Reviewed by Melissa Antoinette Garza
“What in tarnation is going on here?” – Farmer Gene Green (Royal Dano)
Though a cult film fan since childhood, I avoided this film for most of my 20s. I had bad memories of watching it over and over again when I was young because a small foster kid who stayed with us picked the movie as her favorite. It had been long enough where I recalled very little other than a great opening song. Much like the catchy tune from THE NEW ADVENTURES OF PIPPI LONGSTOCKINGS (1988) it stuck in my head long after I had forgotten about anything else related to the film.
Now all that aside, honestly this movie is right up my alley and when I finally watched it again, enough time had passed that I was able to watch it with fresh eyes. I’m happy to say it has warmed its way into my heart.
The movie opens with a bunch of twenty-something college kids parked in an open field. As they stare at up, a large light zips across the sky and lands by an old man known as Farmer Gene Green (Royal Dano). He ventures into the woods to catch the UFO with his dog. Instead, he comes across a circus tent and decides to see if he can get free passes. After his dog is taken behind his back leaving only a kerchief behind, he tries to destroy the tent but is zapped with electricity. He falls down and then comes face-to-face with the Killer Klowns.
Following what they thought was a shooting star, Debbie (Suzanne Snyder) and Mike (Grant Cramer) end up outside the circus tent. Like most women in horror movies, Debbie suspects something is off, but Mike assures her that everything is fine. Despite her protests, they venture inside. They come to a room where large cotton candy cocoons hang from hooks. Debbie unnerved swears something is wrong, Mike attempting to reassure her takes a part of the cotton candy only to reveal a human being underneath. They barely escape as a clown shoots at them with a popcorn gun.
They run to the police and relay their stories to the Debbie’s ex boyfriend Dave (John Allen Nelson) while the older cop Curtis (John Vernon) thinks they’re just a couple of lying kids trying to use the stunt to sell ice cream. Dave drives with Debbie and Mike to figure out what’s going on much to the chagrin of Curtis.
The clowns meanwhile venture into the town and begin their killing spree collecting all their victims in cotton candy. They lure the unsuspecting kids with puppet shows and the adults by knocking on the door as delivery men.
The battle between the clowns and kids continue until the conclusion where an enormous clown is unleashed.
Overall, the movie is a good watch for a lazy Sunday afternoon. It isn’t the greatest film of all time. It definitely isn’t the best cult movie of all time, but it still has a great amount of charm and is a ton of fun.
The make-up is great. Thankfully, the movie was made in the 80s. Otherwise, we may have had to endure CGI clowns. Nonetheless, if you haven’t seen this or it’s been awhile, give it a go. I think you’ll rather enjoy it.
Scared Stiff Rating: 8/10
