If you hate clowns for any abnormal reason, this film will probably freak every bone in your head out of your skull while making you laugh so much that you might fall off the couch and break something else. Granted, despite a bit of blood and gore it’s not really “scary” at all, but it does bring the laughs faster and furiously than some horror flicks that take themselves too seriously. The Chiodo Brothers (from up here in the Bronx, yeah!) cooked up this 1988 flick and while it didn’t become an “instant” genre classic or box office hit, for those lucky enough to catch it in theaters and later on home video, it was one of the more offbeat blends of horror, sci-fi and humor of the decade. I can recall laughing at the title before I saw this, thinking it was pretty dumb (but hey, it actually fits perfectly) and yep, I would have expected the film to be pretty dumb as well had I not been a fan of The Chido’s special effects work in another 80’s “B” film Critters, itself a bit of an underrated gem. Anyway, those Killer Klowns in the title are yes indeed, from Outer Space (their ship looks like a circus tent) and they’ve landed in tiny Crescent Cove for a midnight snack that just so happens to include the population of the sleepy little town…

The film is more or less a parody of a few 50’s “B” movies such as Invasion of the Saucermen where a small group of teens ends up finding out what’s going on and ends up helping put an end to the threat, though not without running into the usual trouble: adults and authority who think they’re playing pranks. Of course, once townspeople start disappearing and dying (in pretty amusing but violent ways), the kids get a helping hand (sort of). That’s the basic plot, but I’m not spoiling any more other than to say the film uses some great, wild makeup on the assorted Klowns and many intentionally cheesy practical effects extremely well throughout. Absurdity is also the name of the game as the body count increases and the Klowns pull out all the stops as the town fights back. Oh, by the way… in case you want to know how to bump off a Killer Klown, kids… aim for the nose, is all I’ll say. By the time it’s all over and that great theme song by The Dickies is playing as the credits roll, you’ll probably want to watch it again just to catch the stuff you may have missed or just to watch a few of the more amusing deaths one more time. Unlike a bunch of other cult horror flicks, this didn’t do well enough to get a sequel right away, but poking around the Chiodo Bros. website reveals that there may or may not be something cooking up cinematic and clown-wise for the future. I hope so, as it would be cool to see the Klowns make a Komeback (still as practical effects-wise as can be)…