Having seen and enjoyed “S.I.C.K.” a few years ago, I was surprised to discover that “Mr. Jingles” was originally conceived as a loose sequel to that film. Lionsgate, which obtained “S.I.C.K.” along with hundreds of other low-budget titles when they acquired the Artisan catalogue, seems to have wised up to the notion that “2  S.I.C.K.” wasn’t necessarily an enticing enough title. That’s when the marketing men behind Lionsgate elected to step in and do their job, dreaming up a cool title, a cool tagline and a super-cool box cover art design – setting into motion a film that would surely fly off the shelves upon release. What they also did is set the public up for utter disappointment, as the product inside wasn’t nearly as good as the advertising would have you believe. I guess I’m trying to say that “Mr. Jingles” is a prime example of how passion to make a movies doesn’t always result in something worthwhile. Personally, I love and embrace independent films, yes, even the camcorder variety, but there is a tipping point. Sometimes the ineptitude of the filmmakers results in an experience more painful than engaging. It is all the more shocking why a distributor would chose to dress it up and trumpet it at all, considering how many truly great indie films still have yet to receive distribution.

When Angie Randall (Kelli Jensen) was a young girl, she had to watch in horror as her family was hacked to pieces by a lunatic dressed in a clown costume. Thankfully, the cops busted into the Randall home just in time to shoot crazy clown man (apparently with a cap gun, no less) just as he was to plunge the knife into little Angie. In the aftermath, the traumatized kid is shipped off to a mental hospital for treatment while the authorities attempt to downplay the erupting community whispers of a killer clown named “Mr. Jingles”. Years later, a now teenage Angie (also played by Kelli Jensen, minus the pigtails), is released from the hospital into the care of her concerned Aunt Helen (Niclole Majdali). Not to say that Angie is all right in the head, because she isn't. She is still haunted by a reoccurring nightmare, one where she, hidden in a closet, attempts to make out the dying words of the killer over his bell jingles. Her adjustment into Helen's home is rough going at first – due mainly to Helen’s goth son, Dylan (Nathanial Ketchum), who likes to accessorize with dark black and nose pins, while drawing creepy pictures of the local boogeyman 'Mr. Jingles' on his school notebooks. Thankfully Angie has her other cousin, the preppy-dressing Heidi (Jessica Hall) to turn to for support.

Social butterfly she is, Heidi is quick to get Angie out and hanging around with her sex-obsessed galpals, while Dylan bides his time with his pothead girlfriend Melanie (Heather Doba) and her two less than erudite friends, cooking up a scheme to terrify Heidi and her friends. Got that? The scheme of course involves digging up Mr. Jingles headstone and is in such bad taste that even not-too-bright Dylan begins to second-guess participating. It doesn’t much matter since something else more sinister is at work in their small town – namely the resurrection of one Mr. Jingles, who comes out of the ground meaning business. Armed with a couple of axes and, apparently, Strutters Complete Guide to Makeup, Jingles doesn’t clown around in his bid to kill all of those who did him wrong. As the bodies begin to pile up, it becomes clear that ole Mr. Jingles might have a very good reason for being upset. Let's just say it involves politics, corrupt cops and misidentification -- or how one community turned a hero into a monster. 

Granted, while “Mr. Jingles” probably sounded cool on paper, the final product leaves much to be desired. Terrible acting, bland cinematography and cheap camera equipment work only to trump whatever mildly interesting story the film might have boasted. The idea of re-arranging the chess pieces to play on the audience’s notion of what is a good and bad character is something I greatly enjoy, but this film simply isn’t capable of pulling things together cohesively to arrive at that desired 'wtf?' conslusion. There are so many elements in the film that just don’t work that cataloguing them would be liken to figuring out how many times Bush and his cronies lied to public the last eight years. Screaming desperation is a character (John Anton) who is introduced solely to fill in the various blanks in the story, namely that, while in jail, Mr. Jingles dabbled in the occult, that Mr. Jingles was actually a hero, and that Mr. Jingles has somehow figured out a way to resurrect himself. Hmmm, that's quite a lot of information that, apparently, even some of the local cops don't know. Then, just as soon as the vacant spots are filled in by said character, he is conveniently dispatched without further explanation.

Appeasing the legions of gore fans out there who might actually rent "Mr. Jingles", the filmmakers pull no punches in the staging and execution the various kill sequences. Gallons upon gallons of fake blood is used to prop up each and every death, of which include a series of stabbings, decapitations, a castration and even a scene where Mr. Jingles punches a hole through a man’s chest in order to give the person standing behind him the finger. Ah yes, Andrew Sarris would be proud. For fans out there who like some steak with their blood, a couple of busty girls, Heather Doba and Jessica Hall, happily strip down for director Tommy Brunswick’s artistic vision. For what it’s worth, seeing Jessica in her birthday suit almost made this film bearable. Remember, I said almost. In fact, across the board this is a very good looking cast of young twenty-somethings, and most of them seem to be having fun. Too bad they couldn't act to save their life.

The film does feature a few “actors”. Okay, that’s stretching it a bit, I know. Let’s just say, there are people who appear in this who have appeared in other films. For the most part, however, the majority of folks on hand seem only capable of reciting dialogue... terribly. Actual acting acting, well, that doesn’t happen – not here. Chris Peters (2007's "Kiss of the Vampire"), a guy who is quickly becoming typecast as a cop, does a good enough job playing a guy stuck in the past. Ironically, Heather Doba (2008's "Nevermore") and Jessica Hall (2006's "They Must Eat"), the two girls who really let it all hang out, aren’t really all that bad as actors either. Also good in a smaller part as Heidi’s BFF Jen is first-time actress Amber Whelan. With enthusiasm to spare, Ms. Whelan, who looks a lot like Amanda Peet, helps liven up the film’s dull final half. John Anton (2008's "Little Red Devil") is the name actor in the cast, appearing in over fifteen films. Playing the 'crazy guy who knows everything' character I mentioned earlier, there's nothing truly organic about his part and therefore, it feels kind of silly. Brother and sister team Todd and Tommy Brunswick have dabbled in b-movies for over five years, producing a half dozen titles including "Biker Zombies from Detroit" and "They Must Eat". Sadly, "Mr. Jingles" seems to be a big step backwards for them. They seem to be on pace to shoot two films a year. Hopefully the next bunch will be better than this one.

Regarding the ending, which is a direct homage to “Happy Birthday to Me”, I was really excited thinking that the filmmakers were going to end it on a rather ambiguous note, maybe suggesting that there was never a Mr. Jingles at all, and maybe sweet Angie was the culprit, however, within three minutes of me celebrating the cunning of the filmmakers, I was immediately put back in my place as things quickly steered back on track -- back into crap. Filmmakers, when you're onto something good, just stop. Just stop. To make matters worse, the film shocks viewers by suggesting that there could be a sequel. A sequel.. to this mess? I can only hope and pray that such a thing never comes to fruition. Not this time. Crazy clown killers can be fun but not this crazy clown killer. If you absolutely have to watch this one, check out Amazon.com. To see the trailer for the film go here.

Click this link to see more images from "Mr. Jingles"