With Halloween quickly approaching and the distant sound of trick-or-treaters lining the streets, one can always count on scary clown movies to get them in the spirit. Many individuals take the art of clowning to be a very serious thing, presenting themselves at birthday parties and other events, but the media has genuinely turned the idea of clowns into something scary or creepy. It’s hard not to think about Pennywise, especially since the massive reboot got so much praise and applause, when someone mentions a clown. That being said, there have been many frightening portrayals of clowns in movie history, so here’s a list of some of the scariest, ranked.
7 Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
Trans World Entertainment
This cult classic centers around a group of extra-terrestrials that crash-land on Earth and show up looking like creepy versions of clowns, otherwise known as “Klowns”. The movie is full of special effects and sound effects that now, in 2022, might make people chuckle, but in 1988, it was no joke. The Klowns come to Earth to steal people for sustenance, and they get away with several individuals, shrinking some down to popcorn-pieced sizes, wrapping them up in a cocoon-like cotton candy substance, and even drinking them through a straw. The Killer Klowns aren’t nearly the scariest on this list, but they’re still very creepy.
6 Wrinkles the Clown (2019)
Crush Pictures
It’s hard to believe, but Wrinkles is a real life clown, and not just a fictional one being created for the sake of a film. Wrinkles the Clown is a documentary-comedy that follows a man who dresses up as a clown named Wrinkles, with the man’s identity never revealed throughout the film to keep his privacy safe. Wrinkles is a for-hire clown that appears at birthday parties, events, and will even scare misbehaving children if the money is right. Wrinkles describes his work as an “art project”, going viral in 2015, when a video of him sliding out from under a little girl’s bed to scare her as a consequence, blew up on YouTube and became an internet sensation. Wrinkles the Clown’s website states that you can even have Wrinkles leave voicemails if you don’t want him to actually appear in his physical form.
5 Zombieland (2012)
Columbia Pictures
Jesse Eisenberg’s character Columbus admitted at the beginning of the movie that he has a real phobia of clowns. When Wichita and Little Rock are stuck between safety and the creepy zombie clown, Columbus has to overcome his fear and take down the disgusting creeper. It’s truly a battle, but in the end, Columbus busts the clown’s head with a mallet, and applies the double-tap method to ensure that it’s really dead. This clown gets bonus points for being scary with the amount of blood on it’s face, and also the way it seems to taunt Columbus as they spar around the amusement park. Zombieland is a good horror film if people enjoy comedic relief with their jump scares, and it has some pretty iconic cameos.
4 Poltergeist (1982)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Cornett Fiction states that the scene in Poltergeist with the creepy menacing clown is one of the most iconic clown scenes in movie history, because it’s oddly relatable. We’re all afraid of something, and this scene with young Robbie Freeling, tossing and turning in bed while feeling the clown stare him down, is something made up of real thrills and goosebumps. Poltergeist is about more than just a childhood clown-doll gone rogue, of course, but this scene sticks with individuals even way after the film is done. The art of being truly scared of something, the suspense as one waits for the impending scare; the somewhat kind smile on the clown’s face that turns evil as Robbie gets dragged under the bed, all play a part into what makes this one of the scariest clowns in movie history.
3 Clown (2016)
Cross Creek Pictures
This creepy flick is about a father just trying to do right by his son and for his birthday, but things go terribly wrong for the once cookie-cutter family. When the clown that was supposed to show up for his son’s birthday cancels, Kent McCoy goes off to find a clown costume last minute, and to his luck (and misfortune) he finds one in the basement of one of the houses he’s in the midst of selling. It turns out that a demon named Clöyne has taken over the suit, and once Kent puts it on, he can’t take it off. He becomes cannibalistic and uncontrollable as he kills and eats several children in the wake of trying to rid himself of the demon and the clown suit.
2 Terrifier (2016)
Dark Age Cinema
With a budget of just $35,000, this slasher film features Art the Clown, who makes it his mission on Halloween to stalk and brutally murder three women. The sequel to this movie is to be released this October, with audiences once again watching as Art the Clown terrorizes innocent individuals while looking incredibly creepy while doing so. The makeup alone is off-putting, but that combined with his wild hand gestures and movements, it’s extremely clown-like (obviously) and uncomfortable to watch.
1 It (1990)
Green/Epstein Productions
Stephen King’s clown Pennywise, who’s featured in his novel It, is one of the most well-known clowns to date. The small town of Derry is flipped upside down when it’s terrorized by Pennywise, and a group of outcasts known as the Loser Club bans together to fight the evil entity that’s possessing the body of a clown. They find family and friendship together as they promise each other to kill the creature no matter what, even coming back together as a team to fight him again when they’re adults. The 1990 TV miniseries is far scarier, more nostalgic, and purer than the 2017 release, although, the remake did extremely well in theaters.
