KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE (1988)
Limited 35th Anniversary Steelbook
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Label: Scream Factory
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: PG-13
Rating: PG-13
Duration: 86 Minutes 28 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision HDR 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.85:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Chiodo Bros.
Cast: Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, John Allen Nelson, John Vernon, Michael Siegel, Peter Licassi
The Chiodo Brothers directed day-glo 80s cult-classic Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), a riff on goofy fifties sci-fi/horror flicks, opens up in the small town of Crescent Cove, where local couple Mike (Grant Cramer, New Year's Evil) and Debbie (Suzanne Snyder, Retribution) are necking at the local make-out spot when they are interrupted by the arrival of goofball ice cream truck drivers the Terenzo Brothers, Rich (Michael Siegel) and Paul (Peter Licassi), who show up peddling their fruity frozen treats to annoyance of the gathered heavy pettin' couples. Soon after the couple witness a glowing object falling out of the sky nearby, after initially mistaking it for Haley's Comet, they go to investigate and are surprised to find, not a smoldering space rock, but an illuminated circus tent pitched in the middle of the forest! Curious they enter it and discover it's in fact an alien spaceship, also finding strange cotton candy looking cocoons, and after peeling one of them open they are horrified to discover the corpse of local farmer Gene Green (Royal Dano, Ghoulies II) encased inside it, before being chased off by the frightful alien Killer Klowns with their vibrant clown-esque attire, oversized floppy shoes and gross, clown-nosed, exaggerated visages, who shoot a popcorn bazooka gun at them and track them using a balloon-animal dog!
The Chiodo Brothers directed day-glo 80s cult-classic Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), a riff on goofy fifties sci-fi/horror flicks, opens up in the small town of Crescent Cove, where local couple Mike (Grant Cramer, New Year's Evil) and Debbie (Suzanne Snyder, Retribution) are necking at the local make-out spot when they are interrupted by the arrival of goofball ice cream truck drivers the Terenzo Brothers, Rich (Michael Siegel) and Paul (Peter Licassi), who show up peddling their fruity frozen treats to annoyance of the gathered heavy pettin' couples. Soon after the couple witness a glowing object falling out of the sky nearby, after initially mistaking it for Haley's Comet, they go to investigate and are surprised to find, not a smoldering space rock, but an illuminated circus tent pitched in the middle of the forest! Curious they enter it and discover it's in fact an alien spaceship, also finding strange cotton candy looking cocoons, and after peeling one of them open they are horrified to discover the corpse of local farmer Gene Green (Royal Dano, Ghoulies II) encased inside it, before being chased off by the frightful alien Killer Klowns with their vibrant clown-esque attire, oversized floppy shoes and gross, clown-nosed, exaggerated visages, who shoot a popcorn bazooka gun at them and track them using a balloon-animal dog!
They flee back to town and report the alien encounter to top-cop Curtis Mooney (John Vernon, Curtains) and his deputy Dave Hanson (John Allen Nelson, Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell), who happens to be Debbie's ex-boyfriend. Mooney is a turd of human being and doesn't believe them, he's one of those cops who has it out for everyone and always thinks there's something fishy going on, while Hanson is more sympathetic and willing to look into it. He investigates the bizarre claims but upon arriving where he is told it would be finds that the circus-tent alien ship is gone, but the nearby lover's lane they find the car's abandoned and covered in cotton-candy residue.
Hanson reports back to Mooney who steadfastly refuses to believe in any of this killer klown malarky, even when the alien Klowns arrive in town and start performing deadly circus tricks for the townsfolk, even arresting one of them thinking that they are just delinquent pranksters in costumes, which does not end well for the curmudgeonly cop, as the alien Klown turns him into a macabre hand puppet! Eventually Hanson discovers the aliens weak spot, their clownlike noses, if you shoot them in the nose they explode.
As the killer klowns continue to terrorize the town out three protagonists team-up with the goofball ice-cream truck drivers to thwart the madcap destruction and mayhem and end up finding the circus-tent alien ship at the local amusement park with the wild finale taking place inside the otherworldly attraction.
I remember my pops renting this for me on VHS and just going into it not knowing what to expect, and being blown away. The candy-colored but highly creepy Killer Klown designs and set pieces created by the Chiodos were and still are really impressive for a low-budget horror-comedy, the clowns themselves are so eerie and off-putting, and their array of weaponry was inventive, it's just fun stuff, and it holds up quite well. Even in the late-80s the use of splashy fluorescent color used in this flick was above and beyond the pale, even for the neon 80's!. I loved the inventiveness of the clowns gags, and how ludicrous it was to see them slipping a crazy-straw into the cotton-candy cocoons and sipping on the blood of the humans inside.
