This is a Hitchcockiamn suspense that is notable mainly by featuring an intolerable Evil Clown.
A few tricks that I find very amusing: (1) the 3 old ladies that playfully hint at Greek mythology; it is up to you to decide if they are the 3 Fates or the 3 Harpies; (2) the out-of-and-in-focus take of the balloon seller, that cries out to be a metaphor, though I know not what of; (3) modernistic piano music that manages to sound not only ominous but also "psychedelic"; very pleasing.
What I find not so appealing are the director's few give-in's to cliche: the heroine, for instance, is far too saintly for us to care for, and the ending too satisfyingly tidy. Chabrol's bitterness ahainst "rich manufacturers" rings snobbish, and tiresome, too.
