When it comes to the “Killer _____” subgenre, for this reviewer’s money there is only one true Champion. It’s the Chiodo Brothers magnum opus of Cult Classic Mania; Killer Klowns from Outer Space. The film is a strange mix of sci-fi invasion film, high school ‘losing it’ comedy, small-town Capra-esque drama, and all insanity. The film succeeds because it takes everything character, story et. al. seriously. Not in tone but in its execution. Killer Klowns from Outer Space doesn’t do anything by half-measures rather fully commits to being a fully realized film.
The premise is simple; an alien race lands in a small town and mayhem ensues. The fact that these Aliens are shaped like Clowns and use circus-style distractions and weapons to lure and decimate the townfolks is one of the many delights of the film. Rather than a simple A-B-C alien invasion film writers Stephen and Charles Chiodo have created a film that set pieces are as clever and inventive as anything in the Saw franchise. The Chiodo’s understand that it’s the details of what these murderous Alien Clowns do that make their film so much fun. Killer shadow puppets, balloon animals that attack, and cocoons made of cotton candy are some of the inventive weapons used against the humans in the film.
Even thirty years on the scale of what the Chiodo’s were able to squeeze out of their tiny budget is impressive. It’s not just the Make-Up FX but the Visual FX and the Stop Motion work that help make this seem like a much bigger production than you would expect. The Chiodo’s career in Stop Motion animation, design, and FX work, in general, aided this greatly. Their understanding of what it takes to pull off a lower-budget FX-driven film is paramount to the film’s success. Many directors do not understand the placement of the camera for FX work of any kind to succeed is an art form in it of itself. That is not even considerations to the needed skill sets of being able to tell your story visually. The Chiodo’s have both skill sets with a certain amount of style. So much so it’s a wonder why the brothers did not get bigger-scale film work after this was released.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space is not just another fly-by-night supposed Cult Classic, this is the real deal. Stephen, Ed, and Charles Chiodo have created an insane Alien Invasion film that works as well as anything that came before or after. It’s just with a ton of Clowns. Scary. Rabid. Nightmarish. Clowns. Killer. Clowns. Beware…
The Transfer
The all-new 4K Scan of The Original Camera Negative in Dolby Vision (HDR-10 Compatible) is a poppy colorful affair. The new scan in 4K is worth the price of admission alone. The film has never looked better, even on prior Blu-ray Editions. The 4K UHD in Dolby Vision is just no match when doing a side-by-side comparison. The color density, the grain structure, and the contrast are leveled up here. There’s more refined detail in the blacks giving us a more lustery image than prior. This may end up being the definitive edition of Killer Klowns from Outer Space, it hasn’t even looked this good when I’ve seen it projected in 35mm. Bravo to the folks at Shout/Scream for doing an impressive job at giving the film a true upgrade in picture.
The Extras
Below are images of the Steelbook artwork:
They include the following;
DISC ONE (4K UHD):
Audio Commentary with The Chiodo Brothers
DISC TWO (BLU-RAY):
Audio Commentary with The Chiodo Brothers
The Making of Killer Klowns
Komposing Klowns
Kreating Klowns
Visual Effects with Gene Warren
Deleted Scenes
Bloopers
Earliest Films of The Chiodo Brothers
Easter Eggs
Note: All Special Features (and movie) appear on the Blu-ray disc. However, the audio commentary appears on both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs.
The archival Audio Commentary with The Chiodo Brothers begins with their introductions and the song that opens the movie. Some of the details includes how they came up with the title and why they chose it; how they sold it with only a poster and the title; why Santa Cruz, California as the production calendar; casting Christopher Titus; how the 1950s version of The Blob is a reference for the film; working with John Vernon – which leads to a discussion about the archetypes (from ‘50s sci-fi films) they play with throughout; the visual style and how they were able to do cost-effective tricks to ensure that the colors popped; the most expensive prop of the production; how they approached the film not as a satire or comedy but a very serious movie and allow the ridiculousness of the situations play out as comedy; the practical issues during production with the various clown suits and making things works; a larger discussion throughout about the various visual effects work to accomplish the look of the film; a larger discussion about the make-up effect work; and much more. The commentary is a lively informative affair with Stephen, Ed, and Charles Chiodo from the original DVD release of the film. Surprisingly, a lot of the anecdotes from the production and discussions does not overlap any of the other special features.
