[Before you read this piece aboutKiller Klowns from Outer Space, do yourself a favor and fire upthe theme song fromKiller Klowns from Outer Space, which genuinely rips]
The 1988 sci-fi/horror cult classicKiller Klowns from Outer Spacehits Netflix today, which is joyous news for anyone stuck inside without hallucinogens but would like to have a similar experience all the same. Written, directed, and produced byStephen, Charles, andEdward Chiodo—the brotherly trio of special effects artists who most likely sent you straight to therapy with “Large Marge” inPee-wee’s Big Adventure—Killer Klownsputs all its appeal right there in the title. A race of homicidal aliens who just happen to look like deformed circus clowns descend on a small California town in their big-top space-ship and proceed to murder its residents with hilariously gruesome circus gags. A greaser gets his head punched off with comically oversized boxing gloves. A security guard gets his skin melted off by acid pies to the face. It’s all somehow both gloriously dumb and endlessly entertaining while remaining 1000% earnest in how much it’s purposely designed to be both.
It’s also about freaking time we got a sequel. I recently revisitedKiller Klowns from Outer Spaceand not only does hold up in its commitment to B-movie shoddiness, but it also left me with a bunch of genuinely intriguing questions, presented here in descending order of importance:
The natural, understandable instinct is that explaining more might ruin the fun, and that there’s no way the Chiodo Brothers—oranyone, really—could capture that extremely specific candy-colored lightning in a bottle twice. But I’m confident, and part of that is down to what makes a “cult classic” a cult classic to begin with. Any crew that sets out to make a “cult” movie is doomed from the start. The brains that produce something likeRocky Horror Picture Show,Repo! the Genetic Opera, orKiller Klownsshould be studied by science. Cult movies are made with an almost indescribable brand of creative earnestness, so that all schlock, corniness, or camp is endearing instead of distracting. It invites you to join in on the what-the-fuckery.
To make this point clearer, look at two recent examples:CatsandVenom.Cats—which I must stress isan out-of-body experience disguised as a musical—is destined for rowdy midnight screenings for years to come. It is, in pretty much every way, a litter box of disastrous decisions, but there’s such a fascinating relationship between its quality and its effort. Not a single soul inCatsthinks they’re cooler thanCats. Meanwhile,Venomcame close to something similar, but not quite. No matter what anyone says, I genuinely believe that up until the momentVenomhit screens Sony thought they had made a Very Cool & Badass action flick.Venom’s entertainment factor comes from how hard it isnotthat and the way a 110% committedTom Hardyis the only person aware of it. (Venomisn’t really a cult movie, but Hardy’s performance belongs in one.)Venomis a blast-by-accident, and one of my biggest upcoming movie worries is what happens whenVenom2 tries to do it on purpose.
Killer Klowns from Outer Spaceis theCatsof the “killer clowns who come from outer space” genre. What’s more, the Chidios never tried to do anything more than that ever since. The brothers continued to work in special effects, but to this dayKiller Klowns from Outer Spaceremains their one feature project. They do remain committed to making this sequel, which got very close to happening when the rights were at Fox, until the Disney merger squashed it dead. ButKiller Klownswas revived as a “Scare Zone” at Universal Studio’sHalloween Horror Nightsin 2018, then as an entire haunted house in 2019. The dream of a sequel is still alive 32 years later, and that’s partially because its creators justreallybelieve in the idea ofKiller Klowns from Outer Space.
I’m not about to be out here in public with a take like, “ForgetContagion,Killer Klowns from Outer Space Is the Must-Watch Movie of These Trying Times"because holy crap could you imagine? But, I don’t know, times actually arereally, aggressively, frighteningly weirdright now. On the other side of it all, I’m going to be real open to any project that doesn’t want anything but a bloody good time.
