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Top 10 Scary Clowns in Horror Movies

Hey there Horror Fans! Got a inkling for a scary clown movie? Do creepy clowns freak you out? How about just plain haunting face paint that rubs you the wrong way? Well I think we all had to do a double take after the Gacy years, but for the meantime we thought we’d give you a nice little selection to choose from. Now my disclaimer on this list is “clown horror” films that I’ve yet to see which have been appropriately placed in the special mentions below. When they make the viewing circle, I might have to swap a few out ;) My choices are subjective, but what I feel are appropriate also

Out of proper courtesy though, I do ask that commenters call a few out that “should” be in the top 10. Which upon that we’ll be more likely to push 1 or 2 forward on the review cycle (or bump it up to a top 20??)

Scary Clowns:
The difference you’ll find is while some are “clown” focused films, a few others just have a smaller scary clown moments.TV shows were left out, though I did note a few memorable moments in the special mentions (sometimes scarier than the films on this list)…enjoy!
(not in ranking order)

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01- Stephen King’s It (1990) (Tim Curry as Pennywise the Clown)
Now here is a no brainer. Tim Curry was scary as the Devil in “Legend“, that freak in the “Rocky Horror Picture Show”, and “especially” playing the role of “Pennywise the Clown”. I think placing Curry in any makeup simply is not a good thing for our fragile minds. HMM, maybe Curry should have been the new Freddy Krueger??? (or his sister “Penny Krueger” – sorry lame joke ;)

Scary Clowns Horror Films

02- Amusement (2008)
Nothing amusing about one surreal clown creepster. In three tragic secrets, (stories) we get a small variety of subplots all involving the presence of clown horror. Amusement was a great film, one that I purchased right away upon viewing.If you’ve been putting this one off, don’t! It’s worthy of this list and for your DVD shelf.

03- Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
Campy, fun and they still look like Klowns you don’t want to wake up to. Regarded as a cult classic for campy clown films, you really can’t ignore this on as a mainstay repeat lister. For a clown film, it gets my vote for being most “80’s” of the group.

Scary Clowns Horror Films

04- Clownhouse (1989)
“Just before Halloween, 3 young brothers alone in a big house are menaced by three escaped mental patients who have murdered some traveling circus clowns and taken their identities.”

Now “Clownhouse” wears a darker presentation than some of these others. The film was banned, then released, then not released, then released again. In the end, it takes its dark clowns pretty serious. If you can locate a copy………….worth a viewing! History aside, its still a pretty good film.

Scary Clowns Horror Films

05- Blood Harvest (1987)
“In a small town, people are being murdered by having their throats cut.”
OK, weirdo Tiny Tim plays his 1 and only role of Mervo in this obsolete movie. Tiny really didn’t have much of a movie career…..and so he gives to the world a “creepy clown”. Ya I’m not sure what the public response was at the time but you can’t help but get a pit in your stomach on this one.

Scary Clowns Horror Films

06- Poltergeist (1982)
Who can’t forget that scary clown doll creeping under the bed? This film damaged alot of youths who promptly discarded any clown toys in possession. I imagine, in Hell …clown dolls creep around on a daily basis. Time to start praying!

07- Carnival of Souls (1998)
Actor Comedian Larry Miller plays the role of Louis Seagram, a rapist and murderer. While I’ll admit this was a piss poor film or bears no resemblance to its 1962 horror film “Carnival of Souls”, Larry Miller comes across creepy as hell. Not so much in a fantastical way as others on this list but in a more sleezy molester kind of way. Miller should never be a clown!

Scary Clowns Horror Films

Scary Clowns Horror Films

08- Killjoy (2000)
This originally wasn’t going to be one of my choices, however with a franchise (3 films) behind the character, I think ol’ KillJoy has earned a place. What I’m calling the scary ghetto clown, Killjoy does have one set of creepy chompers on him. He might be a prankster, but he’s not someone you want to mess with none-the-less.

Scary Clowns Horror Films

09- Zombieland (2009)
The film had nothing to do with clowns , and is rather a full-blown zombie movie.. Though there is that 1 confrontation when “zombie clown” comes after Jesse Eisenberg that stands out from this list as being a noted moment worth mention. Zombie Clowns are the worst type of clowns……..rrrrrrrrrr!

