Feb 26 2009
Killer Klowns from Outer Space (Review)
KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE (1988)
Starring John Vernon (Animal House)
It should come as no surprise that the majority of people are scared by clowns. So, naturally, it’s not too hard to make a scary horror movie about clowns. However, Killer Klowns from Outer Space goes the extra mile. The three Chiodo brothers behind this film realize that if you’re going to make a movie about murderous clowns, make sure they are extra creepy and play up the clown angle in their kills. Oh and they’re aliens, too.
A bunch of horny teens make out at the local park-and-poke when a comet passes over them. Grant and Suzanne decide to go check out where it landed and happen upon a circus tent. But not before a redneck messes with it first played by Royal Dano, who would later play ANOTHER alien spotting farmer in Spaced Invaders two years later. They enter out of curiosity and discover giant bulbs of hanging cotton candy with a big twist; IT’S PEOPLE! After running into a couple of murderous alien clowns, they escape the ship and head to the police station to inform the local authorities of these events. Naturally, there is one tough old police chief, Curtis Mooney (John Vernon), who doesn’t buy their story for one second, and one young rookie cop, Dave Hanson, who is slightly hesitant to the idea. Meanwhile, the clowns go on a hilarious rampage of turning people into cotton candy and just plain killing them. What is their true purpose for stopping on Earth? I don’t really know or care why. The whole movie is just an excuse for creepy clowns to kill people in a humorous fashion.
The designs of the clowns themselves are quite brilliant. They appear as looming giants with wrinkly faces and bad dental hygiene. Think of them as the inbred cousins of the clown from Stephen King’s It. They even come across as real scary threats in more than just their appearance. There is a scene where a little girl is almost killed by one as the clown slowly leads her out to smash her skull in with a hammer. The kills are quite good ranging from boxing decapitation, to an invisible car chase, to ventriloquism. In addition to the comedic kills is a host of comedic characters with corny dialogue. Obviously, the most capable actor in the bunch is John Vernon as the police chief, but his character is also one of the cockiest as he doesn’t buy into the whole killer clown story. Even when he receives several 911 calls about them, he STILL refuses to acknowledge them as a real threat. The other characters are forced to spew out some pure cornball gold of dialogue that enhance comedy element of the movie.
It should also be worth noting that special effects are quite incredible considering the budget of the movie. Many of the clowns’ more elaborate kills involving shadow puppets and invisible cars look about as high quality as any other movie of 1988. Everything from the spinning circus tent spaceship to the elaborate death of the clowns is done with such love for the craft that it makes you wish there were more movies like this. I know there is a lot of fear about remakes and sequels, but I would be ecstatic if the Chiodo brothers returned for another Killer Klown movie without the use of CGI.
DVD Dump Counter
-2 bumbling horny ice-cream salesmen.
-1 redneck electrocuted.
-1 easily annoyed police chief.
-4 people zapped by ray guns turning them into cotton candy.
-1 act of punching a guy’s head off.
-1 car crash.
-1 group of people eaten by a shadow puppet.
-1 act of human ventriloquism.
-5 ‘clown snakes’.
-1 death by pie fight.
-2 sexy female clowns.
-1 giant monster clown.
-1 car explosion.
RATING: B-Movie
Killer Klowns from Outer Space balances a tight rope of being horrific and hilarious. For those who are still afraid of clowns, you’ll be terrified by this movie. For those are not afraid, you’ll get a kick out of the humor. So the movie can please anyone in the family.
