| Killer Klowns from Outer Space | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Stephen Chiodo |
| Produced by | Charles Chiodo Edward Chiodo Stephen Chiodo |
| Written by | Charles Chiodo Stephen Chiodo |
| Starring | John Allen Nelson Grant Cramer Suzanne Snyder John Vernon Michael Siegel Peter Licassi Royal Dano |
| Music by | John Massari |
| Cinematography | Alfred Taylor |
| Editing by | Christopher Roth |
| Studio | Mach Studios (VHS) |
| Distributed by | Trans World Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | May 27, 1988 (USA) |
| Running time | 88 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2,000,000 (estimated) |
| Box office | $234,657 |
Killer Klowns From Outer Space is a 1988 American comedy horror movie, made by The Chiodo Brothers and starring Grant Cramer. It is the only Chiodo Brothers' directed and written film – they have worked in many other projects in other roles, such as producing and visual effects. The film is about a race of aliens (who resemble evil clowns) that arrive on Earth to capture and harvest people to use as sustenance.
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Reminiscent of 1950's sci-fi B movies (especially "The Blob"), the plot has the earth invaded by aliens intent on using humans as a food source. But these aliens look like bizarre clowns arriving in a spaceship resembling a circus tent, and all their weapons are circus themed (popcorn bombs, silly string guns, etc.). The first humans to encounter the aliens meet untimely ends and, naturally, the authorities do not believe anyone who's actually seen a Killer Klown, so it's left to the teens who were making out near the landing site to save the day. The final showdown takes place in the aliens' camp, which has by now expanded to a full circus complete with sideshows and arcades. Despite the comedic elements and circus theme, the grotesque titular characters and some gruesome scenes render this movie debatable for younger children.
Klown Performers
| Killer Klowns from Outer Space | |
|---|---|
| Film score by John Massari | |
| Released | 2006 |
| Recorded | 1988 |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Length | 31 at 69:09 |
| Label | Trans World |
The score to Killer Klowns from Outer Space was composed by John Massari. The title song "Killer Klowns" was written and performed by The Dickies and was released on their album Killer Klowns from Outer Space in 1988, though only the one song is from the film. A limited edition complete soundtrack was released in 2006 through Percepto Records and features twenty-six tracks of score, the title song "Killer Klowns", and four bonus tracks at a running time just over sixty-nine minutes.[1]
In 2006 SOTA Toys produced a Killer Klown figurine as part of their Now Playing movie action figures line.
There are two toy figures. The first is the most common Klown in the movie, a Klown warrior armed with a deadly popcorn blaster, cotton candy cocoon 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 vibrant red and purple highlights. 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 (similar to those the aliens use at end of the movie to pummel the heroes). Though the latter Klown model is considered a one-off variant, it can clearly be seen near the end of the film as one of the first Klowns to reveal itself. It can also be seen earlier in the film during the Klown parade, where it is one of the two Klowns pushing the vacuum that collects the cotton candy cocoons. The only discrepancy is that the figurine comes with a white bat, rather than one of the red ones wielded in the film.There's a Shadow Puppet Bozo action figure also.
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).
SOTA discontinued their Klown figures, but in 2008 Amoktime Toys announced they had purchased the license and their first Klown , "Shorty" will be available July 2009. Their Klowns are in scale with the Amoktime piece and according to Toyfair and the sculptor they have also bought the Shadow Klown aka Slim prototype from Sota and plan to produce it next. They have also mentioned a desire to do a Klownzilla piece in the future.
In 2007 Bump in the night productions began selling a line of officially licensed Killer Klowns masks props and costumes. The line consisted of mask of over sized collectors masks of the characters "Slim", "Shorty", and "Fatso".
The following year they released their Klownzilla and storefront Klown masks. They also sell the popcorn Klowns in a static prop and hand puppet version as well as full Klown costumes.
As of January 2011 all of the Killer Klowns pieces are still available.
Killer Klowns has become a cult favorite. According to the commentary, the Chiodo Brothers are planning to make a sequel to the movie in 2012. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a positive review, with an average of 69%, based on 13 reviews.[2]
An audio sample of the movie is used in the song The Staleness, by the hip hop group the Insane Clown Posse.