Fantastic Fest 2019: WRINKLES THE CLOWN

Warning: Review contains spoilers.

The scene: A closed circuit feed and a little girl peacefully sleeping, in her bed. Then, suddenly, the storage under her bed shifts slightly and gradually a clown unfolds from under her bed and hovers over her. As quickly as he appears, he has grabbed the camera and is gone.

Horrifying, isn’t it? Meet Wrinkles the Clown. If you didn’t know the name already, Wrinkles is the clown behind the terrifying viral video just described.

But, Wrinkles is so much more than just a viral hit. He’s a “behavioral specialist.” He’s a performance artist. He’s a killer clown. He’s a guy just looking to make a couple of bucks. He’s… complicated and the lore surrounding him is complicated. There’s a lot going on behind the dead eyes in that mask. In the documentary, Wrinkles the Clown, audiences get a closer look at the Wrinkles legend… and the crazy world that allows him to exist.

Wrinkles the Clown enjoyed its World Premiere on Saturday, September 21 at the 2019 Fantastic Fest film festival in Austin, Texas. Fantastic Fest is the country’s largest genre film festival and is celebrating its 15th anniversary, this year. Wrinkles the Clown director Michael Beach Nichols and Editor Christopher Walker were in attendance for the premiere and Q&A.

The documentary explores the story of Naples, Florida’s most infamous clown resident. Wrinkles the Clown is a viral sensation and makes a living being hired by parents to terrorize misbehaving children. Wrinkles is the stuff of urban legend, but what happens when urban legend is able to reach larger and larger audiences over the Internet?

So much of what we know of Wrinkles the Clown is gleaned from urban legend and rumors whispered across the Internet, as very little is known about the man himself. It all started with a video, but stickers around town depicting his face as well as a phone number launched the legend into stardom. Soon, the threat of a phone call to Wrinkles was enough to terrify young children into behaving and exciting enough for older kids to go all in on the phenomenon.

Wrinkles the Clown in Wider Conversation

Wrinkles the Clown is a documentary that set out to uncover a mystery but managed to follow a thread through nearly every part of contemporary society. The film brings into discussion the role of folklore in our culture, the way the innovation of the Internet has changed that impact, our society’s relationship with children and parenting, and the direction we seem to be moving in.

Early in the film, the viewer is shown a montage of parents calling Wrinkles the Clown and requesting he deal with their naughty children. Every voicemail is nearly drowned out by terrified screaming and crying. When its shown in rapid succession like that, it strikes as funny. The same kind of funny that one might get from the Jimmy Kimmel Halloween Candy challenges. You know the one.

But, after the initial humor has worn off the viewer comes to realize that really all you’re listening to is a bunch of tormented children. A child psychologist weighs in on that impact and it doesn’t bode well. Take from this what you will but, according the the film makers, of all the thousands of voicemails from parents that used the threat of Wrinkles only one man would willingly come on camera to talk about it. Furthermore, even Wrinkles thinks that it’s messed up. Hold onto that twisted feeling in your gut and that fear of cruelty, we’ll need it later.

Young people have always identified with the urban legends and folklore of the era. Imagine the story of the couple making out and discovering the hook stuck in the car door. Or the unfortunate circumstances that befall any number of babysitters.

Urban legends are made for the youth, as cautionary tales and as good, clean fun. It’s no surprise that children would find something to connect to with the story of Wrinkles, both as a boogeyman and as a sort of ritual that can be participated in. Where it gets interesting is when that interest begins to manifest in unexpected, disturbing ways.

The Real Monsters…

In the documentary, we are introduced to several young children who have taken to the legend of Wrinkles. A little boy who wants to create his own creepy clown persona. A boy that makes his own clown videos for social media. A young girl and self-proclaimed comedian that regularly calls Wrinkles to warn him that her mom and dog will have her back, if it ever came to blows. This is the kind of childlike, spooky fun that these legends are born out of.

What one doesn’t expect is the thousands of voicemails from children not yet in their teens, describing acts of violence in vivid detail. A little boy that fantasizes about feeding Wrinkles to alligators. And that says nothing about the twisted remarks that adults have come up with.

Wrinkles the Clown is a disheartening illustration of one of the most unfortunate symptoms of our techonology-driven communication: people will say anything from a distance, without thinking about the real person that is on the other side of the line. Since when has cruelty been on the Kindergarten curriculum?

Another fascinating facet of the Wrinkles legend is how it has evolved. Over time, with no prompting from the performer himself, Wrinkles has gone from a single viral video, to a kid-terrorizer-for-hire, to an actual killer clown that receives death threats daily. Keep in mind that this evolution has only occurred within the imagination and that Wrinkles the Clown is still only a performer. The brush fire of Internet discourse rages on and the legend of Wrinkles burns out of control, with terrifying results like the 2016 “Killer Clown” incidents that occurred across the United States. Real world horror, inspired (in part) by innocent actions twisted.

But who is Wrinkles, really? He’s just your average dude. He puts on a costume and does his work and delights the community as a local legend. He’s much bigger than he ever imagined he would be and pleasantly carries the massive burden of fame.

Making the Myth

It would be a disservice to the creators of this film to limit the greatness of the documentary to just the fascination with its subject. Wrinkles the Clown is unique in its space and a brilliantly pieced together film. The film is able to easily weave through both this deeply personal story and the wider world in which it is able to exist. The film is equal parts about Wrinkes the Clown and a meditation on what influences the youth.

A particularly fascinating element of the film was the decision to have the “real-life” Wrinkles portrayed by an actor, in a series of vignettes. This was partially out of respect fo the privacy of the actual Wrinkles performer, but also a masterful unpacking of how legend is formed and processed. We spend the entire film with this unassuming older gentlemen, who lives out of a van, and just as soon as we get to know him the rug his pulled out from under us to reveal the real Wrinkles.

Additionally, the film is populated with entirely fabricated elements depicting Wrinkles the Clown getting up to the horrific acts people assume he his capable of. On both accounts, the filmmakers drew inspiration from the countless voicemails and Internet comments regarding the clown. What did people think he was doing? What did the legends say? What did people choose to assume about the life of the man behind the mask? The myths that were being created around Wrinkles were brought to life and gradually peeled back as we got closer to the reality. This, to put it plainly is just damn fine filmmaking.

Wrinkles the Clown: Conclusion

Wrinkles the Clown will make you laugh, scare the hell out of you, and perhaps create a combination of all of those feelings. Most of all, it will provide a documentary experience that does not come along very often. It comes highly recommended.

Catch Wrinkles the Clown at 2019 Fantastic Fest on Monday, September 23 at 11:30pm and in theaters and VOD on October 4!

What urban legend gives you the creeps? Let us know in the comments!