Gingerclown (2013) *I Spoil Everything*

[WolfofWords]

After watching the documentary Pennywise: The Story of IT (2021), I grew curious about Tim Curry. In that documentary, Curry is depicted on camera post-stroke and it made me wonder what he was up to. For those who don’t know, Curry had a stroke in 2012 that made the use of a wheelchair necessary. He has since adjusted to his new reality and has scaled back public appearances dramatically. He does most of his acting in voiceovers now which he did a lot of before the stroke as well. His voice is distinctive and rich and remains so after his stroke. While I was perusing his IMDB, I found this movie and I was instantly intrigued. Obviously, he had played a deadly clown previously so how did I not hear about this movie based on that fact alone? Probably because it is a Hungarian production outside of the Hollywood system.

Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, there are not a lot of videos of this movie online other than a few trailers and the Wormface scene. The monsters are animatronic and move like animatronics. The all-star voice cast (Tim Curry, Brad Dourif, Sean Young, Michael Winslow, Lance Hendriksen, etc.) recorded their lines comfortably back in the United States. This left the unknown young actors to stumble around an abandoned Hungarian theme park with the animatronics. I thought this movie was kind of lame when I first watched it and I still do but I really like the animatronic monsters a lot.

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The movie starts with pictures of an abandoned, crumbling amusement park that seemed to be themed around clowns in general. It is set in 1983 outside of Los Angeles. Of course, it instantly feels like it is set in the 1950s with a bunch of jocks sitting in their cars with their girlfriends a few feet behind the famous Hollywood sign. Is it really that easy to drive up there and not get caught drinking out of paper bags? Loudmouth Biff is shooting his mouth off to his disinterested girlfriend, Jenny, about being a pro athlete in the future. When Jenny says that she has to go home, drunk Biff berates her for being a daddy’s girl and puts down her father for not having a job. Jenny seems to want to be anywhere else as it is suggested that they go over to one of the guy’s houses as his parents are on vacation. He could have mentioned that before they drove all the way up there.

A young nerdy boy named Sam Tully starts to bicycle by them between the cars and the sign. (Again, is there just a neighborhood back there?) They instantly call him out but for some reason, he stops dead in his tracks to listen to their bullying. They talk with disrespect but he decides to not keep cycling on. Biff invites Sam to join them (red flag) and forgive each other’s trespasses (another red flag). Biff claims that their mistreatment of Tully was an initiation and now Tully is one of them (run Tully!). Jenny begs Biff to leave Tully alone when Biff turns to her for validation. Remarkably, Sam wheels his bike over to hang out with people who have no respect for him.

Biff waxes poetic about how pretty the city lights are below them, a sentiment that Sam agrees with. However, Biff says that “pussy” is far more beautiful and Biff knows that is what Sam wants. Sam tries to leave but Biff blocks his exit and offers him a quest. Jenny interjects again which Biff repays by talking about how much of a slut Jenny is. Jenny tells Biff to leave Sam alone, take her home, and go to hell in that order. Biff ignores her and asks Sam what he would do for a kiss from Jenny. Biff’s friend who mysteriously has a thick Hungarian accent suggests that Sam should go to an unnamed amusement park and bring back evidence of his visit. Jenny objects to her boyfriend pimping her out in order to further bully Sam. Biff continues to get really weird about his voyeur/exhibitionist kink. He eventually intimidates/convinces Sam to go into the amusement park.

The group of sloppily inebriated teens drive to Westlake without plowing into any other cars on the road and goad Sam into entering Everjoy Amusement Park (or NEverjoy, as the sign says). Sam gets his nerves up and declares that he is ready. It is 10 p.m. and Sam needs to stay in the park until 12:05 a.m. We get a quick vague exposition dump about the park getting shut down after “like 60 people died” and that it is dangerous in there. After Sam goes in, Jenny blows her top and tells off Biff once again. She strides into the park herself to go retrieve Sam. After a long continuous scene of Jenny wandering in the dark with nothing happening, she literally runs into Sam. Jenny berates Sam for going into the park but her rant against Biff and toxic masculinity are interrupted by a growling sound in the dark followed by howling. We see a furry/slimy creature from behind but Sam and Jenny see nothing. They decide to move further into the park.

