Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
It’s Craazzy!
Deja vu night - thought I did this already, but all signs point towards I have not. Got some pals to “grace’ with it’s presence as well, so why not? It’s all laughs under the space big top anyways even if folks don’t always have the same sense of cinema enjoyment that I do. Get your big foots and your balloon dogs - tonight we stop clowning around with Killer Klowns from Outer Space.
The story here is surface level simple - a big top from outer space makes landfall at a little town, and it’s residents set about restocking their food supplies. When we extend it out, we also have a little romance and plenty of interesting little circus-related gadgets and gizmos while the “kids” have to put up with the adults who just won’t bother to believe them and stick it to the clown menace. Classic movie in that sense really, complete with a plot that somehow works and a bunch of random-ish stuff to make it chase a little of that raunchy or dumb humor.
Actors here all seem like they are having a great time. I woudn’t go as far as to say anyone is walking out of this with any sort of awards - it’s a very cheesy kind of movie. That said, people do a remarkable job of staying straight faced with some very preposterous line deliveries. In that regard, you could really find some pretty impressive performances - but strictly on that emotional super-delivery stand point most associate with “good acting” this one might not deliver quite as far. Beyond that, there’s some decent chemistry going on between characters, particularly ones that are supposed to have good chemistry.
Characters aren’t going to be going through a whole ton of development here. If I’m being honest, I’m not entirely sure who would think there would be, given the title of the movie. That being said, it’s very character archetype as opposed to super fleshed out characters. I guess you could say some of the “kids” go from willy-nilly fun lovers to something a bit more serious when they try to defeat the klowns, but you don’t really feel as though they are different people by the end - just a bit more successful. That said, there is a few relationships that change by the end of the movie, so it’s not like everything is identical in this movie largely about alien Klowns looking for some snacks.
Hotdogs and tacos were not had.
More so than the characters and the story, the jokes and effects are probably more what this thing is going to be remembered for. Silly things like the twist on all circus and clown related things - shadow puppets, popcorn guns, balloon dogs, turning people into cotton candy snacks. They all look about as ridiculous as you’d expect, and the fact that it’s mostly all played seriously within it’s own context only helps to make things more humorous. The movie isn’t entirely without it’s normal movie like staples, like foreshadowing and the likes either. That said, you can expect a ton of gags from the klowns, usually being weaponized in one way or another.
Said jokes will be hit or miss for people, I’m sure most should be able to find at least one thing to giggle about. That said, there’s also some genuinely creepier moments, such as the klown luring the girl outside of a burger joint. Of course, if you have a fear of clowns you’ll probably find the lot of it more frightening than you will funny, and at times it’ll be hard to find them as very scary because they are big alien clowns. It’s a bit of a double edge sword in that regard, and you could throw that at most the movie - it’s characters aren’t horrible, but nothing much is really getting done to let them shine as more than the designated role. Comedy and horror elements do go together well, as is proven again and again though - but given it’s age I also wouldn’t personally be calling Killer Klowns particularly frightening. That’s not to say that older movies can’t be scary - in fact a bunch of them can be more meaningfully trauma inducing than modern ones that just rely on jump scares - just that in this given instance the wackiness combined with the level of effects is a good way of not being the most, how shall I say - immersive situation. It’s good effects work, things all look great, but I don’t think anyone is going to be avoiding trash cans because of this like they did pools because of Jaws.
Audio is good. Balance is well done. Line deliveries are killer, given how over the top everything is. A good number of the actors are doing a hefty amount of chewing up the scenery here, and the amount of ham in this could feed a small population. Music matches the tone of the movie. There’s probably some commentary or another to be made in this movie - but quite frankly, every time i watch it i’m too busy having a good time with the more… “stupid” elements I’ll call it. It’s put together quite well, and the pacing is quite well done also - never too long a dull moment.
State of the art klown sundae bar.
I admit it’s probably not a movie for everyone, but it’s one of those goofy horror movies from the 80’s that’s a bit too fun to hate in my opinion. Yes, if clowns are your thing this is obviously not going to go over well for you - but for others it’s got a mix of horror like elements and scenes mixed with a preposterous concept and a pretty humorous execution. It doens’t over stay it’s welcome, and garnered enough of a cult following that it even got a game to come out decades after the fact - so that’s got to say something about it.