The Making of Killer Klowns (21:40) – an archival making-of with Stephen, Ed, and Charles Chiodo. The featurette smartly uses production photos and B-Roll/BTS footage that plays over the brothers talking about the making of the film. The featurette covers the genesis of the idea; the original opening that didn’t make the cut; how the story was built out of the various friends they had during their teenage years; the various crew members that they made the film with; the sequel they’ve been trying to make for years; and much more.
Komposing Klowns (13:15) – is an archival interview with musical composer John Messari and how he came about getting the job with over 40 different composers and how The Dickies got involved.
Visual Effects with Gene Warren (14:52) – is an archival interview with Charles Chiodo and Gene Warren Jr. from Fantasy II Film FX shop. This one could be considered more of a featurette/visual essay as they use video footage and production sketches to illustrate what Warren and Chiodo are discussing the development, creation, and execution of the visual effects work.
Kreating Klowns (12:50)- is an archival interview with Charles Chiodo and master fabricator Dwight Roberts as they discuss the making of the props, miniatures, and makeup appliances for the production. There’s a wealth of pre-production drawings and behind-the-scenes videos of how the effects shop worked to make any FX fans out there happy.
Deleted Scenes – each deleted scene includes a commentary track on why these scenes were deleted by the Chiodo brothers.
Bad Experience (2:14) – a scene between Mike and Deb as she describes why she hates Clowns.
Tight Rope (2:22) – an extension of the final chase scene inside the Circus Tent Space Ship.
Bloopers (2:49) – this is B-Roll footage of the various issues that came up with the FX work mixed in with your traditional in-camera bloopers.
Earliest Films of The Chiodo Brothers (7:10) – These two short films have a running commentary by the Chiodo Brothers. One is less than a minute (0:43), the other is called Beast from the Egg. Both are silly fun, but they do indicate filmmakers with promise and an evolution in Style and understanding of filmmaking. The commentary track is fun going back with the brothers on how this was all accomplished.
Trailer (1:53)
Easter Eggs – I won’t ruin the surprise but those that have owned previous Blu-ray or DVD editions know what the surprise is and how to find the easter egg.
Note: Some special features from the 2018 Arrow Video Edition were exclusive to that edition and are not in this Scream Factory release. That includes all of the shorts from the Chiodo Brothers and the 30 minutes of raw B-Roll Footage. One will want to keep both editions if worried about those additional features.
The Final Thought
Scream Factory has given us a wonderful upgraded 4K Picture and Sound for Killer Klowns from Outer Space. Highest recommendations!!!
The Killer Klowns are back, in 4K UHD, thanks to Scream Factory. Killer Klowns from Outer Space is newly restored in 4K from the OCN.
The Film
When it comes to the “Killer _____” subgenre, for this reviewer’s money there is only one true Champion. It’s the Chiodo Brothers magnum opus of Cult Classic Mania; Killer Klowns from Outer Space. The film is a strange mix of sci-fi invasion film, high school ‘losing it’ comedy, small-town Capra-esque drama, and all insanity. The film succeeds because it takes everything character, story et. al. seriously. Not in tone but in its execution. Killer Klowns from Outer Space doesn’t do anything by half-measures rather fully commits to being a fully realized film.
The premise is simple; an alien race lands in a small town and mayhem ensues. The fact that these Aliens are shaped like Clowns and use circus-style distractions and weapons to lure and decimate the townfolks is one of the many delights of the film. Rather than a simple A-B-C alien invasion film writers Stephen and Charles Chiodo have created a film that set pieces are as clever and inventive as anything in the Saw franchise. The Chiodo’s understand that it’s the details of what these murderous Alien Clowns do that make their film so much fun. Killer shadow puppets, balloon animals that attack, and cocoons made of cotton candy are some of the inventive weapons used against the humans in the film.
Even thirty years on the scale of what the Chiodo’s were able to squeeze out of their tiny budget is impressive. It’s not just the Make-Up FX but the Visual FX and the Stop Motion work that help make this seem like a much bigger production than you would expect. The Chiodo’s career in Stop Motion animation, design, and FX work, in general, aided this greatly. Their understanding of what it takes to pull off a lower-budget FX-driven film is paramount to the film’s success. Many directors do not understand the placement of the camera for FX work of any kind to succeed is an art form in it of itself. That is not even considerations to the needed skill sets of being able to tell your story visually. The Chiodo’s have both skill sets with a certain amount of style. So much so it’s a wonder why the brothers did not get bigger-scale film work after this was released.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space is not just another fly-by-night supposed Cult Classic, this is the real deal. Stephen, Ed, and Charles Chiodo have created an insane Alien Invasion film that works as well as anything that came before or after. It’s just with a ton of Clowns. Scary. Rabid. Nightmarish. Clowns. Killer. Clowns. Beware…
The Transfer
The all-new 4K Scan of The Original Camera Negative in Dolby Vision (HDR-10 Compatible) is a poppy colorful affair. The new scan in 4K is worth the price of admission alone. The film has never looked better, even on prior Blu-ray Editions. The 4K UHD in Dolby Vision is just no match when doing a side-by-side comparison. The color density, the grain structure, and the contrast are leveled up here. There’s more refined detail in the blacks giving us a more lustery image than prior. This may end up being the definitive edition of Killer Klowns from Outer Space, it hasn’t even looked this good when I’ve seen it projected in 35mm. Bravo to the folks at Shout/Scream for doing an impressive job at giving the film a true upgrade in picture.