They make their way among broken-down rides and attractions. As they walk, things start to light up a bit and music plays. Sam theorizes that somebody must know of their arrival. The lights go out again and then only the lights at the Sea of Love ride come on. Jenny theorizes that somebody might be there so they should check it out. Obvious trap is obvious but Sam does not object. When they get to the tunnel of love-style ride, they find somebody lying down in one of the gondolas and Jenny tries to contact what is obviously a long-dead body. She thinks it is Biff. As the ride starts up, Jenny climbs into an empty boat and Sam follows, not thinking it is a good idea. A reminder: Jenny objected to going in the park at all and came to get Sam out and now Sam is the voice of reason. Ahead of them, a clawed hand drags the body out of the boat that they saw earlier.

Sam and Jenny hop off of the boat into a backstage area. They hear a really strange gurgling noise and decide to walk toward it, traveling through a crawlspace between the walls of the attraction and its inner workings. They come out of the tunnel where they encounter a merry-go-round bathed in ghostly light. A spooky voice (Gingerclown himself) speaks to them over the PA system. He welcomes them and tells them that it is time to get the party started. He taunts them and then his deformed face appears as a two-story tall image behind the attraction. Jenny is scared and Sam declares that he can’t be human. The two run.

We see the furry creature we saw before from behind again as it comes up behind Gingerclown who is working at a console. Gingerclown pets his bug-eyed wolf and reveals that it was his fingers who took the body from the boat earlier as the wolf licks blood off of Gingerclown’s fingers. Gingerclown is excited to have visitors to torment.

We return to Sam and Jenny who are still scared out of their minds. They find themselves in front of a building in the park advertising a payphone. Jenny insists that they go in and call for help. Sam questions if the phone in a long-abandoned amusement park even works but Jenny insists on calling her dad and then the police. She lets rage and the thought of beating Biff senseless chase the fear out of her. Once inside, Jenny asks what Sam has in his backpack. He opens it up and starts to give her an inventory of its contents, saying that it contains all of the things that he loves. He talks at length about an old comic book that he has read a hundred times, briefly giving them hope by stating that the good guys always win.



The two of them head further in and are confronted by a sassy talking teakettle. The teakettle continues to call them stupid for asking stupid questions like whether the teakettle is the one tormenting them. The teakettle breaks things down, telling them that they are what could be referred to as Cerberus’ butthole, a place where those expelled from Hell wind up. They decide to slink away as the teakettle keeps insulting them.

We return to Biff and his friends outside of the park. Biff is still pissed that Jenny told him off and kicked his precious car. Biff decides to go into the park as well.

[WolfofWords]

We return to Sam and Jenny. They continue to run around the park, getting lost. Jenny hopes that if they do not come out after midnight Biff and the others will call for help. Sam rails about what an asshole Biff is. The two of them are interrupted when they hear music. Jenny suggests they check it out since moving toward lights and music has worked so well for them so far. Sam objects but Jenny goads him into action asking if he wants to wait there for help all night. They start to enter the building where the music is playing but it smells disgusting. They decide to enter anyway instead of going literally anywhere else.



Inside, they find a slimy blobby creature, Womface, twitching in time to the music with delight until the record player malfunctions. The creature curses loudly about it and calls for “Dennis”. A large metallic sphere rolls into the room and sasses Wormface. This is apparently Dennis. Wormface goes on to complain about how they have not modernized the park and continue to rely on older technology that keeps breaking down. He is frustrated at having to use the same gramophone for 500 years and rants about updating technology vs. upholding tradition. He calls Gingerclown a cheap bastard. This devolves into Dennis and Wormface debating music which leads to Wormface insulting David Bowie. Sam and Jenny have been watching all of this and debate which way they should go next, not wanting to deal with anybody they have encountered so far. The two just leave and neither Wormface nor Dennis are ever seen again.

