tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738025286483185751.post8149725076306000650..comments2015-01-19T07:44:04.414-08:00Comments on The Nostalgic Attic: Clownhouse (1989)JP Mulvanettihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05381363705787780363noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738025286483185751.post-82997577326227829742014-05-28T01:38:39.655-07:002014-05-28T01:38:39.655-07:00Craig, thanks for chipping in on this. It was some...Craig, thanks for chipping in on this. It was something I felt that needed to be mentioned in the review, but I didn't want it to become the specific talking point around it - but I guess it's too hard to separate the reality from fiction, as you have outlined there. I've only ever seen Clownhouse and Jeepers Creepers, so I can't really comment on his other stuff. I'm not sure why, but this info wouldn't be common knowledge over here, so it wasn't until I began on forums, etc a few years back that I found it out. It was quite a shock, and I never would have linked up any imagery in Jeepers Creepers in the way you outlined above. <br /><br />Eric Red, as in the writer of The Hitcher? I gotta say, I've no idea on anything that guy might have done... All I can see mentioned is a car crash, but details seem vague. JP Mulvanettihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05381363705787780363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738025286483185751.post-70115615105467426102014-05-27T19:41:51.422-07:002014-05-27T19:41:51.422-07:00I can only say - Victor Salva demonstrates in ever...I can only say - Victor Salva demonstrates in every one of his films that he is ready to molest again at any time. Anyone whose art is tied into their sickness - should not be allowed to make art. As soon as he filmed himself fellating the child star of his first movie - he irrevocably showed how he mixes them. Hand him a shovel and show him where the ditch goes. Clownhouse - older men threatening young boys. Powder - pale "special" person misunderstood by the world who can't see how magical he is - textbook molester stuff - and lots of boys running around the locker room. Jeepers Creepers - big burly man monster goes after brother and sister - but is more interested in the brother - and when he catches him - puts his eyes out. Classic molester action. Jeepers Creepers II: big guy after more boys - who run around half naked again. A lot. I have only seen one of his movies - as soon as I learned about this douchebag - I wrote off ever watching another movie of his. I cannot support someone who indulged himself in a sick fantasy at the cost of a boy's innocence. I can't support anything he does in film. Now, shall we talk about Eric Red?Craig Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06037542638067599437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738025286483185751.post-88768285327926274512013-12-02T07:30:13.067-08:002013-12-02T07:30:13.067-08:00Yep, it's absolutely irrelevant, and the point...Yep, it's absolutely irrelevant, and the point about Burzum is well made. I'm a huge fan of early 80's Industrial Music and some of that scene's preoccupations and obsessions were questionable to say the least - shock tactics like the use of concentration camp imagery, misogynistic lyrics and so on - but just because I listen to Throbbing Gristle or Whitehouse doesn't mean I have to be a anti-Semite rapist. There's a sort of moral hysteria going on when Salva's films are mentioned and I'm not sure I understand it. I mean I've gotten a few bloody noses on forums in the past when I defended <b><i>Cannibal Holocaust</i></b> as a piece of great art...Weshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10502948357255970132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738025286483185751.post-58908428814224830162013-12-02T06:41:51.653-08:002013-12-02T06:41:51.653-08:00I haven't seen as much of Rollin's work as...I haven't seen as much of Rollin's work as I should have, but that scene you described certainly sounds unusual. On the list it goes!<br /><br />I quite enjoy the first Jeepers Creepers, and I did so for many years not knowing a thing about Victor Salva.I was having a conversation about morally questionable artists/musicians with a friend recently (the likes of Burzum, etc) and what it boils down to is this; I like extreme art, music and film. Do I have to like the artists behind these things? No. It's my price I have to pay if I want to be into the extremities in life; not all of these people are going to be Steven Spielbergs, many of them are drug addicts, psychologically damaged, sociopaths, etc. I know that's a little off tangent from the horrible shit that happened behind the scenes of this fairly mainstream film, but somehow it is still relevant.JP Mulvanettihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05381363705787780363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738025286483185751.post-24691020403050236732013-11-29T09:41:41.351-08:002013-11-29T09:41:41.351-08:00Good stuff JP, really interesting choice of film t...Good stuff JP, really interesting choice of film to review (and some well chosen screenshots). I had forgotten about the scandal surrounding this film... I haven't seen the film myself, so thanks for supplying the trailer which I liked enough to keep an eye out for the film. The whole clown thing is interesting and I think for <i>a lot</i> of people the clown represents something scary, grotesque, alien. I can't remember who said it or the exact wording, but someone once made the point that if you saw a clown in a circus you might crack a smile, but if you saw a clown on your front lawn, you might feel differently. There's definitely something powerful about the image of the clown - there's a bit of creepy clown business in <b><i>Xtro</i></b>, and there's a great, unexpected moment in Jean Rollin's 1974 film <b><i>Démoniaques</i></b> when the two female leads are led to safety by a female clown - it's a completely irrational moment but magical nonetheless.... I remember reading a thread on the <b><i>Jeepers Creepers</i></b> films and someone was advocating burning the negatives of Victor Salva's film because of his behaviour on <b><i>Clownhouse</i></b>. Which I thought was ridiculous considering all the cast and crew who worked hard on those films (which I think are decent time-wasters) but it demonstrates what a tricky, emotive issue this kind of thing can be...Weshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10502948357255970132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738025286483185751.post-27518410424698177922013-10-09T08:20:02.049-07:002013-10-09T08:20:02.049-07:00Yeah, I dig both of those films over this. As you ...Yeah, I dig both of those films over this. As you said, it is pretty tame, and it felt almost like it could have been a TV movie to me. I think the hype around it is more to do with the real-life case, I can imagine it makes the film more horrific for some.JP Mulvanettihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05381363705787780363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738025286483185751.post-33464487721851287432013-10-05T06:26:53.469-07:002013-10-05T06:26:53.469-07:00I was a little disappointed by this one. I love ki...I was a little disappointed by this one. I love killer clown movies although I don't know why, because most of them are awful, but there is definitely something inherently scary about clowns... at least to me. But this film wasn't very effective for me. I much prefer Killer Klowns from Outer Space as wacky as it is or Stephen King's IT. I thought Clownhouse was pretty tame and boring, but I did have high expectations.Doug Rooshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09417088257701245038noreply@blogger.com