Fans of campy horror rejoice! The terrifying three -ring circus has returned!!!! Those bizarrely goofy Killer Klowns are returning to the planet and this time they’ll land their circus tent of curiosities in glorious 4K resolution. And just in time, too. The cinematic world was getting a bit boring.
Right up there with The Blob and Night of the Creeps in fun-loving good times, The Chiodo Brothers’ Killer Klowns from Outer Space gets all of its cheesy B-movie goodness just right.
Camp is always a hard tone to strike but - beginning with its title and down to the celebrated theme song by The Dickies – the movie plays the humor beautifully. Of course, this all depends on your taste in films and whether or not you suffer from Coulrophobia.
Owing much of its inspiration to the science fiction and horror films of the 1950’s, Killer Klowns from Outer Space is the story of one small town’s hostile takeover as aliens, who look alarmingly like clowns, arrive and start harvesting its citizens. A group of teenagers enjoying themselves notice a comet shoot across the sky and head off in its direction to investigate. Farmer Green Grant (Royal Dano) and a dog named Pooh come across the mysterious circus tent-shaped object first and are both turned into cotton candy by some evil alien Clowns.
Soon enough the teenagers, Mike Tobacco (Grant Cramer) and Suzanne (Debbie Stone), discover the circus tent and the cotton candy cocoons with dead bodies in them. Like Lassie, they run to get help but Office Mooney (a fabulous John Vernon) doesn’t believe their killer clown story. Officer Hanson (John Allen Nelson), a former boyfriend of Suzanne’s, agrees to investigate the matter with them.
As the town descends into nightmarish fun house madness brought on by the invading Klowns, the teenagers and Officer Hanson find they must do battle inside the tent which has now expanded into a full blown Killer Klown circus.
Written by Charles and Stephen Chiodo, Killer Klowns from Outer Space attacks its audience with corny lines, acid pies, popcorn guns, flesh-eating balloon animals and awesomely distasteful B-movie clichés. Even the children are not spared. This homage to those inspiring classic B-movies of a bygone era might have hitched its wagon to a single-minded gag but the riff pays off in all its rib-tickling variations.
In many ways, the likable and perfectly accessible surrealism the Chiodo Brothers proudly put on display throughout Killer Klowns from Outer Space makes the movie worth owning all on its own. Throw in the comedy and horror aspects and it’s a nearly flawless homage that never takes its over-sized shoes and big red nose seriously.
Revisit this camp classic now and catch up with those crazy Killer Klowns before its sequel, helmed once again by the Chiodo Brothers, appears in theaters across America in the near future.
SteelBook / 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - May 14, 2024
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Video: Native 4K; Dolby Vision; HDR10
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray locked to Region A
Finally the truth about clowns is out! A spaceship — looking like a circus tent — lands in a field near a small town, signaling the attack of deviant, red-nosed, balloon-twisting psychos from another world who plan to annihilate mankind — by turning people into cotton candy! Luckily, the town's teen citizenry decides to fight back and teach the cosmic bozos a lesson. But these klowns are no klutzes, turning popcorn, peanuts and caramel corn into playful — but deadly — weapons of madcap destruction and mayhem!
VIDEO
This is as good as it gets! The AVC encoded image, presented in 1.84:1 aspect ratio, manages to preserve some of the more filmic aspects of the film. Full of cartoonish colors, the reds and greens and pinks pop the most and on 4K they truly sparkle. Blacks, while better with this release, are still relatively on the lighter side. While some of the other basic colors aren’t always as vibrant as one might expect, the texture maintains its quality for this low-budget behemoth. Details in the rubber masks are nicely specific and, while fine detail is noticeable in clothing, there’s a softened look to much of the picture.
AUDIO
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is a sound design which doesn’t really do the film any service. While dialogue is clear, some of the audio effects are lost in the lower ends.
Supplements:
Commentary:
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The Chiodo Brothers are hilarious. They take great pride in this film and discuss, at great lengths, the making and the mistakes in the film. It’s a good commentary and, at times, as hilarious as the movie itself. It’s more than obvious that Charles, Edward, and Stephen Chiodo take great pride in this film.
Special Features:
Toward the end of the DVD craze, MGM started a Midnight Movies campaign and released a whole slew of hard to find, low-budget movies. Killer Klowns from Outer Space was one of those releases and, for its Blu-ray debut, all of those commissioned supplements have been ported over. Nothing new, everything old. While its worth the purchase for the picture upgrade, this release is a bit of a disappointment as there really is nothing new to be found here. What you get is a short documentary that covers the production experience, combining a 2001 interview with the Chiodo Brothers with 1987 archival footage, and the difficulties of filming on a limited budget. Another featurette covers the electronic score with composer John Massari. Also of note is look at The Chiodo Brothers earlier films, an interview with the special effects artist, VHS bloopers, and the deleted scenes.
DISC ONE (4K UHD):
- NEW 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
- In Dolby Vision (HDR-10 Compatible)
- Audio Commentary With The Chiodo Brothers
- Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 & 2.0
DISC TWO (BLU-RAY):
- NEW 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
- Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 & 2.0
- Audio Commentary With The Chiodo Brothers
- “The Making of Killer Klowns”
- “Komposing Klowns”
- “Kreating Klowns”
- Visual Effects With Gene Warren
- Deleted Scenes
- Bloopers
- Earliest Films Of The Chiodo Brothers
- Easter Eggs
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Composite Blu-ray Grade
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MPAA Rating: PG-13.
Runtime: 88 mins
Director: Stephen Chiodo
Writer: Charles Chiodo; Stephen Chiodo; Edward Chiodo
Cast: Grant Cramer; Suzanne Snyder; John Allen Nelson
Genre: Comedy | Horror | Sci-fi
Tagline: It's Craazzy!
Memorable Movie Quote: "I made it through Korea, I can make it through this bullshit!"
Theatrical Distributor: Trans World Entertainment (TWE)
Official Site: https://shoutfactory.com/products/killer-klowns-from-outer-space-limited-35th-anniversary-steelbook
Release Date: May 27, 1988
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: May 14, 2024
Synopsis: Aliens who look like clowns come from outer space and terrorize a small town.
