The Curse Of The Clown Motel

Whenever i think about a motel i immediately think about a highway motel standing out in the middle of nowhere. No shopping malls around or any restaurants near by, just a dusty highway with an old man running the motel. Of course i am sure there are other images of motels that many other people have but this is my own image of what a motel could look like. I have said in the past that if i ever visit America i should try staying at a motel outside a larger city, just to try it out and see the surroundings of nature. Some positive details may be you get a simple room with everything that you need, just an old fashioned bed with a basic bathroom. Most important of all is you have to have a TV of course so you can at least enjoy some American TV channels. If they have a water boiler in there as well it´s even better, so you can make a cup of instant coffee. Speaking of motels there are a lot of films in Hollywood who brought up the subject of motels. Of course most people would think instantly about Alfred Hitchcock´s classic Psycho, but there are films that i feel we don´t hear much about that are actually worth a watch. How many of you might have seen a film called Vacancy from director Nimród Antal ( director of the great 2010 action horror film Predators ) ?. It is a 2007 horror thriller released back in 2007 that actually takes place at a motel where a married couple played by actors Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale discover that their room have hidden video cameras. At first they don´t understand why anyone would do this to their staying guests until the truth finally comes out. Vacancy may not have been original in any way but i do appreciate that this film focused on making almost an old school horror film without CGI and using a basic story that actually worked. And the motel itself have a very important part of the story, and i do feel the location is used well to capture the atmosphere of a deserted road while turning into a home invasion film. Vacancy is definetely worth a watch on streaming or physical media if you enjoy simple but effective horror films. Speaking of motels i heard last year about a horror film coming out called The Curse Of The Clown Motel, not knowing much about the plot i just saw the film have horror actor Tobin Bell ( the well known actor from the Saw franchise ) and 90´s action star Richard Grieco from the classic 90´s film If Looks Could Kill starring in this film. Is this a indepenent horror highlight that should be seen or is The Curse Of The Clown Hotel a dull horror experience from start to finish?

Native American Alma ( Juliana Destefano ) travel back home to help her family get their Native American heritage recognized, all she finds is the World-Famous Clown Motel run by Mr. Wilson ( Tobin Bell ) that has been erected on their land.

The first thing that comes to my mind regarding the film The Curse Of The Clown Motel is that this is actually a great title for a horror film. The title of this film may sound a bit silly but still manage to say enough to make you interested in the film itself. I was actually curious to see what kind of horror film this would be since this was supposed to be a film connected to a motel with clowns. Unfortunately i have to say i am disappointed. With such a great premise for a horror film with a motel full of clowns in all sizes this could have been a great slasher film with murdering clowns, or perhaps a demonic clown on a rampage killing motel visitors. Instead we get a very slow horror film that takes itself way too seriously, and have way too many dialogue scenes that feels more like a way to fill in scenes just to get the playtime of the film to get closer to 90 minutes. If you are going to make a horror film especially focused on a motel you could have made an attempt to make the location interesting like they did in Vacancy that i mentioned earlier. In that film they knew how to build up tensions by using different locations inside the motel with effective horror scenes. We do get different locations in the Clown Motel as well but most of those scenes are neither interesting or feels necessary. One of the most positive surprises of this film is actually actor Richard Grieco ( Attack Of The Unknown ) as the character Stewart. Even if he doesn´t have a lot of screen time he comes across as one of the most interesting characters of The Curse Of The Clown Hotel. Actress Juliana Destefano as Alma do have some good scenes to be pleased about. Of course actor Tobin Bell knows how to put on a performance that only he can do, but i wish he could have done more with his character. At the end of the day The Curse Of The Clown Motel have some interesting ideas but choose to do nothing interesting with the plot of the motel. Directors Asif Akbar and Lance Kawas seems to have chosen a simple path with this film, not even trying to make this film scary at all. The Curse Of The Clown Motel will most likely dust on the 1 dollar store shelves in the future.

Rating: DD