John Carpenter hits out at 'killer clown' craze: 'These people are idiots'

Carpernter said the craze is getting dangerous
Claudio Onorati/ EPA
The Weekender

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A film-maker who made his name terrifying audiences around the world today called for an end to the “killer clown” craze, branding those who don sinister costumes to scare passers-by “idiots”.

The bizarre fad has left police across the country dealing with a wave of incidents, while the Childline charity was contacted 120 times in just a week by scared children.

Horror maestro John Carpenter, 68, who directed classics including Halloween, The Fog and The Thing, told the Standard: “It’s getting ridiculous. These people are idiots. I guess I understand what they’re trying to do in trying to scare people, but it’s not right to run at people with a chainsaw. That’s not funny — it’s dangerous.”

He added: “I was visiting a friend in the emergency room and the curtain parted next to me, and this guy had been using a chainsaw on a tree stump and it hit something and bounced into his face.

Horror: Nick Castle plays Michael Myers in Carpenters' 1978 film Halloween
Allstar

“He was just about alive but man he was in pain. They were working on him trying to clean up the wound. Kids should put the chainsaws down, it is devastating.”

After a lifetime spent scaring movie-goers Carpenter, who lives in Los Angeles, revealed his greatest fear now is Donald Trump.

He said: “It’s so crazy here now, it’s really scary. There’s a part of America that is really nuts. People are angry and upset and someone like Donald Trump can come along and stir them up.

“He’s scary in a different way from anything I’ve created, but what’s really terrifying is how easily people buy into it.

“I’m going to vote early and get the hell out of here so I don’t have to listen to it any more. It’s a really scary world were living in, it’s like we’ve gone back to the Fifties.”

Carpenter is bringing his spooky scores to the UK for a concert tour of film soundtracks and music from new album Lost Themes II, with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies.

Jules de Lattre, from United Talent Agency, said he helped persuade Carpenter to create a live show around the album.

He said: “This has proved to be a huge success resulting in sold out shows all over Europe and the US.

“We planned a mix of headline shows at rock venues and major concert halls around the globe whilst strategically positioning the show in tastemaker festivals such as Primavera (Barcelona) and Todays Festival (Turin) in order to introduce the show to new audiences.

“We are currently planning more shows for 2017 - there could even be major rock festivals on the horizon since John has a cult following in that area”.

John Carpenter plays at the Troxy on October 31 and November 1.

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