Awfully Good: Killer Klowns From Outer Space

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Get ready for IT: CHAPTER TWO with some of Pennywise's distant relatives…

Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988)

Director: Stephen Chiodo
Stars: John Allen Nelson, Suzanne Snyder, John Vernon

Evil space aliens disguised as circus clowns come to Earth and make Pennywise look like Angela Lansbury.

KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE is a classic B-movie, one that’s often thrown around as an example of a quintessential cult film. Its cheesiness is both undeniable and unapologetic, making for some legitimately great fun.

A goofy sci-fi horror flick on the surface, KILLER KLOWNS is really just a highlight reel showcasing the creativity of the Chiodo Brothers. If you’re not familiar, Stephen, Charles and Edward Chiodo are responsible for the creature and special effects for classic movies like CRITTERS, ERNEST SCARED STUPID, ELF and perhaps the thing that scared me most as a child, Large Marge from PEE WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE. KILLER KLOWNS lets the siblings loose to fill an entire film with an unending supply of creepy circus entertainers, wacky weapons and kills, and a truly memorable synth score.

Someone is going to Google "clown creampie" and be very disappointed to find this picture.

It may have all the trappings of a bad movie, from some head-scratching acting and dialogue choices to a cast of “teenagers” clearly played by 30-year olds, but it's still obvious that the Chiodos put some real thought and effort in to this. From the impressive production design of the alien spaceship to the well-executed clown makeup and puppet effects, KILLER KLOWNS is absolutely perfect for what it is. The filmmakers clearly aren't taking themselves too seriously and you shouldn't either.

I mean, this is a movie where someone says this line of dialogue in a completely serious fashion:

"We're going to run to the police station and tell them there's a bunch of clowns running around the Hills killing people with cotton candy?!"

Clifford the Big Red dog was going to get neutered one way or another.

The story is a quick and easy sell: a spaceship full of evil clowns descend on a small town and wreak havoc on its inhabitants, repeatedly tricking people in to thinking they're nice, normal clowns and then murdering them gruesomely. Although why anyone would think it was normal for clowns to be out on a Friday night doing random tricks in the street is beyond me…

Where did the aliens come from? Why are they here? Why are they clowns? This movie smartly realizes that sometimes its more fun NOT to answer these questions. You just know if this was made today there'd be an elaborate flashback to their home planet or a monologue at the end where the final clown psychically overexplains his intentions. But sometimes audiences don't need a definitive backstory. They only watch a movie called KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE to see what new and fun ways the circus can kill people.

Connie was about to suffer what historians would come to consider the worst marriage proposal of all time.

And speaking of the circus, the Chiodos definitely go all-in with the film's big-top theme, no matter how silly it may be. The clowns employ guns that shoot sentient popcorn, killer birthday streamers, people-eating shadow puppets, and what can only be described as "death by pie." They use balloon animal dogs and invisible clown cars to track and chase their victims. And when all is said and done, they store the deceased in giant cotton candy cocoons that look like the Energizer Bunny's oversized testicles.

Don't ever tell the Chiodo Bros. that they didn't fully commit.

Gene really committed to the Electric Slide at weddings.

On the human side, it falls to a teenage girl, her comic relief boyfriend, and her no-nonsense police officer ex-boyfriend to save the world. They're all pretty stock horror characters, save for the fact that their weird love triangle never gets wrapped up at the end of the film. In fact, I'm pretty sure the final shot, which features the three of them laughing and standing closely together as the ex-boyfriend smells the girl's hair, is clearly meant to suggest that the three of them are entering in to a polyamorous relationship.

Also of note is John Vernon, who played the Dean in ANIMAL HOUSE and channels a similar grumpiness as a cynical cop who hates everyone and everything. So much so that as the reports of killer clowns pile up, he simply believes it's just the entire town conspiring against him. Even when his partner reports that it's really happening or when he hears someone clearly being murdered over the phone. Hell, when a killer clown shows up at the police station and spins his head around EXORCIST-style, the grizzled cop still thinks the teenagers are playing a prank on him and should get off his lawn. It's a pitch-perfect use of Vernon's talents as an actor.

Bozo was not happy to discover he'd been put on "double secret probation."

It was recently announced that the Chiodo Bros. are reteaming with Jon Favreau on a new stop-motion movie for Netflix. It’s about time the fraternal filmmakers got to play in a real sandbox again. Now bring on the much-promised RETURN OF THE KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE IN 3D!

So many great one-liners.

BONUS: We don't usually include deleted scenes, but there's a monologue that was cut from the movie that is something you have to painfully see to believe.