Clownhouse is a 1989 American slasher film written and directed by Victor Salva in his feature-length directorial debut.

It stars Nathan Forrest Winters, Brian McHugh, and Sam Rockwell as three young brothers stalked by escaped mental patients disguised as clowns, portrayed by Michael Jerome West, Bryan Weible, and David C. Reinecker.

Meanwhile, three psychotic mental patients, who have escaped an insane asylum, murder three clowns and steal their identities of Cheezo, Bippo, and Dippo by taking their makeup and costumes.

Geoffrey manages to kill Bippo by hitting him with a wooden plank, knocking him down a flight of stairs and breaking his neck.

Impressed by Victor Salva's 1986 short film Something in the Basement, Francis Ford Coppola gave him $250,000 to make Clownhouse.

[a] In 1988, director Victor Salva was convicted of the sexual abuse of Nathan Forrest Winters, the 12-year-old lead actor who played Casey, during production, including videotaping one of the encounters.

[14] Arlene Calkins of the Daily Utah Chronicle wrote that "This movie, for me, rivals anything I've seen done by Stephen King at his best...  Salva's direction is crisp and right on the mark.

"[16] Joan Bunke of The Des Moines Register noted that the film "looks like a family-and-friends project...  Salva...  has cobbled together the usual outrageously phony horror flick plot," adding: "The fright-making shadows of Mortarotti's photography and the moody music underscoring the kids' horror of what is overtaking them helps blank out the irrationality of the plot.

On August 26, 2003, the film was released on DVD by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,[19] but was pulled from shelves due to protest surrounding the sex abuse incident that occurred during production.