Clown is a 2014 American supernatural horror film directed by Jon Watts in his feature directorial debut, produced by Mac Cappuccino, Eli Roth, and Cody Ryder, and written by Watts and Christopher Ford. It stars Eli Roth, Laura Allen, Andy Powers, and Peter Stormare. Visual effects for the clown monster were done by Jagdeep Khoza, Alterian, Inc., and Tony Gardner. Principal photography began in November 2012, in Ottawa. The film was released in Italy on November 13, 2014, in the United Kingdom on March 2, 2015, and in the United States on June 17, 2016, by Dimension Films. The film received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
Kent McCoy, a real estate agent, is a loving husband and father who hosts a birthday party for his young son Jack. However, the clown hired for their party is unable to make it. Kent discovers an old clown costume in the basement of a house he is selling and puts it on. After the party, he falls asleep wearing the outfit, and the following day finds he can't take it off.
He is forced to wear the costume to work, where he again tries to remove it. When he returns home, he complains about the situation to his wife, Meg. She is able to remove the fake nose but unintentionally wounds him in the process. The family dog, Shadow, accidentally eats the fake nose. Meg also realizes the clown's wig has become Kent's natural hair. Kent starts to exhibit strange behavior and experiences a deep sense of hunger, eating all the food in the house.
Kent enlists the help of Herbert Karlsson, the suit's previous owner. Karlsson begs him not to touch the costume, but after learning Kent is already wearing it, insists on meeting him at the old costume warehouse. Kent learns that the outfit is the hair and skin of an ancient Icelandic demon called the "Clöyne". Karlsson drugs Kent, revealing that dismemberment is the only way to prevent the metamorphosis and possession. Kent fights back and subdues Karlsson, and while driving him to the police station to report the assault, his fingers and toes begin to grow excessively, causing him to crash the car.
Kent decides to try to kill himself and goes to one of his properties. He shoots himself in the mouth, spattering the wall with rainbow blood, but quickly regenerates and survives. He then meets a child named Robbie who attempts to befriend him. Kent tries to behead himself with a pair of buzz saws, but a fluke accident causes the saw blades to shatter apart, killing Robbie. Kent suddenly feels the urge to eat the child after tasting his blood and does so before Meg finds him. Once at home, Kent tells Meg to chain him up in the basement, telling her not to let him out. He learns from Jack that one of his classmates, Colton, had bullied him at school. Kent finds the bully and eats him.
Meanwhile, Meg is nearly attacked by Shadow, who has become possessed after eating the Clöyne's nose, but is rescued by Karlsson, who decapitates the dog. He tells Meg that the wearer can remove the suit only after eating five children. She also learns that Karlsson put on the costume to entertain the children at a hospital where his brother Martin worked many years ago. Martin smuggled five terminally ill children to feed the demon to free his brother. When Karlsson was released from the costume, the brothers tried and failed to destroy it.
Kent fully succumbs to the demon and sneaks into a local Chuck E. Cheese, where he devours one child in the ball pit and another in the tube slides. Blood and a severed arm flow down the slide, causing a panic, and the play zone and restaurant are evacuated. Meg finds Kent as Karlsson attempts to decapitate him with an axe. Before Kent can kill Karlsson, Meg tries to communicate with him. Instead, the demon orders her to find and feed him one more child in return for Kent's release. She must bring the fifth child to their "special place." Otherwise, the Clöyne will find and kill Jack. However, Meg refuses.