Quietly hitting theaters in the UK is Conor McMahon’s soon-to-be cult classic Stitches, a clown slasher that features comedian Ross Noble as the title character. Completely under the radar, the slasher has the potential to be the next Hatchet, only with clowns.
Stitches is a micro-budget indie from Dark Sky Films that, while cheap, doesn’t pull any punches. It follows a clown who is accidentally murdered by a group of children. Years later, the kids all end up at the same high school party, which brings Stitches back from the grave for bloody revenge.
The pic is an old school slasher that really hones in on its ’80s roots. While a fun horror comedy, the film takes itself absolutely serious (like, let’s say, Fright Night). For example, the clown uses its nose to sniff people out, and at one point punches a kid with a Slinky-like arm, but it never apologizes for its silliness. The comedy itself isn’t slap sticky, nor is it laugh aloud funny, but it carries a “fun” tone that makes it an easy watch and a candidate for repeat viewings.
And while the filmmakers let the good times roll, when its time to get to business, they fucking deliver. Stitches is a relentless and brutal slasher that’s not only ultra violent, but also off-the-wall gory. But the icing in the ice cream cake is how original the death scenes are taking the genre to an entirely new level (think Killer Klownz weird).
Stitches is an incredibly low budget production – the film looks cheap, and the acting is suspect – but it delivers on so many other levels. Its biggest accomplishment is that it’s never boring, and carries heavy replay value. It’s a slasher that many of you guys will miss, but it could easily end up one of your favorite horror films in the past few years. If anything, you’ll learn to laugh with clowns and not at them.
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