Before the cinematic incarnations of Joker and Pennywise,
before such contemporary times when children could be forgiven for thinking
that actual clowns were really conceptualized to horrify than to entertain,
there were the Killer Klowns from Outer Space.
1988’s cult classic from the Chidio brothers is one of those
many little films in the 80s that page homage, loving or otherwise, to the
myriad ‘aliens cause trouble for small town America’ pictures of the 1950s.
It’s true that nostalgia tends to work in thirty-year cycles, so you can see
the influences ring true for this one. A lot of it is a riff on the classic The
Blob (and ironically 88 would see a straight remake of that one too)…except
that instead of an all-consuming amorphous sentient pile of gelatin, we get a
bunch of monstrous blood-sucking aliens that happen to look like clowns. And if
that sounds like fun to you…well, this one should be right up your alley.
The film starts with the typical setup of teens on a Friday
night spotting a shooting star that turns out to be a UFO landing in the woods—a
UFO that happens to look like a Big Top. And is the case with UFOs, tends not
to have the best choice in parking. Our main characters are introduced quickly,
and most of them are your pretty basic generic teens played by twentysomethings
who nobody believes until it’s too late; the standouts are a pair of nerds with
an ice cream truck, and a slightly crazed old cop who believes he has the legal
authority of Judge Dredd. But these schmucks aren’t really what the movie’s
about—no, it’s the Klowns, and all the delightful methods they have of making
First Contact. In the first fifteen minutes or so, we get introduced to rayguns
that wrap their targets in flesh-dissolving candyfloss, guns that shoot
fire-and-forget popcorn that later on transforms into toothy serpentine Klown-spawn,
and balloon animals that become vicious bloodhounds. And that’s only the
beginning.
And as to why these starfaring creatures go for such bizarre
methods? As one of the characters puts it—“it’s because they’re clowns, why do
you think?!”
The film does have a lot of nice scenery to look at—the
interior of the Klown’s Big Top UFO is colorful and suitably demented, with what
appear to be visual homages to German impressionism, of all things, and more
1950s titles like Forbidden Planet. And when you put all this through a
demented kaleidoscope of eighties pink and purples, it’s not half bad to see.
Now, is the film actually scary in any way? Being someone who,
shockingly, isn’t afraid of clowns, it’s more of a fun monster flick for me,
although there are a couple of genuinely creepy scenes. There’s one part where
a Klown tries to beckon a young girl out of a restaurant toward it, with
obvious ill intent, and it’s not really played for laughs in any way. There’s
also some of the rather harrowing scale of the Klown harvest—and they don’t
really seem bent on sparing much of anyone.
But yeah. For the most part, if you need something goofy and
creative to put on for a Halloween party, this is one thing I can certainly
recommend. Not many other films can boast an ice cream truck doing battle with
a Tyrannosaur-size alien clown overlord, or unveil the true evil of shadow
finger puppets, or other bizarre carnage I really don’t want to spoil more of.
If any of what I’ve described sounds like a good time to watch…then put it on,
and get Klownin’.
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