After her life hasn’t quite panned out as expected, a passionate clown turns from fun to frenzy in an attempt to join the ranks of infamous serial killers. With Halloween on the horizon, she aims to shape her own legacy while acting out her personal desires.
After having a semi-turbulent childhood in which her mother juggled mild abuse with delusions of grandeur for her future, Jennifer Sullivan finds herself living a lackluster lifestyle. Her mother despises her for not becoming a star, her career path bores her and her partner is a man who’d rather look at children than her. Everything is grim for Jennifer, except for when she’s at the park entertaining kids as Jenn-O the Clown. The only other hobby she has is a passion for serial killers, and the only thing Jennifer finds herself looking forward to is Halloween.
After being invited to her co-worker’s Halloween party, Jennifer decides to combine her passions and carve her own way into stardom. If she can’t be famous, she’ll opt for infamy. As Halloween approaches, Jennifer’s time as Jenn-O becomes more sinister. After coming home from another day of performing for kids, Jennifer silently snaps. She dispatches a few people from her life and counts down the days to Halloween. Now acting out her dark fantasies as a silent slasher, Jennifer is completely lost and Jenn-O is in charge. A holiday of slaughter lay before her, and she’s going to make the most of it.
The concept showcases the love of horror coming from the writer and director combo of Eric Winkler and Patrick Rea, who had previously released it as a short film in 2023. Super Happy Fun Clown likely finds itself better suited as a short than a full length movie, as the film adaptation of their concept feels like more padding than substance. The build up to the expected horror outing takes too long, and viewers will spend time wondering what the tone of the film is. Labeled as a horror-comedy, Super Happy Fun Clown sadly offers nothing in terms of scares, but a viewer can expect a few chuckles here and there. While it’s obvious that the creative team loves horror, the film doesn’t do much to reward horror fans themselves.
Those familiar with the success of the Terrifier franchise will quickly see where Super Happy Fun Clown’s influence comes from. More than a few things feel like they were directly inspired from Art’s antics. Jenn-O, like Art, stays silent during her killing spree, retrieves her tools for murder from a bag of random weaponry, has no issue with using a gun, and will seemingly befriend a target prior to killing them. There’s even a gratuitous masturbation scene in Super Happy Fun Clown that, while not being a copy, feels heavily motivated by one scene in Terrifier 3. Once you start to notice the parallels in Super Happy Fun Clown, they become unavoidable and blatantly derivative.
While the movie feels like an attempt at an Art-like outing, it just doesn’t have the same ferocity, creative kills, or dark comedy that makes the whole thing work. The kills are all delivered gently, and gore is heavily downplayed. This doesn’t seem intentional as the vulgar nature of the film itself seems to warrant more grandiose displays of visceral eye candy. Case in point; When Jenn-O goes to eat part of a long deceased victim, the audience can see she’s driving a sharpened spoon into his side. However, they can’t see the act itself. It’s small moments such as this that keep Jenn-O from reaching Art’s level. The only differences between them are Jen’s back story, her verbal nature when she isn’t in makeup, and her over-active libido that comes into play several times during the film.
Lacking any unique kills, unexpected twists, or charming moments… Super Happy Fun Clown sadly lands flat. The first act lingers too long, the final act goes by too fast, and everything in the middle will have you wondering how much longer the film will go on. I can say that Jennifer Seward, who plays Jenn-O the Clown, seemed to enjoy her time on set. The concept for the character itself is original enough to stand on its own two feet, but the execution seems to try to emulate what horror fans have already seen in more recent killer clown projects.
According to a post credit note, Jenn-O is slated to return for a sequel. Never willing to give up on a horror character, I find myself compelled to come back for more. Sadly, I don’t expect many other viewers will feel the same. If Jenn-O is going to slash her way into the lineup of horror film icons, Super Happy Fun Clown is going to need sharper teeth, more heart, better practical effects, and a direction that takes her on a journey all her own. Until then, I just can’t recommend Super Happy Fun Clown to fans of similar cinematic offerings. Perhaps time will smile upon this character, granting her another chance at the slasher infamy Jenn-O so desperately seeks.