KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE
A film review by Thomas E. Billings
Copyright 1989 Thomas E. Billings
Synopsis: They came from outer space, in a spaceship that looks like ... a circus tent! They're aliens who look like circus clowns, and they're here to kill. They dispatch their victims with imagination, style, and circus magic! An imaginative, offbeat, black comedy; a very good midnight movie.
U.S.A., 1988, color, 90 minutes.
Director: Stephen Chiodo Producer: The Chiodo Brothers
A shooting star blazes across the sky above a lover's lane, landing nearby. A young couple investigates, only to find what appears to be a circus tent. They discover that it is a spaceship, run by aliens that look like circus clowns. By good luck (and running very fast) the couple escape the clutches of the killer clowns, and go to town to report their discovery to the police. The clowns follow them into the town, and begin a night of terror and murder.
Will the killer clowns take over the earth? Will the young couple triumph? Can humanity be saved? See the film & find out.
Despite the ridiculous premise, or perhaps because of it, this is a very funny film, albeit with a savage sense of humor. The "stars" of the film are a bunch of unknowns, and the acting of the people in the film is rather poor. However, the clowns are very well done. It is clear that the Director chose to spend his budget on make-up and special effects. This is for the good, because it is the clowns that make this movie worth seeing!
The clowns are very large and look like ordinary clowns, except for their sharp, fanged teeth and large ears. There are a few dwarf clowns also, and there is a savagely funny scene where a dwarf killer clown on a clown bicycle terrorizes an entire motorcycle gang!
Given that the humor here concerns murders, the film is definitely a black comedy. If it is a parody or take-off on anything, it is more a parody of slasher films than science-fiction. Rather than someone in a hockey mask (FRIDAY THE 13TH series) or Freddie Krueger, we have a bunch of clowns committing the murders. However, the methods the clowns use to dispatch their victims are imaginative, inventive, and outrageously funny! I won't say anymore on this point to avoid spoiling anything. The Chiodo brothers (writers, producers, and director) deserve high marks for the originality and imagination shown in this film.
An examination of the production values of this film indicates that it is definitely a "B-movie." The acting (of the people, but not the clowns) is poor, the script occasionally weak; only the outrageous clowns & their equally outrageous antics save the movie. The clowns are so silly that, when you see them, it is hard not to laugh!
Despite the limitations of the film, it is worth watching (assuming you have the properly warped sense of humor) just to see the clowns and their antics. If you like "midnight movies," this is definitely worth seeing! If you don't like "midnight movies" then perhaps you shouldn't see it.
Overall evaluation: very good for a "midnight movie."
P.S. This film is now available on video. You might consider viewing it, late at night, with a group of people who like this kind of humor.
Reviewer: Thomas E. Billings; Department of Statistics University of California, Berkeley Reviewer contact: teb@stat.Berkeley.EDU
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