With Helloween set to hit UK digital on September 29, 2025, audiences are about to meet one of horror’s most unsettling new figures: Carl Kane. Played with chilling intensity by Ronan Summers, Kane is a notorious child killer whose influence bleeds beyond the walls of his psychiatric cell and into a nationwide “killer clown” frenzy.
Summers delivers a performance that feels both theatrical and disturbingly grounded. In our conversation, he revealed the painstaking process of finding Carl’s voice. Rather than leaning into familiar archetypes like the Joker or Pennywise, Summers deliberately avoided those influences. “I thought, what happens if I just go exactly the opposite,” he explained. “Turn the bass up, turn the treble completely down, and find something right at the bottom of my voice.” The result is a gravelly, commanding presence that makes Kane unforgettable.
Fans of Summers may be surprised to learn that one of his earliest roles was in The Dark Knight, where he appeared briefly as a guard. That connection to Heath Ledger’s iconic Joker makes his breakout in Helloween feel almost poetic, but Summers is clear that Carl Kane is his own creation. Through mask work, clowning exercises, and a willingness to experiment, Summers built a character that can shift between charismatic and terrifying in an instant.
Director Phil Claydon has described Kane as someone failed by the system, and Summers leans into that complexity. “Like all good villains, even if you disagree with their methods, if you can understand why they’re doing these horrible things, they become much harder to hate,” he said. That tension is what gives Helloween its edge, blurring the line between monster and man.
Comparisons to Terrifier have already surfaced, but Summers is quick to draw distinctions. “Art the Clown is a mute. Carl Kane never shuts up,” he laughed. “Our film isn’t a straight mime slasher. The vibe, the methods, the reasons are very different.” For him, Kane has the potential to stand on his own as a horror figure, with the film’s ending leaving plenty of room for sequels or spin-offs.
Beyond the blood and chaos, Summers emphasizes the collaborative nature of bringing Kane to life. He credits Claydon, the crew, and even the sound team with shaping the film’s atmosphere. “We all built Carl together,” he said. “If audiences respond, we’d all love to come back and continue the story.”
Talking with Ronan Summers was a reminder of how much thought and craft goes into creating a performance that lingers. His portrayal of Carl Kane is not just another masked killer but a fully realized character that embodies fear, anger, and tragic humanity. Whether Helloween becomes the launchpad for a new horror icon remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Summers’ performance has already left its mark.
Jessie Hobson