Killer Klowns From Outer Space

Killer Klowns From Outer Space is a campy, sci-fi, horror comedy from 1988. It’s a B-movie. So, you shouldn’t expect much. It’s low-budget, but “B” doesn’t have to stand for “bad”. It’s gained quite the cult following over the years. And for good reason. Sure, the acting is exaggerated, and the special effects are lacking, and god knows the dialogue isn’t the greatest, but it was the 80’s. What can you really say? It’s a fun movie with a lot of great scenes and an original plot that, to my knowledge, has yet to be rivaled, even until today.  

It’s technically a horror movie, so the klowns are constantly killing people and generally causing havoc throughout the town. But, it’s also a comedy. And it was also the 80’s. So, there’s a bunch of scenes where there’s just general silliness going on, which makes for a rousing good time, between the evilness of the klowns going around and invading humanity. The Terenzi Brothers are your stereotypical 80’s comic relief. Causing harmless mischief and bickering with each other with their stooge-like antics.  

It’s not “laugh out loud” funny. But it’s entertaining enough to want to make you want to watch it. And as far as 80’s movies go, this screams 80’s all the way. From the hair, to the soundtrack. It’s not exactly “predictable”, but it goes just about the same as every other horror movie from the 80’s goes. They see something, they investigate it, it sees them, they tell people, nobody believes them, whatever saw them begins to attack everybody, they have to rally to defeat whatever it was, the end. It’s literally the horror movie template. 

It doesn’t deviate from the template. There’s no plot twist. It’s just an 80’s B-movie. But, it’s a surprisingly well done 80’s B-movie for its time. And that’s what I think gives it the cult following that it has. It’s not a great movie. But, it’s not really a bad movie either. You could watch it again. Lord knows I have. There’s a lot of great lines in this movie. Like when the klowns all get out of their klown car and are looking at the security guard, and they all have pies in their hands. The security guard squints his eyes and goes “what are you gonna do with those pies, boys…?” Now, that’s comedy. I don’t care who you are… 

So, yeah. Go and see Killer Klowns From Outer Space. If not for the entertainment, maybe just for protection. It might just save your life one day. You never know. If klowns come down and you don’t know what to do, wouldn’t you look like the silly one? And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…