PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Something About Blending Two Unknowns
There’s something to be said about combining clowns and aliens to create a fun, ridiculous, and frightful story. Killer Klowns from Outer Space didn’t really get the credit it deserved as a pure genius and well-rounded horror comedy. But now holds its own as a cult classic.
Killer Klowns In a Nutshell
The story takes place in the quiet little town of Crescent Cove. A group of mysterious, grotesque-looking clowns arrive in the middle of the forest, complete with a circus tent. Farmer Gene Green (Royal Dano, Something Wicked This Way Comes 1983) is the first to meet the Klowns. He goes to investigate what they believe was a comet crashing. In spite of all the red flags, Farmer Green hangs around long enough to get got.
Mike Tobacco (Grant Cramer, New Year’s Evil 1980) and his girlfriend Debbie Stone (Suzanne Snyder, Night of the Creeps 1986) also see the astral anomaly. So naturally they have to go check it out. Mike, feeling bold, sneaks inside to investigate and drags Debbie along. Making their way through the fun-house-like structure, they find more and more disturbing sights. And discover what happened to Farmer Green.
Mike and Debbie narrowly escape their first meeting with the Klowns. They head back to the town to face the difficult task of getting help from the police. The Klowns also decide to venture into town after them. They also make time for ridiculous mayhem while harvesting food all throughout Crescent Cove.
But What is it With Killer Klowns Exactly?
Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a perfect example of camp and horror blending perfectly to make horror comedy work well. With what The Chiodo Brothers put into crafting a fun and fantastical nightmare, it’s fairly easy to get lost in the adventure they take you on. From the “cotton candy cocoons”, carnivorous popcorn, and an assortment of kooky ray guns, you’ll never be bored watching the chaos unfold.
It was intended for there to be sequels, but per Wikipedia, they’re caught up in development hell since the original film was first released. Also per Wiki, in 2018 Syfy announced that they were in talks on licensing rights for additional sequels. It stated that there was a requel in 2012 allegedly in post-production, but there have been no further updates or news on that.
More Than a Movie
At present they’re beta testing a Killer Klowns game to be released on the PlayStation and Xbox platforms, no official date yet other than this year.
The Chiodo Brothers have created some pretty incredible and iconic creatures, but there’s just something unique about the Killer Klowns universe that I hope, after 35 years, finally gets the expansion it deserves. I’d totally be down for a Killer Klowns from Outer Space series!
If you’ve somehow missed Killer Klowns from Outer Space, it’s a true classic and so much fun to watch. Right now, you can check it on Tubi, YouTube, Redbox, and Plex for free, or on a variety of subscription streaming services.
