See The Last Circus and The Hills Have Eyes at the Syracuse Film Festival’s Brew & View

Steve Barton   |  

Sep 17, 2011

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This year’s Brew & View 35mm Film and Video Series at the Syracuse (New York) International Film Festival offers two horror films at midnight on October 14th and 15th: The Last Circus and The Hills Have Eyes (2006), respectively.

SyrFilmFest 11 and the Brew & View, created by Jeff Meyer, take place at The Palace Theater, 2384 James Street, Syracuse, NY. Tickets are just $7 / $5 for students and seniors and AARP members.

Visit the official SyrFilmFest website for more info on the event, including how to buys tickets.

The Last Circus Synopsis:
1937, Spain is in the midst of the brutal Spanish Civil War. A “Happy” circus clown is interrupted mid-performance and forcibly recruited by a militia. Still in his costume, he is handed a machete and led into battle against National soldiers, where he single-handedly massacres an entire platoon. This absurd and disturbing scenario raises the curtain on a twisted tale of love, revenge, and psychopathic clowns that could only spring from the mind of filmmaker Álex de la Iglesia.

Fast forward to 1973, the tail end of the Franco regime. Javier, the son of the clown, dreams of following in his father’s career footsteps but has seen too much tragedy in his life – he’s simply not funny and is only equipped to play the role of the Sad Clown. He finds work in a circus where he befriends an outlandish cast of characters, but as the Sad Clown he must take the abuse of the brutish Happy Clown Sergio, who humiliates Javier daily in the name of entertainment.

It is here that he meets Natalia, a gorgeous acrobat and the abused wife of Sergio. Javier falls deeply in love with Natalia and tries to rescue her from her cruel and violent husband, unleashing Sergio’s jealousy. But Natalia is torn between her affection towards Javier and her lust for Sergio.

With neither man willing to back down, this twisted love triangle evolves into a ferocious battle between Sad Clown and Happy Clown, escalating to unbelievable heights in this absurd, shocking, irreverent, and unforgettable film.

You shouldn’t really need a synopsis of Alexandre Aja’s well received The Hills Have Eyes remake, but here’s a brief one along with the trailer just to refresh your memory: A suburban American family is being stalked by a group of psychotic people who live in the desert, far away from civilization.