I’m not afraid to admit that clowns scare the confetti out of me. My skin crawls at the thought of their faces painted pale like ghosts, their unhinged laughter, and those giant, squeaky shoes. Thus, my self-diagnosis of Coulrophobia (fear of clowns). Horror loves to capitalize on this terror. As can be seen in the long list of maniacal clown movies, including Stephen King’s made-for-TV mini-series, IT, adapted again into two films (and an upcoming prequel series). Clown, about a man who transforms into a monstrous clown. Or the recent Clown in a Cornfield, based on the books by Adam Cesare. Audiences crave killer clowns like fried food at the fair. Enough is never enough.
As a result, there’s no shortage of murderous bozos out there. Though there’s one I’d argue remains the ringleader of these films. That would be director Stephen Chiodo’s only feature, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, a bananas cult favorite that’s now streaming on Amazon Prime.
What’s Killer Klowns from Outer Space about?
Penned by Stephen, along with brothers Charles and Edward, Killer Klowns is an increasingly silly throwback to sci-fi horror of the 50s. In it, a small town descends into a circus when a horde of clown-ish aliens stop by for human cotton-candy snacks. Couple Mike (Grant Cramer) and Debbie (Suzanne Snyder) are aware of what’s going on. Of course, clueless cops do what they do best (nothing), leaving it to the clean-cut teens to save the day. Through it all, the Chiodos turn the camp dial up to eleven.
A Top-Tier Killer Clown Film
Known for their effects work in films like Critters and Ernest Scared Stupid, the Chiodo brothers bring a creative juice to Killer Klowns that makes you want to suck it in through a silly straw. The Chiodos riff on everything we associate with the painted maniacs that you can imagine. Balloon dogs hunt down humans. Shadow puppets swallow onlookers whole. Popcorn transforms into hungry monsters. Maximum chaos and laughter ensue. This film has everything you could ever want in a killer clown movie.
Even the theme song is iconic. Rachel Reeves wrote for Dread that its famous track, performed by The Dickies, is “one of the greatest original horror theme songs of all time.” Amen, sister. It knocks your block off.
Will you enter the circus of horrors that is Killer Klowns from Outer Space? Let me know on Bluesky @werematt.
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