Scary Clowns Horror Films

10- 100 Tears (2007)
“Two journalists are on the trail of a demented serial killer who may be much closer than they think.”

You got to give this one a try if you are in the mood for just simply brutal clown violence. This one takes things to the extreme with lots of gut slicing chaos! It’s a frightening clown portrayal in a less fantasy based arena.

Scary Clowns Horror Films
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New entry! (updated 9.11.2014) – All Hallows’ Eve (2013)

While this list was published quite awhile ago, it was the recent viewing of a new clown horror film that prompted me to instantly include its entry into our list. Without changing the original list itself, I would have to put new entry “All Hallows’ Eve” as the favorite over all (even giving Stephen King’s It” a run for its money.

All-Hallows-Eve-2013-scary-clown-movie

New entry! (updated 10.23.2014) – American Horror Story: Freakshow (TV Series)

American Horror Story-Freakshow-clown

New entry! (updated 10.17.2015) – The Legend of Wasco (2015)

They keep on coming…..them scary-ass clowns…though we love em!
Future brothers-in-law Tyler and Byron bond by dressing as the Wasco Clown and taking pictures that spread across the internet, a viral hit overnight. What starts as great fun turns deadly as the very real Wasco Clown returns to terrorize the town. A Tale of Legend come to Life, a test of the friends’ courage to overcome their fear of a circus nightmare, resurrected.

The-Legend-of-Wasco-scary-clown-movie
New entry 2016 – Clown (2014)

The description says it all “A loving father finds a clown suit for his son’s birthday party, only to realize that it is not a suit at all”. How about a clown suit that doesn’t want to come off as its possessed by a demon from old world times?
Clown (2014) is an entry that can’t be ignored.

clown-2014-jon-watts

New entry 2016 – Rob Zombie’s 31 (2016)

Has a clown theme with killer clowns hired to kill for high stakes.
Though despite a gaggle of clowns, we are going to select “doom-head” as the worthy entry here.

31-doom-head-scaryclown-rob-zombie
New entry 2017 – It (2017)

Yep, we know it. 2017’s version of Pennywise was just as much a hit as Tim Curry’s version. If box office success was an indication, then this one is surely a clear winner. Make sure to check out other Pennywise articles listed on HNN

Seen a scary clown movie? Think it should be on this list?
Leave your comments below!

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SPECIAL MENTIONS:

Camp Blood (2000)
Camp Blood 2 (2000)
Clownstrophobia (2009)
Dead Clowns (2004)
Dead Silence (2007) (the Clown Doll puppet is often cited)
Dear Mr. Gacy (2010)
Drive Thru (2007)
Fear of Clowns (2004)
Fear of Clowns 2 (2007)
Final Draft (2007)
Fraternity Massacre at Hell Island (2007)
Funny Man (1994)
Gacy (2003)
Hellbreeder (2004)
House of 1000 Corpses (2003) (Captain Spaulding)
Jingles the Clown (2009)
Klown Kamp Massacre (2010)
Masters of Horror (“We All Scream For Ice Cream” Episode)
Millennium TV Series (1996) (episode  “Gehenna”)
Mr. Jingles (2004)
Out of the Dark (1989)
S.I.C.K. Serial Insane Clown Killer (2003)
Secrets of the Clown (2007)
Spawn (1997)
The Clown at Midnight (1999)
The Clown Murders (1976)
The Devil’s Rejects (2005)
The Fun Park (2007)
The Last Circus (2010)
To Catch a Killer (1992)
Torment(2008)
Urban Massacre (2002)
Vulgar (2000)
Within the Woods (2005)

 

45 comments

  1. Good list, but you missed the best murderous clown movie of all: The Last Circus. It’s a Spanish film made in 2010 that’s also the most violent circus movie ever. I’ll admit violent circus movies are a rare breed, but this film is top of the league. Here’s a link to my review.

