Coulrophobia: The fear of clowns. It’s funny how something that’s meant to provide such joy to people instead inspires fear and horror. Taking child-friendly things and twisting them into dark, terrifying nightmares is nothing new, but not a lot of heavy lifting is required to make clowns scary. I mean… just look at them! Whether it’s the makeup, the constant grinning, or their affable attitudes, it’s totally understandable how and why horror directors often make clowns as horrific as they are.
With IT: Welcome To Derry (2025) sitting at number #1 on JustWatch’s list of most engaged shows, people are clearly eager for some scary clowns, and IT (2017) arguably has the most famous scary clown of them all, Pennywise. Whether played by Tim Curry or Bill Skarsgård, Pennywise has terrified children for generations with his skin-crawling smile. But he’s not the only scary clown out there, and we’re going to look at five movies with some of the most disturbing clowns of all time. Maybe they’re the main antagonist of the movie, or maybe they’re just present for a single scene. Either way, these clowns are sure to scare you. If you’re brave enough to go to Prime Video or Shudder to tackle your coulrophobia, then go ahead and watch these five films now.
Terrifier (2018)
The only clown that could give Pennywise a decent challenge would be Art the Clown. Both are evil to their core, but there’s a certain glee that Art emanates that makes the Terrifier movies, especially the original Terrifier, so disturbing.
There’s not a lot of complex lore in Terrifier, but that’s kind of the film’s strength. It’s just Art, a bunch of random bodies for him to kill, and 85 minutes of him doing exactly that. The kills are so ludicrous and excessive that it’s impossible not to have a visceral reaction to them, and they put movies like Saw (2004) and Evil Dead (2013) to shame. All the while, Art is gleefully grinning and acting like he’s having the time of his life. Art’s silence makes it even more disturbing and enhances his menace. For those looking for a gruesome and excessive slasher, Terrifier is here to make you smile just like Art.
House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
You either love Rob Zombie as a director or hate him. His penchant for edgy and grimy horror is an acquired taste to say the least, but one thing is certain: Captain Spaulding from House of 1000 Corpses is a complete lunatic in the best way possible.
Captain Spaulding might be a reprehensible clown responsible for a staggering amount of death and carnage, but even still, you can’t help but love the guy. He’s bursting with charisma, and Sid Haig relishes every chance he gets to curse or spout off a crass one-liner. He takes clear inspiration from classic slasher villains like Chucky from Child’s Play (1988) or Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Spaulding embraces the silliness of being a clown, yet he is so physically imposing and revolting that if you saw him at the end of an alley, you’d go running the other way. Even if you are terrified of clowns, as long as you love a movie stuffed to the brim with antagonists, then you’ll have the time of your life with House of 1000 Corpses.
Hell House LLC (2015)
Calling Hell House LLC a clown movie may be a bit of a stretch, considering that very few clowns actually appear in the film. However, there’s no denying that the single most terrifying scare features a creepy clown, and that alone has to count for something.
Much in the same vein as found-footage movies like [REC] (2007) and Host (2020), things start well enough. We learn about the events leading up to the mysterious murders of 15 people in a haunted house through documentary footage that appears straightforward at first. However, it quickly becomes apparent that not everything is as it seems and, of course, a creepy clown is involved. Kind of. It’s a clown mannequin, and it doesn’t even have a name, but the anxiety it creates for the crew is absolutely frightening. Even when its scene is done, you’re never quite sure if it’s really over, since it’s always just there, watching. Some clowns are in your face, but this one gets in your head, so if you love to feel paranoid during horror movies, then this clown from Hell House LLC will spook you every time.
Wrinkles the Clown (2019)
No matter how scary a clown can be in a movie, there’s a certain comfort knowing that it’s fake. Pennywise isn’t real, and he can’t actually hurt you. But Wrinkles the Clown is real, and the documentary exploring who he is and what he does is unnerving to say the least.
Wrinkles the Clown is a fascinating look at an urban legend that’s steeped in reality. What if there was a creepy clown whose sole purpose was to scare misbehaving children? The documentary explores what kind of person does that and paints a picture of who exactly Wrinkles is. Cut from the same cloth as The Nightmare (2015), Winkles the Clown tries to explain why clowns are as horrifying as they are to people, while also delivering enough imagery to scare those who are petrified of them. Horror documentaries are few and far between, but if you’re searching for one and aren’t afraid to dissect the mind of a creepy clown for 78 minutes, then Wrinkles the Clown will blur the lines between what’s real and what isn’t.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
Not all movies with creepy clowns have to be scary. Sometimes you can have scary clowns in comedies like Killer Klowns from Outer Space. Granted, it’s a very dark comedy, but a comedy nonetheless.
One of the biggest selling points of Killer Klowns From Outer Space is how the film shows off its clowns in the most exaggerated ways possible. Most of them are puppets or animatronics, which allowed the Chiodo Brothers to really stretch and squash the clowns into looking freakish and completely alien. These are the kind of clowns you would wake up to after having a bad fever dream, and seeing them laugh and cause carnage can be terrifying if you hate even the thought of clowns. Again, the film never takes itself too seriously, channeling the pulpy charm of films like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1978) and Army of Darkness (1992). So, if you want to see some clowns that are both terrifying and hilarious, go ahead and watch Killer Klowns From Outer Space.