The Extras
Below are images of the Steelbook artwork:
They include the following;
DISC ONE (4K UHD):
DISC TWO (BLU-RAY):
Note: All Special Features (and movie) appear on the Blu-ray disc. However, the audio commentary appears on both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs.
The archival Audio Commentary with The Chiodo Brothers begins with their introductions and the song that opens the movie. Some of the details includes how they came up with the title and why they chose it; how they sold it with only a poster and the title; why Santa Cruz, California as the production calendar; casting Christopher Titus; how the 1950s version of The Blob is a reference for the film; working with John Vernon – which leads to a discussion about the archetypes (from ‘50s sci-fi films) they play with throughout; the visual style and how they were able to do cost-effective tricks to ensure that the colors popped; the most expensive prop of the production; how they approached the film not as a satire or comedy but a very serious movie and allow the ridiculousness of the situations play out as comedy; the practical issues during production with the various clown suits and making things works; a larger discussion throughout about the various visual effects work to accomplish the look of the film; a larger discussion about the make-up effect work; and much more. The commentary is a lively informative affair with Stephen, Ed, and Charles Chiodo from the original DVD release of the film. Surprisingly, a lot of the anecdotes from the production and discussions does not overlap any of the other special features.
The Making of Killer Klowns (21:40) – an archival making-of with Stephen, Ed, and Charles Chiodo. The featurette smartly uses production photos and B-Roll/BTS footage that plays over the brothers talking about the making of the film. The featurette covers the genesis of the idea; the original opening that didn’t make the cut; how the story was built out of the various friends they had during their teenage years; the various crew members that they made the film with; the sequel they’ve been trying to make for years; and much more.
Komposing Klowns (13:15) – is an archival interview with musical composer John Messari and how he came about getting the job with over 40 different composers and how The Dickies got involved.
Visual Effects with Gene Warren (14:52) – is an archival interview with Charles Chiodo and Gene Warren Jr. from Fantasy II Film FX shop. This one could be considered more of a featurette/visual essay as they use video footage and production sketches to illustrate what Warren and Chiodo are discussing the development, creation, and execution of the visual effects work.
Kreating Klowns (12:50)- is an archival interview with Charles Chiodo and master fabricator Dwight Roberts as they discuss the making of the props, miniatures, and makeup appliances for the production. There’s a wealth of pre-production drawings and behind-the-scenes videos of how the effects shop worked to make any FX fans out there happy.
Deleted Scenes – each deleted scene includes a commentary track on why these scenes were deleted by the Chiodo brothers.
Bloopers (2:49) – this is B-Roll footage of the various issues that came up with the FX work mixed in with your traditional in-camera bloopers.
Earliest Films of The Chiodo Brothers (7:10) – These two short films have a running commentary by the Chiodo Brothers. One is less than a minute (0:43), the other is called Beast from the Egg. Both are silly fun, but they do indicate filmmakers with promise and an evolution in Style and understanding of filmmaking. The commentary track is fun going back with the brothers on how this was all accomplished.
Trailer (1:53)
Easter Eggs – I won’t ruin the surprise but those that have owned previous Blu-ray or DVD editions know what the surprise is and how to find the easter egg.
Note: Some special features from the 2018 Arrow Video Edition were exclusive to that edition and are not in this Scream Factory release. That includes all of the shorts from the Chiodo Brothers and the 30 minutes of raw B-Roll Footage. One will want to keep both editions if worried about those additional features.
The Final Thought
Scream Factory has given us a wonderful upgraded 4K Picture and Sound for Killer Klowns from Outer Space. Highest recommendations!!!
Scream Factory’s 4K UHD Edition of Killers Klowns from Outer Space is out May 14th
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