We return to Biff who is wandering with determination somewhere else in the park. He finds an attraction lined with skulls and bathed in red light. He decides that Sam and Jenny must be in there and goes inside.

We return to Sam and Jenny who are walking slowly down a corridor. Jenny gives another vague exposition dump where she explains that the park had been burned down by the staff after they lost their jobs. Presumably, this happened after all those people died or something. Sam asks how she knows this and Jenny explains that she found out through her father who has had a lot of time to read since he has no job. She explains that he can’t hold down a job because he is an alcoholic. She admits that Biff was actually right about her father being an asshole. Despite that, she still loves her father especially after her mother died. The two wisely decide not to talk for a long beat after that clumsy and awkward dialogue. They are then swarmed by bats.

We return to Biff who has wandered into a funhouse and keeps getting distracted by wacky elements like furniture that shifts, stairs that slant too much, and floorboards that play music. Gingerclown addresses Biff by name over the PA system and taunts him. Biff is ticked off and is thus taken by surprise when Gingerclown grabs him and drags him away.

We return to Jenny and Sam who are walking along some sort of dark ride entrance and being watched by two slimy creatures. While Sam and Jenny cannot hear them, the audience listens to them ogle the pair of teens' brains. The two discuss the matter at length but are probably forbidden from feasting before Gingerclown gets his turn so they hold back. Sam hears something but the two of them move on. After a few more steps, Jenny finally has a freak out which distracts her while Sam is grabbed by Gingerclown. Jenny further freaks out that she is now alone in a demonic amusement park.

Sam wakes up as he is dragged along a tile floor by Gingerclown and manages to wriggle free from his grasp and runs away. Gingerclown seems to relish the opportunity to play with his food by tormenting Sam who tries to barricade himself in some sort of employee locker room. Sam tries to sneak away, not seeing that Gingerclown is right behind him. He approaches a door which is slowly closed in his face by the clawed hand of Gingerclown. Gingerclown continues to taunt him by talking nonsense and lingering behind Sam and vanishing when Sam turns around. He finally grabs Sam and starts to drag him again.

We return to Jenny who is wandering alone below what appears to be an indoor rollercoaster of some kind. She hears Sam screaming in the distance and runs toward the sound but slows when the noise stops. She slowly walks into an area with tons of spider webs where something is whispering her name. Something long and purple and wet descends from above and licks her face. She screams and runs, calling out Sam’s name.

We return to Sam who has been laid out on a table. Gingerclown lingers nearby but Sam vaults off of the table and runs as Gingerclown gives chase yet again.

We return to Jenny who is now inside another staff area. She finds a newspaper from the day Kennedy was shot, dating the closure of the park somewhat. Many hands are repeatedly seen wriggling in the shadows but they disappear when Jenny turns to look. Then she turns around and all of the hands are on her, slimy and grasping as she screams. She bites one of them to get away. Jenny screams at the top of her lungs and bolts into another area covered in cobwebs. A giant spider creeps up behind her and tells her that they will play a game. If the spider wins, the spider eats Jenny. The rules of this game are made up during play. Jenny insists that the spider go first, smoothing the request over by calling it a head start. The spider laughs and the game commences.

*This is the weirdest part of this movie and that’s saying something!*

The spider picks up a disembodied human head and rolls it like it is a die. I will actually include the exact dialogue here because it makes very little sense but is still fascinating.
Spider: One, Two, Four, Six/These fine little corpses can do no tricks

Jenny picks up the head and tosses it down again. We don’t see how it lands but apparently, she did well.

Spider: Talk about blind luck! Mmm, a good throw, a nice throw. Won’t you say the line?

Jenny: Five, One, Four and Two/I hope these lines are good enough for you

Spider: Oh you are good. Very good. But let’s see how you deal with this.

The spider tosses the head again.

Two, Seven, Six, Three/ I’ll cut your head off and eat your knee!

Jenny bends down, picks up the head, and tosses it again.

