Unicorns are Evil. Obviously.
by Joshowa
It is pretty easy to recap the plot of this week’s episode. When people start dying in strange ways, Dean and Sam investigate Plucky Pennywhistle’s Magical Menagarie, a clown-themed, Chuck E. Cheese-type restaurant. They soon find that an Howard, an employee, is using magic to bring children’s fears to life, and then using those fears to murder bad parents. Howard uses this magic to murder a janitor stool-pigeon and to summon evil clowns to sic on Sam. Dean discovers Howard’s plot, uses the spell to bring Howard’s own fear to life and saves Sam from the clowns. In the meantime, Sam confronts his clown phobia and Dean apologizes for sometimes being a terrible big brother.
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| Yes. This happened. Photo Credit: Funnyjunk |
It’s easy to summarize because this episode was not about plot. It was about giving the viewers a fun, emotional break after such a heavy, emotional episode. From the clown-colored title card to the unicorn shooting rainbow out of its behind, it was pretty obvious that we weren’t meant to take this adventure very seriously. Whether or not you enjoy these kind of lighthearted outings depends heavily on how much you expect each episode to advance the overall mythos.
It also depends on how you feel about clowns. Are they the fun, entertaining embodiment of silliness and whimsy? Or are they creepy, giggling creatures from the depths of your most disturbing nightmares? Hollywood seems to think they belong in the second camp.
Follow the jump to see how the Plucky Pennywhistle clowns stack up against some of the more famous scary clowns in entertainment!
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| Cavities are nothing to laugh at. Photo Credit: The CW |
Through twisted magic, this deadly due was called to life with jacked-up grills and murder in their eyes. Wielding seltzer and tire irons, these clowns have no trouble keeping up their psychotic giggling whether they are getting beat up or putting the smack down.
Scary or a Joke? They bleed glitter and gunshots don’t slow them down, making the Plucky Pennywhistle clowns kooky yet frightening. Luckily for Sam, they were more into toying with their prey than going for the kill.
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| A face even a mother can't love. Photo Credit: Villains Wiki |
This homicidal clown is actually a terrible force of evil that reappears every thirty years for some murder and mayhem. When he’s not getting his kicks torturing the group of seven friends who dare oppose him, he’s baring his razor sharp teeth and killing children. Delightful!
Scary or a Joke? Tim Curry as Pennywise talking to a small child through a storm drain might be one of the creepiest scenes in movie history. Do not invite this clown to your birthday party.
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| Act now and you can also get the adorable Susie Strangleface for an additional $19.99! Photo Credit: Mandajuice |
This nightmare has a double creep factor going on - he’s both a clown and a doll. That plastered grin, the nonstop staring and the long arms all just scream “sinister.” Why Robbie didn’t boot that creepy freak out the door instead of just throwing a sheet over it is still a mystery.
Scary or a Joke? While his disappearing and reappearing act certainly scared the crap out of children in the 80s, he loses creep points for not actually murdering anyone.
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| Hey girl! What's Brad up to today? Photo Credit: Diary of a Genre Addict |
These space aliens who just happen to look like clowns used killer cream pies, monster popcorn and cotton candy to stun and trap helpless. Once incapacitated, the Klowns would suck the “life juice” from their victims.
Scary or Joke? While their exaggerated proportions do lend to their overall creepiness, the clowns in this campy cult classic are played more for laughs than scares.
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| Angst is hilarious! Photo Credit: American Juggalo |
Fans of the Insane Clown Posse “band” paint their faces and a meet up once a year for the “Gathering of the Juggalos.” These Juggalos often listen to horror-themed rap music, wear their hair in spider dreads, drink Faygo soda and shout the blood-curdling phrase “whoop whoop.”
Scary of a Joke? The scariest thing about these clowns are the infectious diseases they could be carrying.
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| On the run from good taste Photo Credit: McDonalds |
The face of the McDonald’s fast-food franchise, Ronald spends his time pushing greasy french fries, mystery meat burgers and chicken McNuggets on children everywhere. His favorite tactic? Promising kids that these sodium-filled dinners are actually “Happy Meals.” Oh and he sometimes does some charity work out of his house.
Scary or a Joke? Hide yo’ wife! Hide yo’ kids! Ronald be giving heart disease to er’body!
Overall, the Plucky Pennywhistle clowns do a decent job of carrying on the grand entertainment tradition of using clowns to inspire more terror than frivolity. Still, exploding into a cloud of glitter is definitely going to hurt their street cred.
Supernoteral
- “Guy in his thirties hanging out at a Plucky’s alone. Yeah that’s normal. Not pervy at all.” - Dean at Sam’s suggestion he keep tabs on the employees.
- Sam dealing with the clowns and fear they inspired gave Jared Padalecki a chance to pull off some more great physical comedy.
- It’s about time we got to see Dean laugh for real. Sure, he was laughing at his younger brother’s psychological trauma, but it’s been too long since we’ve seen a genuine smile.
- “You look like you got attacked by some PCP-crazed strippers.” - Dean in reference to Sam being covered in clown glitter.
- I can't decide if my favorite detail was the way the clown ran when chasing Sam or the guy in a lion suit trying to turn a door handle with his paws.
- Will Dean really stick with his “no booze” policy?
