Review: Killer Klowns from Outer Space 1988

A spectacular horror-comedy/B-Horror with wonderful effects (given the time), “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” is everything you could hope for and more! This film is so well done, there’s so much variety and originality, it’s funny, silly and may not be particularly scary but it still manages to be creepy and occasionally unsettling. If you’re a fan of creepy, awesome, darkly funny horror, then this film is just utter perfection!
“Killer Klowns from Outer Space” begins with what appears to be a shooting star, or perhaps a meteorite, falling from space and landing in the woods in a small American town. A few people decide to investigate and find what looks like a large circus tent, but inside it looks more like a very colourful space ship containing creatures that seem to have modeled themselves after ‘Earth clowns’ but have much more sinister intentions. The lucky ones escape and try to warn the authorities, but who is going to believe a couple of teenagers claiming that the town has been invaded by murderous clown-like creatures shooting ‘popcorn guns’ and coating people in ‘cotton candy cocoons’? Yeah.. no one. …That is, until it’s too late and they see for themselves that not only are these “clowns” very real, but they are capable of pretty much anything!
Because of the utterly absurd premise of the film, “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” leaves itself free to do literally anything, there are NO limits to the lunacy in this movie, and it makes for an AWESOME experience. Of course, the film follows the theme of specifically clown-like hi-jinks (with a very homicidal twist!) but the huge array of wildly inventive ideas that are employed, makes for a continuously entertaining movie. In other words, this film is anything but boring, and never repetitive. So, as if it isn’t already patently obvious, I absolutely LOVED this movie! Considering that this film was made in the eighties, I was practically blown away by the effects, and the scenery and the props and the costumes!! Visually, this film is just so much fun. The concept is ingenious because it combines things that, at first, appear to be funny and colourful and happy, and, in fact, for kids… with horror. And the contrast is just so delightfully dark and twisted, it’s just awesome.