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Cleaver: Rise of the Killer Clown
UK 2015
produced by Anna McCarthy (= Anna Dixon), Mj Dixon, Alex Townley (executive), Bam Goodall (co), Jason Harlow (co), Jason Impey (co) for Mycho Entertainment
directed by Mj Dixon
starring Andrew M. Greenwood, Stephanie Price, Vicki Glover, Jimi James (as Jimi Nix), Georgie Smibert, Holly-Anne Dodkins, Kylie Slevin, Lewis Cooper, Cy Henty, Emma Wilde, Joe Hughes, Maria Barr, Daran Holliman, Gary Baxter, Tiana Rogers, Dean Sills
story by Mj Dixon, screenplay by Mj Dixon, Jason Harlow, music by Hockeymask Heroes, special effects by Bam Goodall, Mj Dixon
Cleaver, Mycho Universe
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Small town Oklahoma, 1995: Only days before Halloween, a girl (Kylie
Slevin) tasked with babysitting her little sister (Tiana Rogers) has been
brutally murdered and her face carved, while the little one has been
abducted ... a gruesome gruesome case, all the more so since the local
Sheriff (Jimi Nix) figures it might be the work of his nemesis of old,
Cleaver (Andrew M. Greenwood), once a pathetic family entertainer until he
found his wife (Maria Barr) cheating on him, killed her ... and since he
goes on a killing spree every Halloween, wearing his trademark clown mask.
As a result, the Sheriff and his deputy (Georgie Smibert) go on a clown
hunt, but not exactly knowing Cleaver's motive, they have little clue as
to where to begin, and the corpses they end up with in the process just
tell them they're too late (again). In the meantime, student Carley
(Stephanie Price), who's in desparate need for money as her tuition is
overdue, gladly accepts a job to babysit little Mary-Beth (Holly-Anne
Dodkins), happily ignorant to the fact that there's a babysitter-killing
clown out there ... but soon, knocks on the door with nobody outside, red
baloons popping up in the house out of nowhere, and her best friend's
(Vicki Glover) head on the nightstand tell her something's seriously wrong
- but knowing one's in danger doesn't necessarily mean one knows how to
avert it ... You might already have guessed it from my
synopsis, Cleaver: Rise of the Killer Clown isn't exactly
re-inventing horror, rather it's very firmly rooted in the slasher genre,
with the parallels to the classic Halloween
(also when it comes to the musical score) being especially easy to spot
... but that's not to say Cleaver: Rise of the Killer Clown isn't
brilliant at what it is, because actually it's a really strong shocker
that's brilliant in creating atmosphere (with the director's trademark use
of primary colours again pushed to full effect here), tells the story in
an engaging way, with well-played, palpable characters at the center of
things, and well-placed shocks and grotesquery to properly freak the
audience out on top of it. Totally worth a look ... or two, actually! And
if this has gotten you at all interested, feel free to go to
http://mycho.co.uk
to pre-order ...
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