Jenny: Seven, Three, Nine, Two/ You’ll lose if you don’t let me go too!

Spider: (With some despair and shock) This can’t be true! You must be a true champion! I have to get myself together.

The spider tosses the head again.

One, Six, Seven, Four/ I’ll rip your heart out on the second floor

Jenny grabs the head and tosses it again, obviously gaining confidence since she is winning somehow.

Jenny: Five, Three, Two, Seven, and Five/ I believe it’s your final jive!

Spider: I am gonna shit my pants! No! Hell no! Nobody has ever beaten me. No! Here, take it.

The spider racks a shotgun and holds it out to Jenny who takes it.

Spider: I couldn’t bear the shame. I had to quit on top.

Jenny fires the shotgun point blank into the spider’s face, getting covered in spider bits. She exits the room, trying to wipe it all off.

We return to Sam who has apparently gotten away from Gingerclown somehow and is navigating his way through a dark ride. Gingerclown comes up behind him and steals his backpack full of treasures. Sam turns around and Gingerclown says that he will eat Sam’s soul. Sam hides in an electrical room, seals the door, and sobs as Gingerclown bangs on the door. When the banging stops, he exits the room with Gingerclown nowhere in sight.

We cut to Gingerclown back in his lair examining the contents of the backpack and laughing to himself. He is particularly interested in a sketch Sam has made of him and Jenny embracing each other. It seems Sam has had a crush on Jenny for quite some time.

We return to Jenny who has now gotten outside. She finds Sam and the two of them hug each other with some relief. They resolve to escape but the park and they spot where they entered and presumably where they can escape. Sam starts to confess to Jenny that he loves her when the two of them hear Biff crying out for help. They find Biff in the care of Stomachrumble and Braineater who are talking about wanting to eat Biff. The two have obviously spent too much time with each other as they have what amounts to a roommate squabble. Biff finally interrupts to ask to be let go. This directs the monsters’ attention back to Biff briefly but the two of them keep fighting and walk off berating each other. Sam and Jenny swoop in to get Biff off of the ground but Biff blames Sam for everything and physically attacks Sam. This makes enough noise to lure the monsters back and all three humans take off running.

Sam tries to lead the monsters away while Jenny and Biff flee but Biff almost immediately pushes Jenny away and tries to run off on his own. He spots a little clown girl on a tricycle and actually approaches a small child in a horror situation. He tries to steal her tricycle (?) but she bites him and continues on. Biff loses it and starts screaming and crying. He tries to run again when he hears a roaring sound but stumbles into a spinning teacups ride. The ride starts up at a crazy rate of speed as Biff screams to be let off. The ride slows to a stop and Biff is nothing but a bloody skeleton. Gingerclown chuckles from nearby.

Sam wakes up with his wrists tied to the arms of a chair. Gingerclown taunts him from the shadows and says that he cannot let Sam go as that would not be funny. Gingerclown tells Sam a story. It is a long rambling, nonsensical joke. Gingerclown then objects to the presence of Sam and Jenny and says that they will be sacrificed. Gingerclown excuses himself to deal with Jenny first and leaves Sam alone. Sam panics at the thought of Gingerclown going after Jenny while she is alone.

Jenny is leaning near the Ferris wheel and crying. Gingerclown approaches her and she screams as he laughs and taunts her. Jenny asks what he has done with Sam and Gingerclown says that he has done nothing… yet. Gingerclown continues to taunt Jenny as he sings his own praises. Jenny spots a chain hanging off of the operating Ferris wheel. She wraps it around Gingerclown. Sam appears and wraps a chain around Gingerclown’s neck. Sam repeats Gingerclown’s long rambling joke back to him but purposefully screws it up which seems to cause Gingerclown additional pain. They leave Gingerclown chained up and he seems to burn out and slump against the chains. Sam and Jenny flee as the sun starts to come up.

The two of them hold hands as they walk toward the entrance of the park. They pause and Jenny kisses Sam. As the credits roll, they tease each other and flirt. They briefly acknowledge that Biff is super dead.