorable Lauren Ashley Carter. She plays a struggling reporter looking for that one story to make her career. I didn’t recognise any of the actors, however Lauren impressed me enough to get top billing.
Her lines are well delivered, though it’s mannerisms what sell a role; she looks around sets, interacts with objects, is weary of her body language, moves her hands about and changes facial expressions. Sounds simple right? I’ve seen countless films with high-profile actors standing with hands to their sides, staring directly at targets while droning lines out. ‘Gags’ doesn’t have a big studio budget to fix this with CG, so actors need to step up their game. Lauren has little to work with, yet runs rings around million dollar Hollywank drama queens. A fantastic actress.
Acting is not hard, but I’m not going to call out any lousy actors from the ‘Gags’ cast list. None of them are bad through lack of trying. Or maybe they are? It could be the few actors who I want to call out, can’t act. Maybe the director didn’t direct them well enough? Perhaps the script worked well on paper but fell over when acted out? After watching this movie a few times I can say, with no confidence, it’s not the actors.
Here’s a subtle reminder that ‘Gags’ is professionally made movie. Actors were paid to act in it. They should be of a standard higher than that lazy bastard calling in sick for a lazy 3 day weekend. Everyone during production must have known this wasn’t going to be a blockbuster success, but clearly continued to put effort in. It’s appreciated.
It’s as though some of the actors didn’t believe their lines or couldn’t get in to the mindset of their character. That’s why I say the acting is good and bad. Every actor put the work in, but not all were believable in their roles.
We follow the escapades of 4 small groups, with screen time split equally among them. I’m not virgin enough to have calculated each segment, but feel like the right amount of time was spent with every person! Events take place in real-time with viewers guided around everywhere bar the green bay of Green Bay, Wisconsin. A place I know of solely due to ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’.
First we have the news team. Consisting of a correspondent (Lauren), her camera guy and a van. Their story is primarily depicted through a shoulder camera and something mounted to the dashboard of their van. In my opinion, they’re the strongest group because they contribute the most. It’s only through their reports that we learn about Gags’ possible origins. There’s conflict with another correspondent, drama with the news station who wants them to come back and the pair have very good chemistry. Unfortunately the film isn’t all about this group, though I can’t imagine how it would work if it were.
The second most interesting group comprises of our boys in blue. Obviously there’s only 1 boy, because nothing deters criminals like a tiny fragile girl with the stopping power of a red light. Our crime fighting duo aren’t investigating Gags. Instead they’re on general patrol, visiting house parties, checking up on clown sightings and not eating doughnuts. This eventually leads them to Gags, though it doesn’t seem part of the clowns dastardly plan. If there is one? There is a link between the group of kids and one of the officers. Guess who!
Next up is a middle-aged male veteran turned mediocre online streamer. He’s accompanied by, what I’m guessing is, his cameraman/producer/tech guy. Being a tough guy turned keyboard warrior, he has some common sense ideas as to dealing with Gags. Viewers call out his bullshit, he proves them right, proves them wrong, his story ends. He’s a poorly acted, over the top representation of middle America who contributes nothing to the story. Although the stereotype is uncomfortably accurate. This groups story is depicted through streaming cameras.
Finally we have the kids, who are wasting their Saturday night recording the most mundane of crap through camera phones. This group consists of a girl and 2 guys, equally bland. They go to a house party and… whatever. They go a fairground and… whatever. They walk around the streets and… yeah. This group ties in to the cops and it works well enough. Although the ending phone call feels very forced. It’s a nice little twist for some emotional manipulation. If you feel emotions, unlike me.
The four groups are tenuously linked with their stories culminating in an adequate manner. Which is always appreciated in these hit-and-frequently-miss endeavours. It’s better to have any ending than leave an open story, knowing a sequel will likely never happen. I’ll cover the ending in the spoilers section, but don’t expect anything explosive. Or do. It’s a strange semi-supernatural conclusion, which doesn’t explain anything. Normally an irritating trait, though I didn’t mind. Although 1 thing obviously bothered me!
For a film centered around first person perspectives, there’s no feeling of being a fly-on-the-wall. I don’t know how to feel about that as I like the way ‘Gags’ was shot. Shaky cams rattle my temper, they’re not realistic or artistic. So to me, it’s a good thing this was produced as a more traditional movie.
There’s an occasional SJW vibe with both the news crew and streamer groups. Some of the wording and deliveries make you tingle, in a bad way. Not sure if it’s intentional? Don’t think it is. Just block out those few snowflake pandering moments and enjoy ‘Gags the Clown’. Or lack thereof. He hardly makes any appearances and never really does anything!
