Vintage Horror Review: Killers Klowns from Outer Space (1988)

Here it is, folks, my favorite horror movie of all time!

In case you haven't noticed or just didn't know, my absolute favorite type of horror movies are the campy, cheesy, fun ones, and Killer Klowns is all of those things.

The story centers around a small town that is mysteriously invaded by, you guessed it, alien "klowns" from outer space! They come to earth to harvest humans in giant cotton candy cocoons and suck their blood through bendy straws. Only Mike, Debbie, and the ice-cream-truck-driving Terenzi brothers can defeat the wicked klowns and save their sleepy little town from certain doom.

One thing that I really like about the film is the "do-it-yourself" style of film making, which is somewhat of a dead art in our world of high budget studio horror films and CGI. The Chiodos Brothers (Edward, Stephan and Charles) wanted to make a film that was an homage to classic horror of the 50's, most notably The Blob. So what did they do? Remake The Blob? No. They wrote, directed and produced their own film with a similar feel as those old reminders of how horror came to be. 

There's no CGI or computer effects in the film at all, adding to the raw feel of it. The klowns? Real costumes. The sets? Real locations. The finale scene? A miniature set. In my eyes, this is horror done right. Fun yet creepy. Weird yet laughable. Low budget yet good. This is one of those movies made by horror fans, for horror fans.

The overall atmosphere of the film makes you feel like you're at a drive-in move theater, and brings back that long dead feeling of movies that were fun. In recent years, films like Machete and Hobo with a Shotgun are reviving this feeling, and I personally think it's the best thing that could ever happen in a world filled with movies about kings with speech impediments and a rock finally giving James Franco what he deserves (thank you rock!). So, before watching this film, remember that this isn't like The Sixth Sense or Let Me In. The only emotion that should be felt by the viewers is happiness and enjoyment.

Now I know some Roger Ebert-loving movie snob will say it's a terrible movie because the dialogue isn't well written and the acting isn't top notch and plot really doesn't make sense. And do you know what I think about people like this and their opinions? If you don't want to have fun watching a movie then go to a funeral or watch paint dry, because horror fans like to enjoy their movies, and Killer Klowns from Outer Space is one of the most entertaining movies ever made. I mean, how could it not be? It's got clowns!