Not Only Pennywise: 10 Most Chilling Horror Movies About Clowns

The fear of clowns, or coulrophobia, is one of those phobias that has inspired horror filmmakers for decades.

Perhaps it was this phobia that inspired both Stephen King, who wrote It, and filmmakers who make killers out of clowns, no less terrifying than shapeless creatures made of darkness and dirt.

1. Stitches, 2012

Comedy Irish horror about the bloody revenge of a clown. The clown Richard Grindle, nicknamed Stitches, was working at a children's party when the kids played an unfortunate prank on him and he died. But many years later, when these children decided to get together and have a party, the clown came back from the dead.

Critics have noted that the film must go down in history as a classic slasher, made according to all the canons of the genre, with obvious references to the cult horror films of the 80s.

2. Gacy, 2003

Gacy is based on the life of one of the most famous serial killers, John Gacy. He was once a prominent member of the Democratic Party, and simply a respected person. Now he lives in a small town and works as a clown at a local hospital. To his friends and neighbors, Gacy is a pleasant guy with a great sense of humor. Except for the occasional muffled screams coming from his house.

Clive Saunders' film does not pretend to be a documentary – some of the story is fiction, but many of the events shown are actually taken from the criminal's personal file.

3. Killer Klowns from Outer Space, 1988

This 1988 movie has long since become something of a classic – this is the story of aliens who land near a small town and decide to supplement their food supply with human flesh.

Since clowns do the killing here, they make all the deaths comedic – people are killed with popcorn, beaten to death with cakes, and tied up with cotton candy. On the one hand it's funny, but on the other hand a horrifying number of people are killed, and the general atmosphere is still closer to horror than comedy.

4. Drive-Thru, 2007

As the plot unfolds, MacKenzie's friends begin to die and the girl herself receives mysterious messages. Behind it all is a mysterious clown with a giant meat cleaver and an inexhaustible imagination.

A cheap trash horror movie where ridiculous special effects, bad acting and funny murders, coupled with an inappropriate soundtrack of heavy music, create its own unique atmosphere.

5. Terrifier, 2016

After a fun Halloween party, two friends go to a pizzeria and notice that they are being followed by someone in a clown costume. Soon the girls leave the pizzeria, but little do they know that they will soon run into the mysterious stalker again, and this time it will not be so easy to leave him behind.

The already cult horror franchise, which grew out of Damien Leone's short films, deserves the attention of every body-horror fan. And Art is perhaps the creepiest killer clown in the history of this horror subgenre.

6. Clown, 2014

Kent found an old clown suit and performed at his son's birthday party. After a while he discovered that he could not take the outfit off – it was literally stuck to his body. It soon became clear that the suit was under an ancient curse that instantly turned its wearer into a cruel child eater.

Clown is the first feature film from Jon Watts, best known as the director of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home.

7. 31, 2016

The plot unfolds on the eve of Halloween, but what happens next will definitely surprise you. A group of young people set out on a journey through the countryside, but at night they are attacked by unknown people and taken to an abandoned building, where they are initiated into a sinister plan – to launch an offline survival game called 31.

Rob Zombie's work is often described as eccentric, and yet he has quite a few fans. Some of them helped raise money for the filming of 31 and even got the chance to play in the movie.

8. The Jack in the Box: Awakening, 2022

For many years, Olga has been collecting ancient relics that she buys for her luxurious English mansion, which she shares with her thirty-year-old son. One day, Olga learns that she is terminally ill. Knowing that somewhere in the world there is a special Jack-in-the-box that can make wishes come true, she hires a treasure hunter and promises him a large sum of money for the chance to possess the box.

Awakening is a sequel to the 2019 movie that once did well at the box office. The horror was directed and written by British director Lawrence Fowler, who also directed the original movie.

9. The Task, 2011

A new brutal reality show is being filmed in the prison, and at the finale the strongest one will receive not only the honor and recognition, but also a large sum of money. Each player has only one task – to spend the night in prison and complete missions of varying difficulty with an evil clown behind the camera.

This low-budget horror is practically devoid of special effects, but the story unfolding on the screen is more like a quest, which will not be so easy to solve.

10. Clown of the Dead, 2015

Three children are found dead in a small Indonesian town. It soon becomes clear that one of them has long been terrorized by a mysterious clown. A trio of young people decide to take the investigation into their own hands.

In many ways, Clown of the Dead is reminiscent of It. The main plot and some of its twists exactly copy the events that took place in Derry, but despite this, Ronny P. Tjandra's clown turned out to be original and no less creepy than Pennywise.