Killer Klowns from Outer Space
dir. Stephen Chiodo · 1988
Feature
Cultural Dislocation
Mood
Comedic / Whimsical
Look
vibrant colors with exaggerated, cartoonish designs
Structure
episodic with escalating absurdity
Plot
When a small town is invaded by aliens from outer space who are capturing and killing the townspeople, no one takes them seriously. Why? The aliens all look like circus clowns, use weapons that look clown like, and all have painted on smiles. Only a few of the young people in the town realize the danger and of course no one believes them. Armed with an ice cream truck they try and rescue their friends.
Why watch
A small town is thrown into chaos when aliens disguised as clowns descend from the sky, capturing townsfolk with cotton candy cocoons. Watching this film is like stepping into a carnival of the bizarre, where laughter and horror collide in a riotous spectacle of color and absurdity.
Cultural context
1980s horror boomrise of cult cinemasocietal fears of the unknownnostalgia for childhood innocence