The Clown at Midnight
Encyclopedia
The Clown at Midnight is a 1998 horror film.
. When Orsini was thought to have fled to Europe afterwards, the opera house closed down.
Years later a group of high school teenagers come to restore the old building for their school's theatre department. One of the teens is Lorraine's daughter Kate. She was adopted shortly after her mother's murder and only learned about her parentage six months ago, and has been plagued by visions and nightmares about the murder ever since. She was convinced by her friend Monica to help restore the opera house as a means of getting over her problems.
Kate and Monica arrive and meet the rest of the group, nerdy Cheryl "Walnut" Webber, flamboyant Marty,redhead snob Ashley, her jock boyfriend Taylor, and rebel George. The group are lectured by the head of the theater Miss Gibby. During the speech in the auditorium, a stage light falls nearly hitting Miss Gibby. The group deduces it was an accident. This alerts the owner of the opera house Mr. Caruthers, who claims the opera house is cursed and it shouldn't be re-opened. Kate gets emotional and runs from the room when Mr. Caruthers mentions Lorraine and Miss Gibby consoles her.
Miss Gibby leaves for the night to let the teens lock up. But the teens engage in beer and pizza. At closing time, the teens leave but they manage to sneak a peek in her mother's dressing room where she was murdered. Inside, they find a patch of blood and Kate's visions of her mom's death get stronger and more realistic. She has a meltdown and Monica consoles her. Kate has a vision that leads her to a note from Lorenzo to Lorraine. It is a strong love note and why would someone who cared about her so much, kill her? They also discover Lorenzo is Kate's father.
The following morning, Mrs. Gibby is killed with an axe in the face by a man dressed like the clown that killed Kate's mother. Ashley, Taylor, Kate, Monica, Marty, Walnut, and George arrive at the opera house and start cleaning up, toying with props and Taylor and Ashley go off alone to have sex. Taylor ditches Ashley and the clown strangles Ashley with a necklace. Meanwhile, George dresses up as the clown and scares everyone. Monica is chased by the real clown and impaled on a spear. The rest (Walnut, Taylor, Kate and Marty) discover they are locked in the theater and Miss Gibby is missing. The phones don't work. The four find Ashley dead hanging from a rope. George appears and Marty falls through a trapdoor. Walnut and Taylor run for the roof, and Kate and George run to find Marty, but Marty is electrocuted in a metal chair before they get there. Walnut and Taylor reach the roof, but Taylor is grabbed by the clown and thrown off the roof. Walnut flees.
Meanwhile, Kate and George deduce that Lorenzo is not the killer. Walnut is decapitated and George and Kate are separated. Kate runs to the auditorium and is chased by the clown onto a catwalk where she runs into Mr. Caruthers. Mr. Caruthers sends the clown over the catwalk. But Mr. Caruthers turns on Kate and knocks her out. Kate wakes up, tied up to a wall and Mr. Caruthers appears to be the killer after all and he was the one who killed Lorraine because she denied him love and all of the bodies are propped in the auditorium, including the clown that fell off the catwalk. Another clown appears but Mr. Caruthers knocks him out. And in the confusion, Kate breaks free and stabs Mr. Caruthers in the eye with a screwdriver and then flips a lever causing him to fall through a trapdoor and land on spikes, killing him. The clown that Mr. Caruthers knocked out was George who tried to help. When Kate and George separated downstairs, Kate's father who had been living in the opera house, grabbed him and told him everything. Kate's father was the one on the catwalk and he was killed when he fell from the catwalk. George and Kate break free from the opera house and the credits roll.
, Manitoba
, Canada
at the Walker Theatre in downtown Winnipeg
. In one scene near the end of the film, taking place on the rooftop, the Richardson building and the TD bank towers at Portage and Main can be seen.
Plot
Years ago opera singer Lorraine Sedgewick was killed in her dressing room at an opera house, supposedly by Lorenzo Orsini, one of the lead actors in a performance of PagliacciPagliacci
Pagliacci , sometimes incorrectly rendered with a definite article as I Pagliacci, is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It recounts the tragedy of a jealous husband in a commedia dell'arte troupe...
. When Orsini was thought to have fled to Europe afterwards, the opera house closed down.
Years later a group of high school teenagers come to restore the old building for their school's theatre department. One of the teens is Lorraine's daughter Kate. She was adopted shortly after her mother's murder and only learned about her parentage six months ago, and has been plagued by visions and nightmares about the murder ever since. She was convinced by her friend Monica to help restore the opera house as a means of getting over her problems.
