Review of Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) by Ricky E — 06 Feb 2010

Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a Horror/Comedy though watching it now it really has just become a Comedy I remember as a young-un loving this movie and if I remember correctly the movie did creep me out, I can't remember wether or not I was scarred by this one if so it doesn't stick in the mind unlike An American Werewolf in London which was terrifying back in the good old days.

The Plot is waffer thin but it does have a certain charm about it; A group of Aliens land just outside a small town and move in towards town to begin capturing and killing people, though none of the townsfolk take these Aliens seriously as they just so happen to look like Circus Clowns. As the Killer Klowns space ship lands just outside this little town, it passes over the teenagers make out point, one young couple spot what seems to them to be a shooting star and the young couple decide to investigate, meanwhile the a local townsperson also investigates the crash which happens just near his outback house and is swifty captured by one of the Aliens who use's his gun to turn the local numbnut into a big ball of what look likes candyfloss. Soon afterwards the young couple arrive not to find a Meteor but to find a Circus Tent and go exploring the inside and whilst inside discover the the local idiot dead inside the big ball of candyflossk, they are soon swiftly discovered and chased out of the spaceship/circus tent and just about survive and they then decide to head into town to tell the local police their crazy story which obviously is waved away as a ridiculous wind up and all hell breaks loose, Killer Klowns terrorize the small town and a small group of teenagers are trying to survive this ordeal, but who will survive??

Obviously with a title like Killer Klowns from Outer Space this film really doesn't take itself seriously and it is a typical B-Movie with a very low budget and a young cast, but that doesn't hinder this film as the effects are quite good for the time that this was released and being on such a low budget and what really works is that our Killer Klowns are created using costumes and prospehtics rather than using cheap computer technology and the Klowns do look the part, the film does have a very cheesy feel to it but that is all part of this quirky little low budget flick. And for a young cast the performances yes are not what you would see in a big budget Hollywood film but still they give a solid showing even if a little campy/cheesy. Also the soundtrack although hardly anything of quality does actually fit in with the overall feel of the movie and has the desired effect.

This one is certainly not for everyone and maybe you'll have to have seen this film back at the time of its release to be able to watch and enjoy this film or just be a fan of B-Movies. For me going back to this after all these years I'll be the first to admit that it's lost alot over time and hasn't aged very well, but I still had a good time watching it and throughout the film I was thinking how this could actually make a really good movie now with a bigger budget and better make-up to make the Klowns actually scary it could make a very dark film, but you'd still probably have to keep an element of the comedy in there to make it work, can't see it ever happening but it would be cool.