Don’t Read This Section!
I’m not covering the entire movie and taking away potential earnings. This is an area for parts of the review which may ruin the viewing experience, not for disclosing every plot point.
Scream Queen
Lauren Ashley Carter belts out an Oscar winning scream the likes of which I’ve not heard in a very long time. An unexpected gift from such a tiny person. It was a frustration scream rather than terror, but the skill is transferable.
Scream queens are a dying breed, if not already extinct. They’re sadly missed in modern cinema. Having been eradicated in favour of big boobed, airhead tarts who demand sex scenes written in to every role they take. How talented and classy.
I just checked IMDB and Lauren currently has nearly 30 credits to her name. Got a feeling some of these are going to be hard to track down and I want to watch every one of them!
Big Marge
It’s ‘LARGE MARGE’ for fuck sake. There is no copyright for alliteration. How did you mess that up.
Boobs (23:51)
I watched ‘Gags’ in good quality 1080 and still needed a frame by frame inspection to confirm the bedroom slut wasn’t wearing a bra.
While I’m completely against sex in the majority of movies, nudity is hit and miss. It needs to be perkinent pertinent to the scene and tastefully done. This one makes sense and the girl covers her shame almost immediately.
It’s a teen house party so I’d guess she was meant to be around 17? I can do without paedophilia in my movies. Thanks.
Clown Interview
Was not funny.
Antique Store Interview
Finally, some information about Gags! He died in 1974 when the circus he worked for went up in flames. So why is he killing people? Is that a clown joke?
I’ll be writing some brutal erotic fan fiction chronicling this guys demise after he called Lauren a “pixie whore” !!!
The Veteran
The most horrible character since every role Zooey Deschanel will ever play. I get what he’s meant to represent; veteran who’s never seen combat and LARP’s as a gun totting super soldier to make himself sound important before an audience of keyboard warriors. Which is an ignorant view of how the world works. He would be unmasked and called out within seconds. It’s happened countless times in the real world.
I don’t think the actor could relate to the character much as they put on a poor performance. Perhaps watch the Alex Jones show to get an idea of how over the top, bat shit crazy you’re meant to be. Research the role. You can always suggest changes to a script.
The Deaths and Mutilations
Gags carries balloons filled with white powder that seem to instill some sort of mania within people. Those affected mostly mutilate the lower half of their faces. It’s hard to tell what exactly the carnage is, but we witness one individual cutting out their tongue in a restaurant kitchen. Doesn’t explain the insane blood splatter across the hybrid shitmobile in the opening sequence though. Maybe they exploded?
Other than the self-inflicted facial mutilation, Gags doesn’t do anything. Even the incidents which do occur are related to the powder and not him.
There’s a random cop investigating a vacant theater when suddenly, clown! Gags teleports towards them in sharp, distorted jump cuts. The officer screams and end scene. Presumably nothing happened? We never saw anything more and the incident is never mentioned again.
The only death Gags seems directly responsible for is the wondrous Lauren. He hands her a lifelike twin styled with balloons. How sweet. Lauren takes the balloons then laughs hysterically before she and the balloons explode together. Why? Other than making me miserable, why did this need to happen? What relevance does it have to any event or death?
I guess balloons are Gags’ power?
Gags
Why even be in the movie? We learn nothing about him, he isn’t scary and doesn’t directly kill anyone. Was it just to build hype? The circus tent at the end wouldn’t have made much sense without Gags.
Though it wouldn’t be effort, for any aspiring writer who’s ever jotted down an idea on the back of a receipt, to plot a generic scenario. Simply have everyone meet in a spooky darkened room, then shoot each other through panic or powder induced insanity. Which is not far off what happens at the tent.
Ending
Not the circus tent, that makes sense in context of the movie; it’s a way to merge the stories of all 4 groups. Everything feels forced but it’s a decent ending. I didn’t see all the deaths coming, which was sort of a treat. They weren’t scary. Don’t think they were meant to be? Which is odd for a horror movie.
Tracy Perez stands out in this final jaunt, although all she had to do was fall over and lie on the floor dead. Something Margot Robbie couldn’t do without taking her clothes of and dancing around like a prat for attention. So +1 for Perez.
The lack of Gags exposition was very disappointing. All we learn is there’s a clown and people occasionally die when in proximity of it. I’m not happy about this being marketed as horror with so few horror elements, but it’s an uphill struggle when the sub-genre is ‘comedy’.
Why did my dearest Lauren have to die? A quick death, exploding after being handed a balloon portrayal, but that’s little comfort in a Lauren-less world. Let’s hope she fares better in other movies…
