Greetings again from the darkness. Here’s hoping I don’t get booted from proper society for admitting a strange fascination and enjoyment from the latest directorial effort by Spanish cult favorite Alex de la Iglesia. The film is assembled with unequal parts: political parody, black comedy, dark horror, outlandish action and a bizarre love triangle. All of that plus some of the freakiest clowns you will ever see! I am not really familiar with Mr. De La Torre’s previous work but evidently he has quite a following in Spain, though he has found only limited success in the U.S. with The Day of the Beast. Neither am I an historical expert on the Spanish Civil War or the regime of Generalissimo Francisco Franco, both of which are on-screen targets of the director’s true feelings. Still, the movie is such that it kept me engaged and even enthralled the entire time … especially in Act I.
The film begins in 1937 when a faction of the Republican Army crashes a kids’ circus performance and forces the performers to join in the crusade. One of the clowns leaves behind a young son while simultaneously picking up a machete and destroying a platoon almost single handedly – while still in women’s clown costume! It is a visual I have yet to erase from my memory.
Six year later, the clown is forced into servitude constructing the famed Valley of the Fallen. His son tracks him down and is offered “revenge” as the only redemptive action by his father. Flash forward to 1973 and the young boy is seen joining a traveling circus 
as the “sad clown”. This circus troupe is run by the ruthless and sadistic “funny clown” who is clearly the filmmakers representation of Franco. The foreshadowing scene comes in the initial meeting between the two clowns as ‘funny’ tells ‘sad’ if he weren’t a clown, he’d be a murderer. ‘Sad’ responds “me too”. Let the mayhem begin! The rivalry and violence escalates as Javier, the sad clown, is led on and falls for the acrobatic girlfriend of Sergio, the funny clown. As the story moves forward both Javier (Carlos Areces) and Sergio (Antonio de la Torre from Volver) become more grotesque and violent in their attempts to capture Natalia (Carolina Bang) the acrobat. It all ends with a breathtaking climb and operatic duel atop the memorial in the Valley of the Fallen.
There is no way to describe the trip from machete clown to the tragic dance atop the cross. It is a mash-up of Inglorious Basterds, Freaks, Machete and Phantom of the Opera. Additionally, there are countless homages to classic films through the years (North By Northwest, Vertigo, and many more) and a nearly operatic feel to the story and some scenes. Singer Raphael‘s version of “Ballad of the Sad Trumpet” plays a role, as does a crumpled trumpet. I certainly see this one becoming a regular on the midnight movie circuit, and rightfully so. It has everything a viewer could possibly want … provided they are in an altered-state-stupor and looking for the best violent clown movie currently showing!
SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you are a fan of 1970’s horror films but have always wished they contained significantly more violence and a few demented clowns
SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you are already frightened of clowns OR you are my mother
watch the RED BAND trailer (not suitable for under age 17):
Movie Reviews from the Dark 