KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE Blu-ray Review – You’d Be Krazy Not To Buy This (Again)
Starring Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, John Allen Nelson, John Vernon
Directed by the Chiodo Brothers
Distributed by Arrow Video
Some of my favorite reviews to write are for films forever tied to some sliver of a childhood memory; not only because I enjoy waxing nostalgic but because it can be fun to hear how certain films came into a person’s life. Sometime around 1990 or ’91, my parents had taken me to some person’s home for some purpose I’ll never remember, but eternally etched in my brain are the final minutes of the film these people were watching: Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988). I remember hearing the title and seeing some of the big top finale and thinking it looked absolutely frightening… then when those final pies hit I was thrown for a loop because… comedy? Being nine-years-old, horror/comedy was still a new concept. It was a number of years before I finally got the chance to watch the entire film proper and, man, was it everything I had dreamt and wanted and then some. There’s nothing else like it; what the Chiodo brothers achieved is incredible and the impact of the universe they created never dulls with repeated viewings. It’s a near-flawless cult classic filled with excellent effects, colorful characters, strange scripting, and a stellar score.
Recounting the story seems pointless because this is a film that just has to be watched intently, since plenty of it relies on sight gags. Killer klowns crash land on Earth in their Big Top spaceship and set about harvesting the citizens of Crescent Cove, intending to eat them after they’ve been softened in cotton candy cocoons. Mike (Grant Cramer) and his girlfriend, Debbie (Suzanne Snyder), enlist the help of Dave (John Allen Nelson), a cop who is also Debbie’s ex, to help them stop the klowns before they consume everyone in town.
A story this insane requires commensurate FX work and the Chiodo brothers deliver it in droves. There are numerous klowns, each with a distinct look and personality. The design is reminiscent of a typical circus clown, and Mike even suggests maybe these aliens informed our view of what a clown is, but barely hidden beneath a veneer of grease paint skin and that trademark red nose are snarling teeth and unwavering malevolence. The klowns thrive on the fact people seem to instinctively love a clown, approaching them with zero hesitation – making for an easy lunch in the process. Women are wooed with flowers. A group at the bus stop is mesmerized by shadow puppetry. Klowns deliver a “pizza” to a girl. In the end, everyone winds up in the same position: wrapped in pink “cotton candy” and eventually turned into something that resembles red Kool-Aid, slurped up with a bendy straw so twisted it looks like the Boston freeway system.
This is an “everything including the kitchen sink” FX film, meaning the Chiodo brothers dumped out their bag of tricks and put a little bit of all their special effects abilities to use, making each frame more a work of art than a simple take. Prosthetics, miniatures, stop-motion animation, matte paintings, optical effects… this is every horror fans one stop shop for all things practical; you won’t find a frame of CGI here. Because the brothers handled the creation of all FX, most of the meager $2 million budget could be pumped into additional production value.
If there is any fault to be found here, it’s in the acting. Nobody in the cast is outright bad, but nobody stands out as being particularly great, either – except for the two veterans in the cast: Royal Dano and John Vernon. I could watch an entire film featuring Royal Dano, his amazing hillbilly accent, and his futile attempts to ”tear this thing down with my bare hands!”. Dano always brought an incredible sense of character to his roles and here, as Farmer Gene Green, he’s on fire – almost literally at one point. Vernon is basically playing Dean Wormer with a badge, and that’s fine because Officer Mooney employs the same brand of no bullshit attitude. He also provides one of the movie’s best lines. Cramer and Snyder make for a decent screen couple, and they’re both just good enough to sell the roles. Nelson is a procedural robot with a jealous streak; he’s stiff but that’s also a bit of the role. What’s it matter, though? Nobody watches this for the acting.
A soundtrack can sometimes make or break a film and there could not possibly be a greater complement to this film than the music. The Dickies’ eponymous theme song is the stuff of legend. I got the chance to see them perform it live at a Monsterpalooza in a number of years ago and it still packs such a punch of energy. The craziness of the film’s title is handily matched by the manic action of the track. Once past that, composer John Massari’s score is a carnival nightmare, bringing together sounds of the big top with a subversive twist.
