Killer clown movies
The killer clown works because the costume is already a mask, already a performance, and already asking you to laugh at something you did not choose. Horror barely has to do anything to it.
Evil clowns are older than horror cinema's interest in them, but Poltergeist is the scene most people carry around, and it is worth noticing that its clown is a doll rather than a performer. Killer Klowns from Outer Space went the other way entirely and played the idea as a creature feature with a circus budget.
Pennywise is the dominant figure, first in a 1990 television miniseries and then in It. Terrifier is the recent argument for keeping the performance and cutting the sympathy, though it is less free of the supernatural than it looks for most of its length.
Notable killer clown movies
If you only ever watch a handful of these, make it these.
New killer clown movies
A small field with one enormous shadow across it, and most new entries are working in that shadow.
You can find these and every other killer clown movie in our database. And if you want to keep track of the ones you have seen and the ones you are saving for later, start a profile and log them as you go.