Clown Motel (Movie Review)

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

PLOT: Ghost hunters and party girls get picked off one-by-one at a supernatural motel inhabited by the spirits of vengeful clowns.

REVIEW: Located in a small desert town and sitting right at the edge of an old cemetery that is said to be haunted, the Clown Motel in Tonopah, Nevada was crying out to have a movie made about it. Director Joseph Kelly's appropriately titled CLOWN MOTEL (watch the precursor short film HERE) may not be the best possible movie that could have been made there, but I respect the attempt to craft a horror film around this inherently creepy real world location.

Written by Kelly (with some creative input from FINAL DESTINATION's Jeffrey Reddick), CLOWN MOTEL begins with a rather strange back story about career criminals, a deadly double-cross, and tragedy that struck at the Clown Motel in 1942. The film tells us that the place was founded by a group of people who apparently wanted to live as clowns 24/7 and were rejected by society due to that lifestyle choice. It's their sanctuary, and given the way that they were mistreated by the outside world it doesn't make much sense that this place would also function as a motel for paying guests. But before we can see much of how the motel operates, and before we can question the logic too much, all of the clowns that live there are dead.

Jump ahead to present day, where we're introduced to three goofy-ass ghost hunters whose internet broadcasts don't have much of an audience, but they seem to be more concerned with booze and drugs than with the paranormal anyway. We're also introduced to four women who have a similar focus while on a bachelorette party trip. These two separate groups end up at the Clown Motel, which is now a supernatural place that suddenly appears on the side of the road in the middle of the Nevada desert. These seven characters seek shelter in this seemingly abandoned place, and for a while the party continues. But soon enough the spirits of the clowns who died there start appearing and engaging in violent shenanigans – including multiple murders and an instance of same sex ghost rape.

I could have done without any kind of rape being in the mix here, but I was totally on board to see a supernatural slasher about clowns murdering people at a motel. Unfortunately, CLOWN MOTEL has about as much working against it as it has going for it. It's a horror comedy that only delivers a laugh here and there. I didn't like any of the characters, even though I liked the actors tasked with bringing those characters to life. The basic concept was appealing, but the execution was lacking. The moments meant to thrill weren't that thrilling, the kills were mostly underwhelming, the comedy wasn't that funny. It felt like this movie had potential that it was constantly falling short of.

Still, it does have some charm. The setting is cool. Stars Elinor Price, Amanda Kott, Angeline Mirenda, Alyssa Howell, Donald Schell, Steven Vogel, and Eric Prochnau all did well here, and I'd be glad to see more of their work. The cast also includes some familiar names from other genre films: Martin Klebba from the FEAST sequels, Ari Lehman from the original FRIDAY THE 13TH, Tony Moran from the original HALLOWEEN. 

The fact that there's a Jason Voorhees and a Michael Myers in this movie is probably going to be the primary draw for a lot of viewers… although some viewers may be disappointed by their screen time. Moran shows up very briefly as one of those career criminals in the opening sequence, while Lehman has more to do as one of the clowns. He's at the center of some of the action, and even gets to kill someone while yelling "Respect the testicles!", but his clown has to share the spotlight with several others.

CLOWN MOTEL isn't great, and at 96 minutes it feels a bit long-winded, but I found it to be a watchable diversion. If you like killer clowns or any of the actors mentioned, you might be amused by it. Just go into it with very low expectations. A sequel is already in the works, so maybe that one will live up to the potential better than this first try did.

To learn more about CLOWN MOTEL, check out its Facebook page. Kelly is currently running a fundraising campaign to cover post-production costs. Copies of the film can be ordered through that campaign.

CLOWN MOTEL is getting a DVD, VOD, and limited theatrical release on June 4th.