I was very
excited to hear that there was a screening of Killer Klowns happening near me.
Well okay it is over an hour drive, but still that is close considering I live
in the middle of nowhere. This wouldn’t be the first time that I’ve seen the
movie on the big screen. In fact, I have a really funny story about seeing it
during its limited first run in the theater years ago. Pick up the latest copy
of midnight magazine here
to check out my article. I managed to rope a bunch of my friends into going
with me and we headed out of town. When I say a bunch I actually managed to
convince six of them to go. Who knew I had that many friends?
The show
didn’t start until midnight, but the Capital is in a cool neighborhood, so we
went up early. With an hour to kill we wandered around a bit but didn’t have to
go too far. Right next to the theater is an honest to God pinball arcade. Real
vintage pinball games that reminded me of the days before video games… yes, I’m
that old! After dumping some quarters in the machines, we strolled next door to
buy our tickets, grab snacks, and find seats. The turnout was pretty good
considering there was a basketball playoff game (go Sports Team!) which is a
big deal in Cleveland. Seeing this movie with a crowd only makes it more fun.
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| International man of mystery and Pinball Wizard |
If you
haven’t seen Killer Klowns from Outer Space, you are missing out. The movie is
very cheesy, but in a completely enjoyable way. The story is reminiscent of the
old fifties invaders from space movies like Invasion of the Saucer Men or
Invaders from Mars. You know there were a lot of “invasion” movies. Might have
to be a series for the blog someday. The plot follows the familiar “teenagers”
see crash, no one believes them, and they have to save the day. Here it is
played for laughs with the clowns being menacing, but in amusing ways. This is
a horror comedy that actually works. Not many of them around.
The movie
doesn’t have any real gore in it, but the design of the Klowns is amazing. The Chiodo
brothers who wrote and directed this cut their teeth on special effects and are
responsible for the work in the first couple Critters movies. Here each Klown
has its own unique look and is scary. Pennywise can move over because these are
the real scary looking bastards! The effects work for the exploding aliens,
people getting wrapped up by Cotton Candy guns, and shadow puppets are all
basic, but work onscreen holding up fine. I have always loved this one and this
time around wasn’t any different.
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| Love the creature design! |
After the
movie we headed back home, but not before stopping at Steak and Shake for
burgers. I know people keep asking why I include food in most of these reports.
I’m a fat guy so food is part of these events for me. And in case you were
wondering my burger was pretty good. Everyone arrived safely back in town and I
finally hit the sack around four in the morning. I keep saying that I’m getting
too old for this stuff, but really I love attending these events. There are
more midnight screenings coming and in October I have Twelve Hours of Terror at
the Capital as well. Check out their website to keep track of the events coming
to the Capital and if you do come to one look for the fat guy with a smile on
his face and say hi.
© Copyright 2018 John Shatzer
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