Written and directed by Ed Perkins, as the story is told in the ‘Clown Panic’ film, when children in a small South Carolina community report seeing clowns hiding in the woods in 2016, few believe them. But as sightings spread across the country, panic escalates into school lockdowns, police investigations, and a nationwide media frenzy.
Featuring chilling archive footage, viral internet videos, and revealing interviews with witnesses, law enforcement, clowns, and cultural commentators, Clown Panic examines the collision of fear, social media, and modern America at a moment of deep national anxiety. Darkly funny, unsettling, and unexpectedly emotional, the film uncovers how a bizarre urban legend spiraled into a global moral panic that has echoes that resonate today.
‘Clown Panic’ is produced by Jonathan Chinn and Simon Chinn, with executive producer Suzanne Lavery. Production company is Lightbox.
Watch the trailer below:
Hulu will release ‘Clown Panic’ on streaming October 12, 2026, as part of its Huluween lineup on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ in the U.S., with Disney+ internationally.
Ed Perkins is most known for the Oscar-nominated short Black Sheep, the Netflix documentary Tell Me Who I Am and the HBO film The Princess. Simon Chinn is most known for the Oscar-winning documentaries Man on Wire and Searching for Sugar Man. Jonathan Chinn is most known for LA 92 and Whitney.
