Although Zombie does show maturity and restraint by not including haunting images of an hourglass sinisterly draining sand. That would just be disrespectful to MacDonald Carey.

Pennywise

Easily one of the scariest evil clowns in fiction to this day, Pennywise wasn’t content to just kill children, he emanates fear and horror into others thereby stripping them of a normal life. Taking the horror up a notch, this clown also appeared as a giant spider that combined two phobias into one for the audience. Pennywise even affected the idea of drainage as many who have viewed the television movie It came to fear storm drains for a very long time if not still to this day. A clown that oozed menace and death with every word, Pennywise did more for clown loathing than any amount of balloon animals could wash away.

Captain Spaulding

Captain Spaulding smiling

Give Rob Zombie some serious dues as he created a clown and an environment in House of 1000 Corpses that feels real to anyone who has taken a long road trip through rural areas. Captain Spaulding takes any and all horrors as just another part of reality and then mixes in logic and a dark intelligence to the recipe of his personality. His delight in all atrocities magnifies the fear throughout the movie thus adding to the importance of his role.

Shakes the Clown

Shakes being restrained by clown

Bobcat Goldthwait is an alcoholic clown with serious depression in Shakes the Clown, and if that doesn’t terrify you then you have probably never needed a night light in your life. Sure he isn’t running around covered in blood, but a sad clown is twice as scary and evil as a happy clown. Add in a murder and the tribal mentality of performers like mimes and you have a movie that speaks of a hidden culture out beyond your door. The exact door you’re now thinking about buying new dead bolts for.

The Joker

The Joker holding the joker

A psychopath with a sense of humor, albeit a twisted sense of humor, just needs a clown visage to be truly terrifying and that’s what you get in The Dark Knight with the Joker. With a panache and talent for bloody mayhem that propels him into the category of  evil clowns, the Joker keeps his enemies and his allies on their toes as there is no understanding of what will set him off next. Heath Ledger took the Joker to new heights with his portrayal of the mania behind the unwavering smile and brought a new generation into the clown fearing fold.

Pogo the Clown

Pogo the Clown waving

With the large majority of evil clowns safely locked away behind the screen, Gacy shows that there’s plenty to fear from clowns in reality as well. A true beast in every sense of the world, Gacy’s penchant for performing as a clown makes for one of the scariest evil clowns that humanity has ever known. A solid lesson that it’s the man and not the makeup that hides the monster.

Wait, Barry Levinson? Rain Man Barry Levinson? Rob Zombie is working under the same banner as Barry Levinson? This is the least hardcore development I can imagine. This is like Marilyn Manson doing an album with Stevie Wonder. Actually, that would be pretty cool. (via The Hollywood Reporter)

Renaissance man Rob Zombie has signed on to write and direct Lords of Salem, Deadline is reporting. Based on the title alone, I’m assuming it’s a 17th Century period piece about a group of noblemen, and not a film involving a demonic 300-year old coven of witches set in contemporary Salem, MA.

"What excited me most was Jason saying, you can have total control over the script, casting and final cut,” Zombie told me. “I said I’m in.”

Really, What excited me most is when I found out they were making Hobo with a Shotgun into a full-length feature. But to each his own, I guess.

Shooting is set to begin next year.