Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: Six years after a performance at a child's birthday party leaves him tormented by the kids and ultimately dead, Stitches the Clown returns from the grave to seek his revenge. Who's in it? The movie stars Ross Noble, Tommy Knight, Roisin Barrons, Gemma-Leah Devereux and Tommy Cullen. Review: I'm not exactly sure what compelled me to watch the movie Stitches this morning. While I'm not opposed to watching a movie that features an undead killer clown, I'm always more than a little skeptical because films like that almost always end up being silly rather than scary. However, it was readily available, and I didn't want to spend a lot of time choosing an alternative, so I gave it a shot. In the end, it was better than I was expecting but also nothing I'd consider anywhere close to being a great film. As I had suspected and mentioned, the movie did end up falling more into the silly category than scary. There was plenty of blood and gore but some of t...

Synopsis: College student Alma returns to Tonopah, Nevada and the world-famous Clown Motel in search of information that will help prove the land rightfully belongs to her Native American tribe, which had the land stolen in a massacre. While there, she ends up in the middle of an attempt at revenge by the remaining natives as they raise a spirit, the Chindi, to hunt down a group of bankers who prevented them from purchasing the motel while it was for sale. Who's in it? The movie stars Tobin Bell , James Chalke , Jonathan Champ, Juliana Destefano and Randy Couture.  Review: My wife and I were scrolling through movies on Amazon Prime earlier today and came across The Curse of the Clown Motel . It looked interesting, so we flagged it for later and ended up watching it this evening.  It was not a good choice. The best way to describe this movie is it was something that wasn't even close to what you'd expect from a supernatural horror film that takes place in a motel filled w...

Synopsis: The demonic Ribcage the Clown is released and begins a killing spree in a small town. His primary target is Emma, a college student with a crippling fear of clowns. As those around her are killed, she must find a way to overcome her own fears and stop the demon clown from continuing his rampage. Who's in it?  The movie stars  Brittany Belland ,  Monica Baker ,  Sean Patrick Murray,   Burt Culver  and  Eric Corbin . You can read my review here:  Movie Review: Clowntergeist (2017) (wizzley.com)

Synopsis: A year after Art the Clown went on a killing spree and was presumed dead, he re-emerges and focuses his attention on a brother and sister on Halloween night. Who's in it? The movie stars Lauren LaVera , David Howard Thornton , Elliott Fullam , Sarah Voigt and Kailey Hyman . Review: My wife and I re-watched the movie Terrifier a couple nights ago and decided we wanted to finally see the sequel, which was available on Peacock. While I admittedly had some doubts about Terrifier 2, despite enjoying the first film, it did end up being better than expected. Much like the first movie, this film seemed to be more about gore than actual scares. However, it was one of the few times when I felt like it worked. Art the Clown (Thornton) brings a good mix of creepiness and entertainment and, unlike way too many movies in this genre, the film does a good job of keeping his origin story a mystery, something that makes him unpredictable. Speaking of mysteries, the film has a couple ...

Synopsis: Still in mourning over the murder of his fiancée, American Casey Reynolds moves to England and takes a job at a small museum. While sorting through artifacts, he discovers an old Jack in the box toy and turns the handle to make the clown pop out. What Casey doesn't know is the "Jack" in this toy is also a demon and, now that it's been released, will kill six people. Who's in it? The movie stars Ethan Taylor , Robert Strange , Lucy-Jane Quinlan , Philip Ridout and Darrie Gardner . Review: It had been a few days since my wife and I had watched a movie together and I had seen The Jack in the Box  on Amazon Prime. I didn't know a whole lot about this movie, other than it seemed to be popular enough to generate sequels, but I didn't find anything that looked better, so we gave it a try. Overall, I'd say this wasn't a terrible movie. However, it also wasn't one of the better ones we've watched. I think the biggest problem for me was...

Synopsis: On Halloween night, a group of college friends decide to visit an "extreme" haunted house. They think it will be a great way to spend the evening and score some laughs but, about halfway through, they realize their lives are in danger. Who's in it? The movie stars Katie Stevens , Will Brittain , Lauryn Alisa McClain , Shazi Raja and Schuyler Helford . Review: I was a bit surprised to get this DVD through Netflix because I didn't even realize it was on my movie list. I'm not saying it wasn't. I just don't remember adding this film. And, because of that, I did find myself having some doubts about this movie. As it turns out, the movie was better than I was expecting it to be. Well, more specifically, the first three-quarters of the film were better than expected. At least in the beginning, the movie has a lot going for it. The plot is relatively believable with the friends learning about the open house via a flyer, being asked to sign a waiver ...

Synopsis: 30 years after stopping a killing spree by an ancient supernatural clown known as Pennywise, a group of friends reunite in an effort to stop the clown's latest murders. Who's in it? The movie stars Harry Anderson , John Ritter , Tim Curry , Annette O'Toole , Jonathan Brandis and Tim Reid . Review: I had intended on writing this review Monday. However, after learning of Harry Anderson's death that same day, I felt almost obligated to wait a couple of days. My oldest daughter wants to see the 2017 remake of this made-for-TV movie. But, before letting her do that, my wife and I wanted her to see this version first. So, since we had a snow storm Sunday afternoon and nowhere to go as a result of that, we ended up watching it. This was actually the first time I had seen this movie in its entirety. Up until Sunday, I had seen bits and pieces of it, including most of the second half of the film, but had never had a chance to watch it from start to finis...

Synopsis : A small town is terrorized by clown-like aliens with cotton-candy-shooting guns and a hunger for human blood. Who's in it? The movie stars Suzanne Snyder , John Allen Nelson , John Vernon , Royal Dano , Grant Cramer , Michael S. Siegel and Peter Licassi . Review: This is a movie my wife and I have watched together on more than one occasion. However, when I came across the film on one of our movie channels a couple days ago, I couldn't resist recording it and watching it again. We finished the movie, again, last night and, overall, I was happy with my decision to see it one more time. To tell you the truth, I didn't realize this movie was nearly 30 years old. Since my wife and I discovered it only relatively recently, I thought it was a much-more-recent (albeit low budget) movie. Now that the movie's age has sunk in, I can only appreciate it more. The best way to describe this film is, it isn't really scary or funny. It's just very bizarr...