Horror Movie Review: Gingerclown (2013)

With a cast that includes Tim Curry, Lance Henriksen, Brad Dourif and Michael Winslow, how could Gingerclown fail? Well, really easily as it goes. Simply by being boring amongst other notable failings.

A throwback to the 80s, something that is right up my street, the movie begins by introducing us to a group of jocks and their girlfriends. One of them, Biff (Michael Cannell-Griffiths) is a real bully and starts picking on the school nerd, Sam (Ashley Lloyd).

Biff promises Sam that if he will go into a local abandoned amusement park that is said to be haunted his girlfriend, Jenny (Erin Hayes) will give the nerd a kiss. As much about getting the bullies off his back, Sam agrees and Jenny, who is furious with Biff’s behaviour goes with him.

Once the pair are inside, they discover the park is not as abandoned as they thought as they run into all manner of wacky monsters and creatures. It’s now a fight for survival. The overseer of the park, the Gingerclown (voiced by Tim Curry) has plans for them.

The characters; Sam, Jenny and Biff have names but that is it. They are defined by the traits set up in the opening and that is it. Development? You’re having a laugh. This movie has zero interest in making you care about these walking clichés. Even the majority of 80’s horrors put more effort in than this film does.

Then there is the way in which the movie jumps directly into the action. Which might seem like a good thing but it’s not. With no real creepy build-up and an instant slathering of weird looking monsters, it quickly becomes formulaic and lacks intensity. Something that should have been fairly straight-forward but is made to look exceptionally tough here.

Not only that but we get zero explanation regarding how these monsters even ended up in the park.

Ultimately though some great looking monsters and effects could have rescued Gingerclown but it’s sadly not the case here. The use of practical effects is admirable but the puppets look bad in gloomy light and awful when we get a really good look at them. They look so fake putting me more in mind of a Five Nights at Freddy’s robot!

You can’t help but wonder, rather than spending the money on the big names in the cast, that could have been better spent on the effects.

Removing the disappointing effects, Gingerclown is just massive let down all over. Getting into the action almost immediately then dragging its heels for the remainder of its runtime.