     
  2. eeeeeeeeeeeee

    oh by the way stevens it was not scarry at all

     
  3. eeeeeeeeeeeee

    oh if any body knows the emily perkins or……ginger please could i it would be an honor to speek through this site with theme i love ginger snaps

     
  4. Nice list, I ended up at this page after seeing the ‘Killer Clown Scare Prank’ video that is going around youtube at the moment. It got me thinking that it’s been a long while since I saw a good horror film featuring a clown and now I’ve got a few movies to check out ;)

    Anyway, one suggestion that I think is worth adding to the special mention list or maybe even a spot on the top 10 list(it scared the crap out of me as a kid) is the clown doll from the film Ghoulies.

     
  5. best clown horror in cabin in woods

     
  6. Love the list though I personally didn’t like the Killjoy movies. Thought they kind of stunk.

     
  7. What?! No Capt. Spaulding??

     
  8. That clown on American horror story on FX that clown is creepy damn creepy

     
  9. Stitches the clown fro he movie stitches

     
    • I definitely agree with you Tha film scared the crap out of me and it was so disgusting I have nightmares about it and cant go to sleep when I think about it :/

       
  10. Ellie collins

    Awesome pics of clowns

     
  11. Stitches is the best clown horror movie.

     
  12. Thanks for posting this. I saw Clown House and that one really freaked me out as a teenager. I couldn’t remeber the title but I sure as heck remembered the 3 mental patients that turned clown. There is a new one one called Clown with Eli Roth. 2014. Btw Killer Klowns from Outer Space rocked. :)

     
  13. this is scary

     
  14. Good list. I love horror movie and I recently watched All Hallows Eve. Art the Clown is one of the most twisted demonic clowns I’ve seen. If you havn’t hard of him, you should check it out.

     
  15. this is the best one ever

     
  16. Scariest clowns for me are it, all hallows eve, judy and the 2014’s clown.

     
  17. Do u know how good it is to see Clown House in the list. For years I’ve been raving about this movie- I saw it when I was quite young on VHS (amazing I know)
    But have found no trace of it since!! Was beginning to think i maybe dreamed the whole thing up but it’s good to know at least one other person out there has seen it!

     
  18. AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

     
  19. Clownhouse. A dark movie is an understatement. The behind the scene going on on that was a horror movie in itself.

     
  20. potrait of3 clowns is worth a lot of money

     
  21. Psy-Ko Smiley

    If you guys like clown movies you need to check out Circus of the Dead! It’s coming out soon on VOD and DVD/Blu. I got to see it a bit over a year ago at a convention and it was good bloody fun! Stars Bill Oberst Jr as the head clown Papa Corn and a host of others. Film maker is Bloody Billy Pon who did Doll Boy. This flick quickly went o the top of my list of clown movies. Keep an eye out for it, they have a FB page just search Circus of the Dead.

     
    • Yes Yes Yes. I also saw this at a convention, with Billy Pon and several of the cast members. Fantastic movie.

       
  22. i reckon that the clown from the movie Clown is suuuuper creepy and should be on this list!

     
  23. ScaryMovieAddict09

    Nice list but Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2 movie with young Mike Myers in his clown costume was eerie amd scary as well aa Jamie from the Original Halloween movie in her clown costume was the best!!

     
  24. What about the Joker??? Most famous evil clown ever !

     
  25. Just watched ClownTown and really liked it. I recommend it for sure.

     
  26. Terrifier!

     
  27. Where is the joke on dark knight

     
  28. Stitches the clown !!

     
  29. IT 2017!

     
  30. What is the verdict about this killer clown in the movie Scary or Die?

     
  31. “The Zildorombie”

    It was a movie from 1939 involving a deranged criminal named Sylvester peters
    It had police brutality and all sorts of lovely stuff but the story was basically about Sylvester “the zilorombie” going around and killing and torturing family members of the cops and then killing the cops

     
  32. The best is the funhouse massacre! Asylum escaped murderers hiding in a funhouse using their dead victims for display.

     
  33. “Clowntown” was quite fun
    And “Stiches”… also I love the “We all scream for Ice cream”
    I know they aren’t known one. Pls watch them~~♥

     
  34. Does anyone remember a 89 to 91 clean movie that takes place in a factory? Aired on HBO allot

     

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