‘Wrinkles the Clown’ Trailer: Meet the Real Life Pennywise-for-Hire

I’ve never really been afraid of clowns for most of my life. I don’t know why but that common fear just always missed me. I was scared of spiders, the dark, aliens but clowns never freaked me out.

That probably wouldn’t have been the case if Wrinkles the Clown was roaming around during my childhood. Watch the trailer for the new documentary below and then let’s discuss how this movie looks after.

Oh goodness. First of all, I can’t believe the man who portrays Wrinkles the Clown hasn’t gotten his ass locked up yet. I know he’s being invited into these houses by (psychotic) parents but still. You’d think he’d at least be interrogated a few times when wandering the streets in his clown outfit. Secondly, what sort of cruel, heartless parent would actually employ Wrinkles and his terrifying form of behavioral services? I can understand being upset at your child but being upset enough to let a grown stranger slide under their bed and horrify them in the dead of night? That’s a whole other level of bad parenting that I can’t wrap my head around.

Like all good documentaries, Wrinkles the Clown will shed some light on the man who paints his face, throws on the floppy shoes and haunts the nightmares of poor children in Florida. We’re bound to find out why he does what he does and just what sort of creepy dude he really is. I can’t imagine that he’ll turn out to be a normal Joe Schmo. Something HAS to be off about him.

But even if the reveal of who plays Wrinkles isn’t that exciting, the whole idea behind him and his business is endlessly fascinating. The fact that Wrinkles exists — let alone that he’s getting paid — is so bizarre and so troubling that this documentary about it all seems like mandatory viewing. I am so glad I grew up in the 1990s and not modern day. We just didn’t have this sort of nonsense back then. We were afraid of killer bees flying over from Africa but that was about it. Ah, simpler times.

Wrinkles the Clown will make its premiere at Fantastic Fest later this month and then will hit select theaters and on-demand on October 4th. Recommend it to all the horrible parents in your life.