Review: ‘Killer Klowns From Outer Space’ a Delightful B-Movie with Groundbreaking Elements

“Killer Klowns From Outer Space” isn’t your typical spooky slasher. It’s in the realm of “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes,” or “The Blob.” “Killer Klowns” was made in 1988, and yet it has the goofy and self-aware tone I wouldn’t expect from horror films even today. And yet, despite it’s goofy, over-acted, meta feel it is still a horror movie. And some of the scariest I’ve seen from back in the day. But more on that later. All in all, “Killer Klowns From Outer Space” is easily the best movie I’ve watched so far this October, which set high hopes for what was to come the rest of this scary month.

Disclaimer: This is not a great horror film for the ages. The acting is atrocious. I mean very, very bad. But maybe that’s the point. One of the greatest parts of “Killer Klowns” is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously, while still maintaining its quality. Every single scene is so incredibly outlandish and nonsensical, but it seems to trigger all the right parts of the brain. It just works. 

Easily the best part of the film are the costumes. I am not exaggerating when I say that the clown costumes genuinely have the best costume design I have ever seen. They are literally perfect. Huge, horrifying, killer clowns from outer space. Instead of relying on cheap horror tropes, “Killer Klowns” is the pinnacle of simple visual horror. No minute-long suspense filled sequences with an in-your-face jump-scare, just big, fat, clowns taking up the entire screen. 

Obviously, a low budget movie from the ‘80s isn’t going to have very good effects. But along with the costumes, I was amazed at how innovative some of the practical and special effects were. In one of the most brutal moments, there’s a scene where a clown uppercuts a man’s head off, and it looked surprisingly real. Easily one of the freakiest parts of the film. And although the laser gun blasts look extremely fake, the cotton candy cocoons in which the clowns trap people in are a great use of practical effects. 

As for the characters, they’re far from interesting. I saw the movie days ago, and I can’t think of the name of one character. But you can’t really expect a character-driven story in a movie called “Killer Klowns From Outer Space.”

I was honestly amazed by the sheer vastness of the set design in the circus tent/UFO. There were so many intense shapes and colors, along with zany contraptions and set pieces for the protagonists to avoid. The whole thing felt so psychedelic, and the huge clowns just added to the trippiness.

I have never seen and probably will never see again a movie like “Killer Klowns.” It is so one-of-a-kind, so original, so bat-shit crazy, that I’d be lying if I said I’m not going to rewatch it for years to come. As far as b-movies go, this one gets an A.