'Wrinkles The Clown' Trailer: A New Documentary Profiles A Clown Hired To Scare Children

Pennywise the Dancing Clown is horrifying audiences in theaters everywhere this weekend in IT: Chapter 2, but the people of southwest Florida have been terrified by a real life clown named Wrinkles, and it's time for his story to be told.

Wrinkles the Clown is a new documentary from director Michael Beach Nichols (Welcome to Leith) which focuses on this seemingly mythical clown who first went viral after supposedly being hired to scare the hell out of a kid whose parents decided this was the best way to punish him for misbehaving. Following internet fame, more videos of Wrinkles soon began to appear online, and suddenly Wrinkles the Clown was a professional hired for "behavioral services". Yes, this is all totally real. Watch the Wrinkles the Clown trailer to find out more about this horrifying and fascinating story.

Honestly, I had to do some research after watching this trailer in order to determine that it was a real documentary and not just some kind of fake out. But legitimate news reports have confirmed that Wrinkles the Clown is the real deal, and he's created a whole new wave of fear in children, not to mention inspiring copycats around the country. The documentary looks as unsettling as it does interesting, especially since it promises unprecedented access to the man behind the mask.

Wrinkles the Clown will be premiering at Fantastic Fest later this month, and we should have a review for you to check out afterwards, so stay tuned. In the meantime, here's the official synopsis for the documentary:

In late 2014, a low-res video of a person in a clown mask emerging from underneath a sleeping child's bed appears on YouTube. The description below the video claims that the clown is named "Wrinkles," that he lives in southwest Florida, and that he's been hired by the child's parents to frighten her for misbehaving. The video goes viral. Soon, more mysterious videos of Wrinkles scaring children appear online, along with a phone number to hire him for "behavioral services." Wrinkles becomes internet lore – a whole genre of YouTube videos of kids filming themselves calling him appears online, and over a million messages are left at the number. Voicemails range from disturbing to hilarious to terrifying: parents use the number to terrify their children, kids who are obsessive fans of creepy clowns reach out to make a new friend, children threaten to inflict wildly creative violence if he comes anywhere near them. But who is Wrinkles, and why is he doing this? With incredible access to the mastermind behind the mask, Wrinkles the Clown is a cryptic and playful exploration of these questions, as well as an inside look at myth-building and the unpredictable spread of imagination in the Internet age.