It's been a while since I saw a new found-footage/mockumentary horror flick, so "Gags the clown" was welcome on the screen this evening & I really did enjoy it, however, it's not a very good one.
A pretty fast moving found footage horror comedy (with nearly zero actual comedy) taking course over one night, put together from live news, police cameras, teens and their smartphones, cctv's, a podcast team etc. - I liked this approach, the many cameras, characters, locations really helped with the pacing and visual diversity. So the whole city is either looking for or hiding from Gags the clown. The characters involved are very simple and one-dimensional, with a concerning amount of a-hole roles. As it happens in a lot of horror movies, some characters and their actions don't always make sense. The acting is as good as the script allows. The story is pretty straight forward, trying to build up the climax, the mystery behind the clown, only to reveal what it had revealed already before - it's all a social commentary, a satire on today's media, society and other related things. Not that it's bad, it's just that somewhere "Gags the clown" falls a bit flat, not hitting the nail on the head. The scares and most of the potential for creepiness is abruptly stopped with digital glitches and the gore is weak. There were a few little, cool elements I liked, for example, the balloon shtick (You'll have to watch it if You want to know). Visually, judging by the found-footage genre standarts, it's quite alright, could've been better if the budget allowed more than a "let's cut it with a glitch".
I think "Gags the clown" has a great idea somewhere in it, but is confused within itself. The fast pacing & many faces and locations provide a level of entertainment, and if you like or, even better, are scared of clowns, you might enjoy this. My rating: 5/10.