The star of the film is undoubtedly the Chiodo Bros. fantastic special effects, the cast is fine, but not terrific, but they are likable, I especially like sarcastic Debbie, and John Vernon chewing you the scenery as the curmudgeonly cop Mooney. I never did find this one particularly scary, even as a kid, but then again I was never afraid of clowns, I would imagine that this would be a nightmare for anyone suffering from coulrophobia, the fear of clowns.
Audio/Video: Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) arrives on region-free 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory in 2160p UHD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen with a brand spanking new 4K scan from the OCN, and appreciably enhanced by a new Dolby Vision HDR color-grade. Opening with the MGM logo followed by the Trans-World Entertainment logo it doesn't take long to that this 4K to impress: grain is well-managed and nicely resolved throughout, much more refined than past Arrow or MGM Blu-ray editions, and the source is in terrific shape with nary a blemish to detract from it. The candy-colored circus colors evidenced throughout are absolutely reinvigorated, looking more saturated and refreshed with the WCG Dolby Vision HDR, the Klown make-ups, colored hair and other colors shine like never before on home video. Depth and clarity are also noticeably improved over past Blu-ray editions, and we get rich black levels and terrific contrast throughout. The 4K resolution also offered a pleasing uptick in fine detail, close-ups and textures of the alien Klowns features look marvelous. Of note, the accompanying Blu-ray with the majority of the extras is region-A locked, but it looks terrific even without the Dolby Vision HDR color-grade.
Audio on both the UHD + Blu-ray comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo options, with optional English subtitles. The tracks are clean and well-balanced, delivering dialogue, effects and the John Massari (Steel and Lace) synth-score cleanly and without any age-related wear or hiss. The stereo track is solid, but the 5.1 does open up the sound stage a bit, with mostly the score benefitting from wider spectrum, but we also get some decent decent atmospherics as well. I would be remiss not to mention the killer theme song by The Dickies sounds better than ever as well, goddamn I love me some Dickies, this is the movie that turned me onto to them as a teen, and for that I will be forever grateful.
So far this has been a stellar release release, the A/V is terrific, then we get to the extras. Here I got a bit sad because there are no new extras on this release, what we get are all archival video extras that are available on the 2012 MGM disc. Scream Factory and Arrow have been known to share extras when they release the same film, but there are none of the extensive Arrow extras from their 2018 release carried over here. What we do not get is 11-min Let the Show Begin interview with Leonard Graves Phillips and Stan Lee from the band the Dickies; the 24-min The Chiodos Walk Among Us retrospective; the 18-min Tales of Tobacco interview featuring Grant Cramer; the 11-min Debbie's Big Night interview featuring Suzanne Snyder, and some image galleries. Now, this 4H UHD blows away that Arrow release in regard to picture quality by quite a bit, so it's still worth the upgrade, but if you're an extras junkie I would suggest hanging into it. The fact that the Arrow release were not licensed to Scream Factory makes me think that there could be a UK 4K edition on the horizon, so bare that in mind.
The 2-disc UHD/BD arrives in gorgeous Limited Edition SteelBook packaging with candy-colored artwork by artist Orlando Arocena, that absolutely pops with a metallic spot gloss metallic finish that suits the flick perfectly. On the inside of the SteelBook there's a monochromatic image of the alien klowns.
Special Features:
Disc One (4K Ultra HD)
- NEW! 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative
- Audio Commentary with the Chiodo Brothers
Disc Two (Blu-ray)
- NEW! 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative
- Audio Commentary with the Chiodo Brothers
- “The Making of Killer Klowns” featurette (21:42)
Disc One (4K Ultra HD)
- NEW! 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative
- Audio Commentary with the Chiodo Brothers
Disc Two (Blu-ray)
- NEW! 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative
- Audio Commentary with the Chiodo Brothers
- “The Making of Killer Klowns” featurette (21:42)
- “Komposing Klowns” featurette (13:15)
- “Kreating Klowns” featurette (12:50)
- Visual Effects with Gene Warren featurette (14:52)
- Deleted Scenes (4:36)
- Bloopers (2:49)
- “Earliest Films of the Chiodo Brothers” featurette
- Easter Eggs
- Visual Effects with Gene Warren featurette (14:52)
- Deleted Scenes (4:36)
- Bloopers (2:49)
- “Earliest Films of the Chiodo Brothers” featurette
- Easter Eggs
Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) is a stone-cold cult-classic, a terrifically entertaining blend of kitschy sci-fi and campy clown terror with fantastic practical special effects that hold-up, it's just a blast and it's get better every time I throw it on. The Scream Factory 4K Ultra HD is absolutely gorgeous, the film has never looked better, and the archival extras are wonderful (though new extras or the Arrow extras would have been appreciated). Separate from the film, I think this is probably my favorite Scream Factory SteelBook artwork yet, a terrific release that is well-worth the double or triple-dip, whatever the case may be for you at this point.
Buy it!
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