First real hidden gem of the marathon shows up. I could not be more surprised and happy that it was a movie about a clown. A Killer clown.
Richard “Stitches” Grindle is a clown, but not a particularly good one. He is already late to a birthday party for little Tommy, and once he shows up, things don’t get much better. The kids laugh at him, not with him. His tricks aren’t magical, and he is failing miserably to entertain anyone. Two of the kids decide to have their own fun with Stitches. They tie his shoelaces together and knock him off balance. Unfortunately, when he falls, he lands face-first into a big carving knife point up. Stitches is dead, but his clown brethren have preserved his “essence” in an egg, that they have placed in a shrine. On Tommy’s sixteenth birthday, Stitches is inadvertently invited back to the party. Stitches is delightful, to be quite honest. Much like Deathgasm last year, this movie is utterly ridiculous, but it owns that ridiculousness. From the very start, there is the right amount of humor and horror. A movie about an undead clown murdering the kids that put him in the grave could have gone bad, quickly. Surprisingly, it takes this premise and never once treats it with anything but complete and total seriousness. I’ve seen my share of comedic horror movies, and usually where they fall apart is attempting to be too funny at the sacrifice of the horror bit. Where Stitches really sings is the seriousness it applies to both the comedy and the horror. There are no fourth-wall-breaking moments. No wink and a nod to the fact that this is an utterly ludicrous plot device. Hell, even the clown-ish puns are well done enough that I was laughing at them, and found myself saying “Alright movie. That was pretty good.” Given the rash of clown sightings, attacks, and a number of times they have been in the news recently, I felt that I needed to watch this film. I had seen the cover art for years and always ignored it thinking it just wouldn’t be worth anything. I am so glad that I took the chance to watch it. Stitches is the reason I watch random movies. I’ve seen more than my fair share of utterly abysmal movies, but this one sits among the select few truly charming and originals. Also, I kinda want to see every Irish horror movie I can see now. Like, literally all of them.
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