Inspired by True Events
Fifteen years ago: at a secluded house, a babysitter looks after a young boy and girl. The boy, RICKY, dresses up as a clown and scares the babysitter. She hears strange noises in the house, investigates, and is eventually killed by an unseen assailant.
The present: our young heroes – the handsome Brad, his beautiful blonde girlfriend, Sarah, Brad’s best friend, Mike, and Mike’s fun-loving girlfriend, Jill – stop at a diner in rural Ohio to get directions on their way to a concert. Soon, they take a wrong turn and are sidetracked in a seemingly abandoned town. After a look around, the group goes to their jeep to leave. But it won’t start. They open the hood to see that some wires have been cut. When they close the hood, they see a menacing-looking clown across the street, holding a machete and watching them silently.
Soon enough, our heroes will also meet Crowbar Clown, and Baseball Clown as they run for their lives, trying to find a way out of the nightmare known as CLOWNTOWN!
CLOWNTOWN is the first feature from director Tom Nagel. Writer/Producer Jeff Miller had written or produced nine previous features, and Nagel had worked as an actor on two of Miller’s films, JOLLY ROGER: MASSACRE AT CUTTER’S COVE (which Miller created and co-wrote) and THE BURNING DEAD, on which they reconnected. After THE BURNING DEAD, Miller watched and was impressed with the short films “Relentless” and “The Retrieval” that Tom had directed, and the two decided to team up to make a feature.
Soon thereafter, Miller began to read stories of people dressing up as clowns, carrying weapons, and scaring people in Bakersfield, CA in October 2014. The idea for CLOWNTOWN was born.
Tom’s brother, Brian, an accomplished actor, model, and producing partner with his brother, agreed to help produce and play the lead. (Brian played Katy Perry’s boyfriend in her “Roar” video hit, which has gotten over 1.4 billion views on YouTube.) Friends of the Nagels, Christopher Lawrence Chapman (a filmmaker in his own right) and businessman Ronnie D. Lee, came aboard to help executive produce. The Nagels’ cousin, Ryan Pilz, became Production Designer and First Assistant Director. Ken Stachnik came aboard as Director of Photography.
Casting came alive with Lauren Elise (of Justin Lin’s “Help”) nabbing the female lead. Andrew Staton, Katie Keene, and Jeff Denton became the strong supporting leads, along with the Nagels’ uncle and aunt Greg Violand and Maryann Nagel.
CLOWNTOWN has been invited to screen at the first International Horror Film Festival, to be held in New York City in October 2016. A theatrical release in Los Angeles and select cities is scheduled for September 30th 2016. The VOD/DVD release is October 4.
Check out the trailer below!
