Hi again!
For tonight's installment, I'll be looking at 'Killer Klowns from Outer Space.' It premiered just a couple months after 'Beetlejuice,' and was directed by Stephen Chiodo, and he and his brothers also played important roles in writing it.
The story starts off (After hearing the movie's awesome theme song performed by the Dickies during the opening credits) on the local makeout point of a small town. Our heroes, Mike and Debbie, discover something falling from the sky and landing not far from there. This, it turns out, is the alien Klowns' ship, shaped like a monstrous circus tent, and with its interior looking like a funhouse. The Klowns kill their first victims, a dopey local farmer and his dog "Pooh- Bear" (Who the heck names their dog that?), attempt unsuccessfully to kill Mike and Debbie (The latter of whom apparently has a fear of clowns stemming from a childhood incident) when they enter the ship briefly, then begin attacking everyone in town. Most of the people are killed by getting hit by the Klowns' ray guns, which encase them in cotton- candy coccoons that the Klowns can then drain their blood from with swirly- straws. However, the Klowns are remarkably creative with their weaponry, from popcorn that comes alive and turns into monsters, to carnivorous shadow puppets, to balloon animal dogs used as bloodhounds by the Klowns, and let's not get started on what happens when they start getting out the pies.
Strangely, there are apparently only two cops on duty at that night; Officer Dave Hanson, a nice enough guy who it happens is Debbie's ex- boyfriend, and Officer Kurtis Mooney (The late John Vernon, best known For playing Dean Wormer in 'Animal House'), a short- fused jerk just itching for the chance to go LAPD on any lawbreakers. Of course, neither of them believe Mike and Debbie's story (Who ever heard of an open- minded cop in a horror movie?), but Dave agrees to go with them, if only to humor Debbie. Although the tent has disappeared, they find the cotton candy encasing a car at the makeout point, which is enough to convince Dave that they're telling the truth. Mooney is killed and turned into a ventriloquist's dummy by a Klown, which is when Dave discovers that the Klowns' noses are their weak spots. Debbie is captured, so Mike, Dave, and a pair of practical- joking brothers go into the Klowns' ship, which has relocated to an amusement park, to rescue her.
Obviously, a movie as cheesy as this (It's every bit as silly as it sounds) has its problems. The dialogue is corny, and the acting's obviously not that good. Also, in the very end of the movie, a couple characters who were thought to have been dead abruptly turn up ok, and the explanation for how they survived is pretty stupid.
However, for a cheesy B- Movie, 'Killer Klowns from Outer Space' is surprisingly good. It's obviously completely hilarious. The Chiodo brothers clearly realized how ridiculous the premise was, so they made it good and funny, mainly from how the Klowns act. Even just the way they walk is pretty funny. The movie's also definitely got some scary moments. The Klowns look ugly and creepy, and their laugh will seriously freak you out. The sets for the Klown's ship look great considering the obviously low budget it had. Even though the acting, as I said, mostly isn't that great, John Vernon does a very good job as Officer Mooney. This guy makes Vernon's earlier role of Dean Wormer look like Mr. Rogers in comparison, he's the epitome of the jerk cop that nobody wants to be busted by. The music's pretty good, too, as are the sets taking plce in the alien ship.
So, that's 'Killer Klowns from Outer Space,' a cheesy but great cult film. And, it now finally has a sequel on the way; 'The Return of the Killer Klowns from Outer Space in 3-D' is officially in development!
Come back tomorrow for one more horror/ comedy entry!
