Killer Klowns from Outer Space
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| Killer Klowns from Outer Space | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Stephen Chiodo |
| Produced by | Paul Mason Helen Sarlui-Tucker |
| Written by | Charles Chiodo Edward Chiodo |
| Starring | Grant Cramer Suzanne Snyder |
| Distributed by | MGM |
| Release date(s) | May 27, 1988 |
| Running time | 88 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2 million |
| IMDb profile | |
Killer Klowns From Outer Space is a 1988 movie about aliens (who look like clowns) that arrive on Earth to capture and kill people. A special edition of the film is available on DVD.
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[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Grant Cramer | Mike Tobacco |
| Suzanne Snyder | Debbie Stone |
| John Allen Nelson | Dave Hanson |
| John Vernon | Curtis Mooney |
| Michael Siegel | Rich Terenzi |
| Peter Licassi | Paul Terenzi |
| Royal Dano | Farmer Gene Green |
| Chris Titus | Bob McReed |
| Irene Michaels | Stacy |
| Karla Sue Krull | Tracy |
[edit] Plot
A clan of intergalactic aliens (who look remarkably like our concept of a clown) land in the sleepy American town of Crescent Cove. When the spaceship lands it takes on the form of a circus tent. Mike Tobacco and Debbie Stone, who are out for a romantic evening, spot the newcomers and decide to investigate. They quickly encounter the Klowns and barely escape capture, Debbie being shot and hit by what appeared to be a popcorn-firing bazooka. At first, it seems the popcorn may function simply as a way to track the fleeing teens, but another purpose is revealed later in the movie. Mike and Debbie rush into town to warn others of the impending danger.
Naturally, they first try to warn the police. Their warnings are met with scorn by Sgt. Mooney, convinced that the couple are nothing more than kids trying to pull a prank. They are viewed with equal skepticism by another police officer, Dave Hanson. Hanson also happens to be Debbie's ex-boyfriend, and his dislike of Mike is evident.
Meanwhile, the Klowns make their way into Crescent Cove and begin harvesting the unsuspecting population by blasting random victims with a gun-like weapon that turns them into cotton candy-like cocoons, killing them. The Klowns use a variety of seemingly innocent methods to ensnare their victims; killer shadow puppets, bloodhound-like balloon animals and a ray gun that looks like a children's toy are all used. Since the methods themselves appear whimsical, the townspeople don't know they are in danger until it's too late.
When Officer Hanson sees a Klown use a Tyrannosaurus rex shadow puppet to capture a group of townspeople waiting for a bus, he is finally convinced of the danger and offers to help Mike and Debbie (who have also recruited the Terenzi brothers, a pair of local goof-offs who drive an ice cream truck). But for Sgt. Mooney, it is too late. He imprisons a Klown who walks into the police station, but is quickly disposed of by the creature. In a delicious irony, Mooney, having repeatedly declared that no one was "going to make a dummy" out of him, has his corpse horribly desecrated by the Klown - it paints his face and jams a hand into his mediastinum, thereby gaining control of Mooney's motor functions, effectively making a dummy out of him. A mortified Officer Hansen witnesses this and responds by shooting the Klown's torso with his sidearm several times, to no avail. He then decides to shoot the Klown's nose, which ignites a dramatic explosion, killing it. That Klown is the first to be slain by a human.
While the Klown army is carrying out a genocide all around Crescent Cove, Debbie meanwhile is at home taking a shower. While bathing, the popcorn that one of the clowns fired at her begins to act strangely. When she steps out of the shower, she is attacked by several snake-like creatures with clown heads. Debbie fends off the creatures with hairspray and a shower sprayer. It is possible these creatures may have been young space clowns, as the clown who used a shadow puppet to capture the group waiting by the bustop is seen putting his hands into a bag full of popcorn afterwards. While trying to escape, Debbie is captured by a clown. But instead of being entrapped in cotten candy, she is imprisoned in a balloon. Why she is taken alive is not stated in the movie.
After Debbie is captured by the Klowns (by being imprisoned in a balloon) and taken back to their spaceship, Mike, Officer Hanson and the Terenzi brothers pursue them back to the circus tent. It is there that they discover why the Klowns have been capturing people. The cocoons, which break down flesh into a liquid that is digestible, are being stored in the ship in vast numbers (perhaps in the thousands). The Klowns insert what looks like a crazy straw into the cocoon, sucking the deceased victim's blood.
Debbie is eventually freed, and the group is about to escape by a hole bored into the side of the ship by the Terenzi Brothers' ice cream truck. The Terenzi Brothers, using their PA system, pretend to be the Klowns' leader (there's a giant clown's head with a sugar cone hat on top of the truck), telling the Klowns to let Mike, Debbie, and Officer Hanson go. But then, a giant Klown (roughly 30 feet tall) descends from the ceiling; Klownzilla the "King Klown"... presumably the leader of the aliens. The Klown violently throws the Terenzi Brothers' ice cream truck across the ship (with the Terenzi Brothers in it), resulting in a fiery explosion. Officer Hanson creates a diversion so Mike and Debbie can escape. He kills the Klown Emperor by popping its bright red nose (the Klowns' only weakness) with his badge. The ensuing explosion destroys the now-fleeing spacecraft, but Officer Hanson and the Terenzi brothers all manage to survive (The Terenzi Brothers survived by hiding in the freezer with the ice cream when their truck exploded, and all 3 hid in a Klown Car during the Big Top explosion, which literally "falls out of the sky"). The movie ends with a bunch of cream pies being dumped on the heroes.
[edit] Movie notes
- The opening and end credits feature The Dickies performing the film's theme, "Killer Klowns".
- The movie's tagline: "In space no one can eat ice cream" parodied that of the 1979 Ridley Scott film Alien.
[edit] Action Figure
- After more than 17 years of fans clamoring[citation needed] for a real action toy based on the Klowns, in 2006 Sota Toys produced a Killer Klown figurine as part of their Now Playing movie action figures line.
Tower Records Killer Klown variant figure.
There are two such figures. The main and basic Klown warrior armed with deadly popcorn blaster, cotton candy coccoon victim, and a colourful base with a pole to hang the deceased. A Tower Records exclusive figure of the same Klown mold has a radical blue paint scheme with red and vibrant purple hilights. This warrior comes with all the same accessories as the regular Klown with the exception of the blaster. Instead he is equipped with a sinister bat like the ones the aliens carried towards the end of the movie in order to pummel the heroes to death.
SOTA's Jerry Macaluso has stated that he would like to create a mega-size "Klownzilla" figure (approx.size up to 20 inches high or more);the infamous giant Klown from the final battle of the movie.
[edit] References in games
- Killer Klowns appear as enemies in the roguelike computer game Linley's Dungeon Crawl.
[edit] Audio sample
- The Dickies - Killer Klowns excerpt (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- An excerpt from Killer Klowns by The Dickies
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.
[edit] External links
