12. Killer Klowns from Outer Space dir. by Stephen Chiodo (1988)

Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a film that revels in its campiness. Evil clowns from outer space come to earth to harvest human beings, cocooning them in cotton candy and storing them on their spaceship. Not to be made a fool of, the human race fights back in the form of two sex-crazed ice-cream truck drivers, a police officer, and a young couple we originally meet at “makeout point”.

The clowns look neat enough I guess, but you could head down to any Spencer’s Gifts [1] and probably come up with the equivalent in costume design. These guys really just look like actors wearing rubber masks, which is kind of disappointing given how creepy/funny they could have made the titular characters.

It’s a pleasure seeing John Vernon in the role of the police officer Curtis Mooney. I still like the interaction between him and the clown he arrests (pictured above), despite my previous qualms with the character makeup.

The movie’s entertaining, and the end battle is worth watching I suppose. This one seems to have a big following, but I can’t say it breaks anywhere near my top 10 for campy/silly horror films. Meh, it’s on Netflix now, and it’s a good watch if you’ve nothing else to do.

[1]. Do Spencer’s Gifts even exist anymore?

Watch the trailer | Buy it on Amazon | Watch it now on Netflix