The only thing scary in The Jester is the clown himself. The mask alone is menacing and his movements, mimicking that of a professional mime, makes the viewer await for his diabolical plans which almost always leads to the death of the people he encounters.
It is not clear what he really is. I thought he was an avenging angel trying to get the souls of people with baggage. However, as the movie progressed, it seemed to me he just kills anyone, and there is no thread or method to his madness.
The movie starts interestingly enough as we think this is about a father and his two daughters and the reconciliation of the latter. However, all that emotional wallop is thrown out the window as this murderous jester just goes his merry way of killing their friends and random strangers, like the two policemen.
The atmosphere created seems amateurish, even the gory effects. I find it to be on the level of a high school film. Even the mist looks like it came from a fog machine.
The performances also seem amateurish. It looks like it's a high school horror play. Felt like the actresses were just hamming it up. Basically, the premise is scary and the relationship between the different family members is an interesting focal point but it fails to scare the viewers even with the jester's really eerie demeanor.
