The Clown Murders (Kino Cult #54)

It’s Halloween eve, and four college buddies hatch a scheme to dress up like clowns and kidnap a businessman’s wife to thwart a big land deal. But what starts as a practical joke ends in a nightmare of violence and murder. This Canadian chiller is the granddaddy of “slasher” and “evil clown” cinema — the film that proved clowns aren’t always funny; some can be deadly serious, with a real ax to grind! The Clown Murders was one of the legendary Canadian “tax shelter” films of the 1970s, which yielded such Canuxploitation classics as The Brood, Black Christmas, Terror Train, and The Pit. The Clown Murders is best remembered today for an early appearance by John Candy (Uncle Buck) in a harrowing supporting role.