A group of friends encounter a community of psychopaths in ClownTown, and with ITN Distribution releasing the film in theaters today, and on VOD & DVD October 4th, we had a chance to catch up with director Tom Nagel for our latest Q&A feature.
Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Tom. Coulrophobia—the fear of clowns—is something that a lot of people can relate to. How did you and your creative team set out to portray clowns in your film and make them as scary as possible?
Tom Nagel: In ClownTown, my vision of the clowns was to be something different from what most people are accustomed to. We wanted to come up with something fresh and different, but something that still satisfied the fear of clowns. While we were conceptualizing with the effects team, I guided them to design our clowns to be a bit more gritty and dirty. I felt it was a good fit with the locations and story.
Where did filming take place and what type of atmosphere did that environment provide for the film?
Tom Nagel: We shot in parts of Crestline, Westlake, and Cleveland, Ohio. My brother Brian (producer/actor) and I are from Cleveland and I knew I wanted to shoot there to get the right feel for the film.
Some of the locations we shot at were an old junkyard, abandoned warehouse, and downtown Crestline, Ohio. Most of our locations were old and rundown, which was my intention to give off the feeling of abandonment and desolation.
Looking back at your time on set, is there a funny or favorite moment in particular that stands out?
Tom Nagel: We had a blast on set, but one moment in particular that I remember was when we were shooting a scene at a house of a drunk man stumbling out yelling for his dog. On one of the takes, the homeowner JR Bellomy came out instead of the actor pretending to be drunk, impersonating our actor. He ended up slipping and stumbling down two or three stairs. We were so focused on the scene and making it work with a dog, that it broke the tension and we all busted up laughing—once we knew he was okay, of course.
Would you be interested in returning to the world of ClownTown in a potential sequel?
Tom Nagel: Absolutely, I believe that with the right script we could take ClownTown to another level. There are so many fun and scary things we could still do. You never know maybe even some new Clowns. I do have some ideas and it would be a pleasure to revisit that.
With ClownTown hitting theaters today and coming out on VOD and DVD beginning October 4th from ITN Distribution, what projects do you have on deck that you can tease for our readers, and where can they find you on social media?
Tom Nagel: Right now we are in the development stages of a new supernatural thriller film with the working title of Toybox. We are very excited about this project and hoping to start shooting this winter. We will be announcing more on this in the near future.
As far as social media please check us out at:
https://www.instagram.com/steelhouseproductions/
https://www.instagram.com/clowntownthemovie/
https://www.facebook.com/clowntownthemovie
http://www.theclowntownmovie.com
http://www.steelhouseproductions.com
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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