[FILM REVIEW] SUPER HAPPY FUN CLOWN Review (2026)
Summary: To escape a life of oppressed obscurity, a battered former wunderkind weaponizes her obsession with clowning, serial killers, and classic movie monsters into a night of shocking infamy.
Year: 2026
Cinema Release Dates: TBA (Australia), TBA (Thailand), TBA (UK), TBA (USA)
VOD Release Dates: Available in all regions now.
Country: USA
Director: Patrick Rea
Screenwriter: Eric Winkler
Cast: Jamie Campbell (Robert), Dan Daly (The Husband), Rachel Feeley (Adult Britney), Brooklyn Funk (Young Britney), Nicole Hall (Detective Marshall), Nichole Hobbs (Nichole), Matt Leisy (Detective Barnes), Deborah Madick (Mom), Matt McCann (The Proprietor), Violet Rea (Young Jennifer), Jennifer Seward (Super Happy Fun Clown), Tim Shelburne (Ryan), Madeleine Sienkiewicz (Emma)
Running Time: 87 minutes
Classification: TBC (Australia), TBC (Thailand), TBC (UK), TBC (USA)
OUR SUPER HAPPY FUN CLOWN REVIEWS
David Griffiths’ Super Happy Fun Clown Review
One of the things that plagues me about so many horror films these days is that they rely on the supernatural so much that their ‘killers’ end up becoming baffling characters with zero believability. Gone are the good ol’ slashers that have the neighbourhood psychopath simply going on a kill spree amongst the local community.
Well that is where Super Happy Fun Clown, the new film from director Patrick Rea (Arbor Demon), shakes things up a little. Not only is this set in the real world but the killer is somebody we can all relate to.
That killer is Jennifer (Jennifer Seward – Black Zone), a woman who finds herself in a mundane job, with a husband (Dan Daly – VY) who has done her dirty and embarrassed her and mother (Deborah Madick – Vincent’s Vow) who constantly degrades her and reminds her what a mess her life is.
The only time Jennifer is happy is when she takes on the persona of Super Happy Fun Clown and is entertaining children or when her and work colleague, Ryan (Tim Shelburne – A Merry Single Christmas), are sitting around talking about serial killers.
Then on Halloween as she prepares for a party something snaps – Super Happy Fun Clown takes over and decides to get rid of all the things (and people) that are making Jennifer’s life such a misery. It is just the nightmare to make Detectives Marshall (Nicole Hall – Kings) and Barnes’ (Matt Leisy – The Friend) Halloween memorable.
What makes Super Happy Fun Clown so memorable is the fact that it is so rooted in the real world. We all know a Jennifer or have felt like she does at some time in our lives. You would think that might cause a big issue for the film in that fact that it is difficult to see Jennifer as a villain but so good is the screenplay by Eric Winkler (I Am Lisa) that he manages to overcome that with a few plot twists and turns and making sure the audience realise that Marshall and Barnes are the real good guys here.
Helping to root this film in the ‘real world’ is also Winkler’s dialogue which sees the characters talking about everyday things and of course some of the character’s obsession with actual real-life serial killers. Having recently been to a series of lectures that were attended by what I would call serial-killer groupies I can safely say that some of these are fans are obsessive and scary and that is well captured in the character of Jennifer.
Also helping to bring the character of Jennifer to life is a remarkable acting performance by Jennifer Seward. She plays the dour and downtrodden Jennifer to a tee and when she called upon to go to the evil side with Super Happy Fun Clown she does that in a creepy but serious way. So many actresses would have fallen for the trap that the two personas should be seen as similar – but they aren’t and Seward was a mature enough performer to realise that and introduce some subtle (and some not so subtle) differences.
It would be amiss of me not to mention two of the other things that make this such a special film as well. The directional style of Patrick Rea allows the film to remain naturalistic not matter the amount of gore we are witnessing on the screen at that time. That style goes hand-in-hand with the amazing soundtrack that the film carries as well.
It has been a while since we have had a decent heavy metal soundtrack coupled to a horror film so it is a welcome relief to hear artists like Pallbearer, Obituary, Type O Negative and Crypta get a run this time around. Let’s hope there is a CD or vinyl release at some stage for this soundtrack because it is killer.Super Happy Fun Clown proves that there is still room for an old-fashioned horror style film in the modern horror landscape.
Patrick Rea does more than enough as director to show he should probably be directing the next Blumhouse release while Jennifer Seward’s performance shows that this crazy clown should be mentioned alongside Michael Myers as a true Halloween villain.
David’s rating Out Of 5
Average Subculture rating Out Of 5
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