Killer Klowns from Outer Space

Infobox_Film
name =Killer Klowns from Outer Space


imdb_id =0095444
writer =Charles Chiodo
Edward Chiodo
Stephen Chiodo
starring =Grant Cramer
Suzanne Snyder
John Allen Nelson
John Vernon
Michael Siegel
Peter Licassi
Royal Dano

producer =Charles Chiodo
Edward Chiodo
Stephen Chiodo
director =Stephen Chiodo
cinematography =Alfred Taylor
editing =Christopher Roth
music =John Massari
distributor =Trans World Entertainment (TWE)
released =May 27, 1988 (USA)
runtime =88 min.
language =Engish
country =USA
budget =$2,000,000 (estimated)
gross = Unknown
tagline =In Space No One Can Eat Ice Cream!
awards =

"Killer Klowns From Outer Space" is a 1988 movie, made by The Chiodo Brothers and starring Grant Cramer. It is the first and 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 a horror comedy about aliens (who look like clowns) that arrive on Earth to capture and harvest people in order to use them as sustenance.

Cast

Plot

An army of sadistic alien life forms, who look remarkably like our concept of a clown, land their circus tent ship in the sleepy American town of Crescent Cove (filmed in Santa Cruz, California). Mike Tobacco (Cramer) and Debbie Stone (Snyder), out for a romantic evening, spot the newcomers and decide to investigate. They soon encounter the Klowns and barely escape capture, having been shot at by a "popcorn gun." 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 (John Allen Nelson). Hanson also happens to be Debbie's ex-boyfriend, and his dislike of Mike is evident.

Meanwhile, the Klown Army advances into Crescent Cove, inflicting a genocide during their occupation. They harvest the unsuspecting population, blasting random victims with a ray gun that cocoons them with cotton candy, with lethal results. The Klown Army uses a variety of seemingly innocent methods to ensnare their victims such as killer shadow puppets, bloodhound-like balloon animals and a ray gun that looks like a child's toy. Since the methods themselves appear whimsical, the townspeople don't know they are in danger until it's too late.

One of the Klown Soldiers appears inside Mooney's police station. Mooney, thinking the Klown is a kid playing a prank on him, arrests it, throws it in a jail cell, and pledges to make the "pranker's" life a living Hell. After striking the Klown with his truncheon from behind, the Klown eerily turns his head around and strangles the police captain with a blow out, killing him.

" 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). Hanson later arrives at the police station and discovers Mooney dead and being used as a puppet by the Klown that slew him. A horrified Hanson shoots the Klown several times until he discovers that the klown's nose is it's a weak spot. After shooting the Klown's nose, the Klown dramatically spins around at almost sound speed, until it eventually explodes, becoming the first Klown to be killed by a human.

While the town is being slaughtered, Debbie is attacked twice and taken away by the Klowns.

Debbie is taken back to the Klowns' "Big Top" circus tent-spaceship. Mike, Officer Hanson and the Terenzi brothers pursue them. It is there that they discover why the Klown Army has been capturing people. By cocooning them inside their cotton candy, the Klowns gelatinize the humans' bodies into a liquid that is digestible. Vast numbers of victims (a majority of the town's population) are being stored aboard Big Top. The Klowns insert a crazy straw into the cotton candy, sucking the deceased victim's gelatinized bodies.

Debbie is eventually freed, and a hole is crashed into Big Top by the Terenzi Brothers' ice cream truck. Rich and Paul Terenzi, 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). They tell the Klowns to let Mike, Debbie, and Officer Hanson go. The leader of the Klown Army (standing at approx. thirty feet tall) emerges and seemingly kills the Terenzis. A showdown between Hanson and Klown Leader ensues, with Hanson being easily caught by the Klown's clutches. The Klown brings Hanson to his face (perhaps to study or eat him) and in turn is destroyed by Hanson who uses his police badge to penetrate the Klown's nose. It and the alien's shapeship explodes. Despite everything, the heroes and the Terenzis survive unscathed.

Movie notes

* Actor Sam Rockwell appears in his film debut in an uncredited role as a busboy.Fact|date=June 2008

*The opening and end credits feature the punk rock band The Dickies performing the film's theme, "Killer Klowns".

*The movie's taglines: "They make Aliens look like a circus" and "In space no one can eat ice cream" parodied that of the 1979 Ridley Scott film "Alien".

*The hardcore/emo band Chiodos stated in an interview that their name was taken from the production company's name of "Killer Klowns..."

*The DVD Commentary indicates that Charles Chiodo portrayed "Klownzilla" in the film.

*The Terenzi Brothers originally died in the original ending, but test audiences liked the characters so much that the ending was altered to have them survive.

Action figure

In 2006 Sota Toys produced a Killer Klown figurine as part of their Now Playing movie action figures line.

There are two such figures. The first is the most common Klown in the movie, a Klown warrior armed with a 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 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).

Audio sample

External links

* [http://www.chiodobros.com/ Official Website of the Chiodo Bros.]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095444/ Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)] at the Internet Movie Database