“Just for the record, not every party ends up with a dead clown.”

Genre: Payback Slashers
Release Date: 2013
Where I Watched: Shudder

Gist: Little Tommy is having a birthday party, and his mom hired Stitches the clown. A drunk, cantankerous clown that the kids immediately ridicule. But when the kids pranks end up with a dead clown? I’m sure nothing will happen. It’s not like that clown will come back from the dead and take revenge six years later, when these bratty kids are in high school. Right?

Talky talk: Irish film board! Set in Ireland! Irish actors! Happy St. Pat’s Month, bitches! That’s right – this horror comedy is perfect for when you want to freak out your friends after a day filled with green beer. It’s a gorefest, so maybe don’t serve soda bread when you queue this up.

The actors look like they’re somewhere around high school age, which is a nice plus for high school-centric slasher films. And the banter is top-notch; there’s lots and lots of jet-black zingers tossed back and forth between the characters, and it’s wonderful to hear teenaged characters sound like teenagers.

The gore, you ask? Oh, it’s copious. While Tom has a shocker of a hallucination early on, halfway through is when Stitches really starts getting to work. And the kills are pretty wild, and delightfully unusual. And I’ve seen some stuff. The FX are incredibly effective, super gross, and a whole lot of fun. Harks back to Killer Klowns from Outer Space and Happy Birthday to Me, by way of Leprechaun.

And to wrap things up on a high note? The end credits show the cast names as bloopers play out. Well done.

Come for: A weird pick for St. Pat’s funtimes.
Stay for: The remarkably brutal and unusual deaths, all that gore, and the comedic beats that work perfectly with all the mayhem.