Jingles the Clown

Jingles the Clown, a slasher film from 2009, was directed by Tommy Brunswick and written by Todd Brunswick. It reboots the Brunswicks’ earlier 2006 film, Mr. Jingles. The story centers on Mr. Jingles, a serial killer who once co-hosted a children’s TV show. He abducts the Nelson family, forcing nine-year-old Angela to watch as he films the murders of her parents and sister. Police rescue Angela and arrest Jingles, but the sheriff, disgusted, executes him on the spot. Though seemingly dead, Jingles is thrown into a police trunk and winks at Angela as she is led away. The next day, the deputies tasked with disposing of his body are found butchered, and Jingles is presumed drowned in a pit during his escape.

Years later, Miranda, a producer for the TV series *Haunted Maniacs*, gains access to Jingles’s old home to film a pilot episode featuring Angela as a special guest. Two nights before shooting, Jingles kills two teenagers trespassing on his property. The crew arrives at the estate, and despite Angela’s anxiety and evidence of the earlier murders, they set up as planned. While exploring the mansion, they learn Jingles’s backstory: he was born from an incestuous relationship between his grandfather and mother, who killed her sexually abusive parents with a cleaver. The psychic, Guy, is killed by Jingles while smoking alone, an event sensed by the medium, Marco. As the crew tries to leave, they encounter caretaker David Hess, who tells them about the missing couple and the bloody objects they found. The vehicles won’t start, so David and Jimmy head to David’s house to call 911.

Ghost-hunting equipment malfunctions, and carnival music comes from the stables. J.B. and Sam investigate, finding an old stereo and the mutilated remains of David and Jimmy. They gather the others, but they retreat to the manor after spotting Guy’s body tied to a cross and set ablaze by Jingles, who taunts Angela. Jingles sneaks inside and performs a dark ritual in the attic. Downstairs, the ghost of Angela’s sister, Amy, appears. Amy explains that Jingles draws power from his victims’ souls channeled through something, making him unstoppable on his property. She says the spirits can hold him off temporarily so the crew can escape, but Angela must stay. Jingles fatally stabs Marco, electrocutes Sam, and kills Tom with a pickaxe. The survivors recall Amy’s words and deduce that destro