Enough with the gushing and on to the real question: do you need to buy this on Blu-ray again? Yep. Arrow’s brand-new 4K restoration of the original 35mm negative is a revelation; it unquestionably blows away the previous release. The level of clarity and appearance of fine details is beyond expectation; you would have had to be working on that set to see this any clearer. Framing has been tightened, too, showing off a bit more image than before. Every color on screen is bold and bright; black levels are sufficiently rich and dark. Film grain remains intact and adds a fine sheen of cinema quality. I can’t say a single bad word about the work done here; it’s flawless, allowing for every minute bit of the Chiodo’s work to be seen with the highest definition.
There are two audio options – English LPCM 2.0 stereo or a DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround sound track. You can’t go wrong either way, as both offer up a similar sound experience. The stereo track is obviously more focused and directed at the viewer, in the process having a bit more impact. The multi-channel track is the better of the two, though, because it gives more breathing room to the dialogue, effects, and score while also respecting the original audio design. New effects or cues aren’t added in to expand the sound or anything like that. Plus, why wouldn’t you want to hear The Dickies’ theme blasting from every corner? Subtitles are available in English SDH.
The audio “kommentary” with the Chiodo brothers, which has been carried over since DVD, returns here.
Let the Show Begin! – Leonard Graves Phillips and Stan Lee of The Dickies are interviewed, touching upon the band, how they wound up writing the infamous theme song, and the legacy it has wrought.
The Chiodos Walk Among Us – The brothers discuss their early days making 8mm home movies, when they were constantly imitating stop-motion pioneers like Harryhausen and O’Brien. Clips from a few of the films are included.
Chiodo Brothers Early Films is where you can find all of those mini features, with most ranging from seven to seventeen minutes. Included are Land of Terror (1967), Beast from the Egg (1968 – with optional audio commentary), Africa Danny (1970), Eskimo (1971), Sludge Grubs (1972), and Free Inside (1974).
Bringing Life to These Things – Check out a 2014 tour of the Chiodo Productions home office.
Killer Interviews is a collection of a couple newer chats with key cast, along with a handful of archival discussions. The more recent interviews are Tales of Tobacco with Grant Cramer, and Debbie’s Big Night with Suzanne Snyder, both of which were conducted in 2014. The returning interviews are The Making of Killer Klowns with the Chiodo Brothers, Visual Effects with Gene Warren, Jr also featuring Charles Chiodo, Kreating Klowns with Charles Chiodo and Dwight Roberts, and Komposing Klowns with composer John Massari.
Behind the Screams with the Chiodos is a thirty-minute camcorder-recorded on-set look at filming. It’s rough but the raw footage gives a nice glimpse into what it was like being there.
Klown Auditions is just what you’d think it is, and yes the people are in costume
A couple of deleted scenes are available, both with optional audio commentary.
A reel of Killer Bloopers is included.
Image Galleries are available for Stills, Behind-the-Scenes, Concept Art, and Storyboards.
A trailer in HD caps off the exhaustive wealth of features.
Arrow attractive package also includes reversible cover art, a double-sided poster, a booklet with artwork and essays, and a semi-glossy slipcover.
Special Features:
- Brand new restoration from a 4K scan of the original camera negative
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Newly remastered stereo 2.0 and 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio options
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Archive audio commentary with the Chiodo Brothers
- Let the Show Begin! Anatomy of a Killer Theme Song – an all-new interview with the original members of the American punk band, The Dickies
- The Chiodos Walk Among Us: Adventures in Super 8 Filmmaking – all-new documentary highlighting the making of the Chiodo Brothers childhood films, from the giant monster epics made in their basement to their experiments in college
- New HD transfers of the complete collection of the Chiodo Brothers 8mm and Super 8 films, including Land of Terror, Free Inside, Beast from the Egg, and more!
- Tales of Tobacco – an interview with star Grant Cramer
- Debbie’s Big Night – an interview with star Suzanne Snyder
- Bringing Life to These Things – a tour of Chiodo Bros. Productions
- The Making of Killer Klowns – archive production featurette
- Visual Effects with Gene Warren Jr. – archive interview with co-writer/producer Charles Chiodo and visual effects supervisor Gene Warren Jr.
- Kreating Klowns – archive interview with Charles Chiodo and creature fabricator Dwight Roberts
- Komposing Klowns – archive interview with composer John Massari
- Klown Auditions
- Deleted Scenes with filmmaker’s audio commentary
- Bloopers
- Image Galleries
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
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Killer Klowns from Outer Space
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Spacial Features
Summary
If this disc had nothing but the new 4K restoration, it would still get a highest recommendation from me. The fact it also packs in features like clowns in a tiny car makes this Blu-ray my favorite release of 2018.
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