ricky roche Distributor: Columbia Tristar Home Video Plot: 15 years after a beautiful opera singer was killed, her daughter, Kat is plagued by nightmares of a clown trying to kill her. Her friend Monica signs them up for a drama class at the theater where her mother was killed. Once the students enter the theater, they discover the phone's are dead, and the doors are locked from the outside. Someone is dressed like a clown and is ready to strike...it's almost midnight.Audio/Video: Quality is excellent.Extras: Nothing.Fianl Thoughts: This is a pretty average late 90's slasher flick. I wouldn't advise people to buy it right away, but rent it if you can to see if you like it or not. It has not been released on DVD, so the best you can get is VHS.

FieCrier Some teens work to clean up an old theater that has been closed for about fourteen years, ever since an opera star was killed there. Suspicion for the murder fell on her co-star, who played Pagliacci, a clown character I guess. I must admit, I'm not familiar with the opera, and the movie doesn't fill us in about it. That actor has been missing since the murder, presumably a fugitive, perhaps in Europe.One of the teens found out six months ago that the murdered actress was her biological mother. I'm not sure whether she just found out that she was adopted as well, or if she knew that, but just not who her biological mother was. Somehow, everyone else in the school also knows. She's also having nightmares and visions of the murder.The students are all pretty much stereotypes. They also exhibit bad taste, as when they insist on seeing the room the murder occurred in, dress up in the clown costume, etc. all with the victim's daughter present.There are a lot of things that don't make any sense in the movie. There are lots of things they look at that the police presumably would have taken away at the time of the murder. Jewelry, letters, etc. Unless they had been hidden at the time of the murder, and then placed there later by someone, I suppose. There's also some fresh blood in the murder room that's never really explained.There's really no secret who the murderer is. Ebert's Law of Economy of Characters will lead you to the killer, as will an early scene in the movie. What isn't explained is why two characters who are not the murderer are wearing the clown costume in the final events of the film, and why one of them is there at all. That was pretty darn absurd.I had some hope that this might be a giallo - not quite. I had some hope it might at least be a decent slasher, but it's not. The clown is creepy looking, the setting fair, the ladies pretty cute. The acting is so-so, but the movie itself is just stupid, stupid, stupid. It is at times quite boring as well. There's a silly cleaning-up the theater montage to music. There are clichés aplenty. One character comes across one of the people dressed as the clown, who runs at her, and she runs away screaming. When they unmask him, and then ask him why he ran at her, he says he was coming to tell her it was OK, it was just him. Well, why didn't he just say so? Dumb.

BHorrorWriter The opening to this film is exceptional...It delivers a very creepy atmosphere, that continues through the first death scene...The thought of a film set in an old theater, of course, gives this the Phantom of the Opera feel, but It really doesn't feel that way when watching it. The stalking scenes, are at times, silly and predictable...and should be able to be avoided by the character, but nonetheless, people got to die in horror movies.Written by Kenneth J. Hall (Puppet Master, Blonde Heaven, Dr. Alien), it is not wonder there is some flaw to this. However, it really delivers more than one would expect from a DTV (direct to video) horror film.My big Gripe! The use of the standard Horror movie characters: The Jock, The bitchy Princess, The black girl, The gay Guy, the creepy guy no one can figure out, the weird lesbo-type girl into the paranormal, and a dim-witted teacher....and of course the basket-case main character...They follow all the stereotypes for their characters, and it tends to sway from the story, and make utter nonesense.Tatayan Ali, in my opinion is best performer in the film...Her death scene, however, leaves much to be desired (the girl just didn't Die well). Corny, predicatable Dialouge, slow, but creepy paced...the film really isn't that bad...but I disagree with one review saying this is a HOrror film for true horror fans...It is a decent slasher, but nothing we haven't seen before....The end, was no big surprise...but I didn't quite figure out everything until almost the very end....Enjoyable watch....I plan on watching it again...7 out of 10

thomandybish Those who have followed Margot Kidder's career know that she got her start in low-budget horror flicks(BLACK CHRISTMAS, SISTERS, AMITYVILLE HORROR)and have undoubtably been pining for her return to the genre. Well, wait no more! Ms. Kidder returns in this flick, a rather undistinguished slasher flick concerning a group of college students conscripted by drama teacher Kidder to clean up a previously long-closed theater, owned by Christopher Plummer. The kids are the usual stock cliches(jock, tramp, gay guy, plain fat girl, loner), and their presence angers a pyscho in a clown costume who lives in the theater. Lots of killings in creative ways, which is about all you can say about this movie, except that Margot Kidder and Chris Plummer are in it.