Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Stephen Chiodo

Writers:

Charles Chiodo (writer)
Edward Chiodo (writer)

Release Date:

27 May 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Comedy

Tagline:

It's Craaazy!

Plot:

Aliens who look like clowns come from outer space and terrorize a small town.

Plot Keywords:

Clown | Alien | Small Town | Ice Cream | Ice Cream Truck

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Grant Cramer	...	Mike Tobacco
Suzanne Snyder	...	Debbie Stone
John Allen Nelson	...	Dave Hanson
John Vernon	...	Curtis Mooney
Michael Siegel	...	Rich Terenzi
Peter Licassi	...	Paul Terenzi
Royal Dano	...	Farmer Gene Green
Christopher Titus	...	Bob McReed
Irene Michaels	...	Stacy
Karla Sue Krull	...	Tracy
Brian Degan Scott	...	Punk #1
Danny Kovacs	...	Punk #2
Adele Proom	...	Mrs. Franco
Howard Malpas	...	Mr. Myers
Karen Raff	...	Mom #1

Runtime:

88 min | Argentina:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | Argentina:13 | Iceland:16 | Germany:18 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | France:-12 (TV rating) | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, California, USA

Company:

Chiodo Brothers Productions

Trivia:

An early version of the restaurant scene was shot showing the Chiodo brothers sitting at a table in the background as extras.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the clown monster is coming out of the toilet you can see the puppeteer's arm.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Curtis Mooney: Look at this son of a bitch.

Movie Connections:

References Psycho (1960)

Soundtrack:

Killer Klowns (From Outer Space)

Seriously deranged cult-stuff!

Yes, this movie really does handle about evil aliens, shaped like clowns, that strand near a remote American village. Their circus tent mysteriously appears in the woods after a meteorite crash and the klowns (yes, with a "k") go on a rampage in the village to turn people into cotton-candy with their funky armory. Their mission is to take the human snacks back to their planet but a team of local dummies makes a counter-attack in their ice cream-truck! This movie unquestionably has the most absurd premise in cinema ever and you either love it or downgrade it as being a ridiculous piece of trash. I am a great fan of this campy horror-comedy flick and I can't possibly say anything negative about it. My best defense for this movie would be that it is an ingenious and successful attempt to parody and homage the 50's and early 60's SF classics in which paranoid people witnessed alien-invasions from all over the universe. But actually, the silliness of this movie doesn't require justification at all. It feels like the idea started out as a joke between 3 brothers and eventually it resulted in a long-feature film. The acting isn't very impressive (apart from veteran actor John Vernon in a great 'angry old copper'-role) and the dialogues are unimaginably dumb. On the other hand, the clown-costumes are terrific and the least you can say about the plot-twists is that they're creative (a Godzilla-clown, anyone??). So, in case you have only the tiniest sense of morbid humor in you, I strongly recommend tracking down this "Killer Klowns from Outer Space". It will, without a doubt, be one the most bizarre film projects you ever laid eyes on.