WRINKLES THE CLOWN (2019)
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FEATURING
CHRISTOPHER BARCIA
TREVOR J. BLANK
ANDREW CALDWELL
GEORGE HOLDEN
D.B. LAMBERT
KEN MILLER
BENJAMIN RADFORD
RENA SELLARS
SEAN WHITAKER
JARRETT WIDEMAN
WRITTEN BY
MICHAEL BEACH NICHOLS
CHRISTOPHER K. WALKER
PRODUCED BY
JENNIE BEDUSA
MIKE DILL
JON LULLO
LOWELL SHAPIRO
BRENDAN WALTER
DIRECTED BY
MICHAEL BEACH NICHOLS
GENRE
DOCUMENTARY
MYSTERY
RATED
AUS:M
UK:NA
USA:NA
RUNNING TIME
75 MIN
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A fascinating, if not frustrating, look into the makings of a bogey man and its effect on a community, Wrinkles the Clown is relevant viewing for this era of fear and misinformation.
Who knows what is real anymore? It is such an odd thing, how in this day and age where information is plentiful, ready, and available from all sources, that fabrication as opposed to transparency is the direction many opt to pursue.
Then again, hasn’t this always been within us? You only have to look at the history of urban legend to see that mankind’s penchant for story over fact has always been the norm. Monsters that have never exited have built cathedrals in our heads for centuries, with new creations (Slender Man, Cropsey) conjured with every passing decade.
Enter Wrinkles the Clown. A legend in the already notorious climes of Florida, Wrinkles strays from the norm because he is real. Very real. In fact, you can call him via a phone number at any given time. Many misguided parents do just that in an attempt to discipline their kids. As one psychologist in the documentary accurately states: “that is so misguided”. Ain’t that the truth.
Director Michael Beach Nichols (Welcome to Leith), like so many others, became fascinated with Wrinkles when a video of the creepy-ass clown emerging from under a child’s bed sent the internet into meltdown. Mainstream news stations and late-night talk show hosts all asked the same question: who is this clown? The answer is as fascinating as it is disappointing, as like most bogey men, nothing can ever match the fantasy and the fear.
Nichols has fun playing with those expectations in a creative way. He also dives into the psyche of a community that, as the state of Florida has proven time and again, is never in shortage of characters. The most interesting is, of course, Wrinkles himself, or at least the man behind the mask.
To say that his motives are baffling would be an understatement, and to call his reasons that of an internet troll adolescent is too kind. Regardless, good old Wrinkles has touched many a serve and sparked the imaginations of adults and children alike. He also proves that mankind’s capacity to create its own monsters is especially strong in this era of misinformation overload.
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