Kate and Monica arrive and meet the rest of the group, nerdy Cheryl "Walnut" Webber, flamboyant Marty,redhead snob Ashley, her jock boyfriend Taylor, and rebel George. The group are lectured by the head of the theater Miss Gibby. During the speech in the auditorium, a stage light falls nearly hitting Miss Gibby. The group deduces it was an accident. This alerts the owner of the opera house Mr. Caruthers, who claims the opera house is cursed and it shouldn't be re-opened. Kate gets emotional and runs from the room when Mr. Caruthers mentions Lorraine and Miss Gibby consoles her.
Miss Gibby leaves for the night to let the teens lock up. But the teens engage in beer and pizza. At closing time, the teens leave but they manage to sneak a peek in her mother's dressing room where she was murdered. Inside, they find a patch of blood and Kate's visions of her mom's death get stronger and more realistic. She has a meltdown and Monica consoles her. Kate has a vision that leads her to a note from Lorenzo to Lorraine. It is a strong love note and why would someone who cared about her so much, kill her? They also discover Lorenzo is Kate's father.
The following morning, Mrs. Gibby is killed with an axe in the face by a man dressed like the clown that killed Kate's mother. Ashley, Taylor, Kate, Monica, Marty, Walnut, and George arrive at the opera house and start cleaning up, toying with props and Taylor and Ashley go off alone to have sex. Taylor ditches Ashley and the clown strangles Ashley with a necklace. Meanwhile, George dresses up as the clown and scares everyone. Monica is chased by the real clown and impaled on a spear. The rest (Walnut, Taylor, Kate and Marty) discover they are locked in the theater and Miss Gibby is missing. The phones don't work. The four find Ashley dead hanging from a rope. George appears and Marty falls through a trapdoor. Walnut and Taylor run for the roof, and Kate and George run to find Marty, but Marty is electrocuted in a metal chair before they get there. Walnut and Taylor reach the roof, but Taylor is grabbed by the clown and thrown off the roof. Walnut flees.
Meanwhile, Kate and George deduce that Lorenzo is not the killer. Walnut is decapitated and George and Kate are separated. Kate runs to the auditorium and is chased by the clown onto a catwalk where she runs into Mr. Caruthers. Mr. Caruthers sends the clown over the catwalk. But Mr. Caruthers turns on Kate and knocks her out. Kate wakes up, tied up to a wall and Mr. Caruthers appears to be the killer after all and he was the one who killed Lorraine because she denied him love and all of the bodies are propped in the auditorium, including the clown that fell off the catwalk. Another clown appears but Mr. Caruthers knocks him out. And in the confusion, Kate breaks free and stabs Mr. Caruthers in the eye with a screwdriver and then flips a lever causing him to fall through a trapdoor and land on spikes, killing him. The clown that Mr. Caruthers knocked out was George who tried to help. When Kate and George separated downstairs, Kate's father who had been living in the opera house, grabbed him and told him everything. Kate's father was the one on the catwalk and he was killed when he fell from the catwalk. George and Kate break free from the opera house and the credits roll.
Cast
- Christopher PlummerChristopher PlummerArthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
as Mr. Caruthers - Margot KidderMargot KidderMargaret Ruth "Margot" Kidder is a Canadian-born American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Lois Lane in the four Superman movies opposite Christopher Reeve, a role that brought her to widespread recognition....
as Ms. Ellen Gibby, cause of death, axed in the head - Sarah LassezSarah LassezSarah Lassez is a French-American-Canadian actress and author. She was born in Canada to French parents and raised in Australia. At the age of 14, she moved to New York City and currently lives in Los Angeles....
as Kate Williams - James Duvall as George Reese
- Tatyana AliTatyana AliTatyana Marisol Ali is an American actress and R&B singer, best known for her childhood role as Ashley Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air...
as Monica, cause of death: Stabbed - Ryan BittleRyan BittleRyan James Bittle is an American actor. He began appearing on television in 1994.-Early life:Ryan Bittle is the son of Kathy Homewood, a nurse and ICU director, and Jim Bittle, a retired Glendale Fire Captain...
as Taylor Marshall, cause of death: fell to the ground - Melissa GalianosMelissa GalianosMelissa Galianos is a Canadian actress known for her roles on various television shows on the Canadian network, YTV.-Filmography:-Television works:-External links:* at the Internet Movie Database...
as Cheryl 'Walnut' Webber, cause of death: Beheaded - J.P. Grimard as Marty Timmerman
- Liz Crawford as Ashley, cause of death: Strangulation
- Vicki Marentette as Lorraine Sedgewick
- Jonathan Barrett as Lorenzo Orsini
- John Bluethner as Arnold Williams
- Pauline Broderick as Julia Williams
Location
The movie was filmed in WinnipegWinnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
at the Walker Theatre in downtown Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
. In one scene near the end of the film, taking place on the rooftop, the Richardson building and the TD bank towers at Portage and Main can be seen.