6 Frighteningly Fun Facts About ‘Killer Klowns From Outer Space’
Admit it: Clowns are weird. From Pennywise in Stephen King‘s IT to Ronald McDonald himself, there’s just something a little freaky about all that rainbow hair and the painted-on smiles. That’s why this week, Svengoolie is helping usher in the Halloween season with Killer Klowns From Outer Space on September 7, at 8pm EST/ 7pm CST on MeTV.
The 1988 horror comedy about murderous aliens who just so happen to resemble whimsical circus clowns has remained a cult film and fan convention staple in the years since its release. But it’s had a sharp jump in popularity over the past decade, spawning a video game, a haunted house attraction, and a line of products that includes the infamous popcorn bazooka. Why has Killer Klowns come back now? And will we ever see the long-promised sequel about these acid cream pie-throwing monsters?
Read on for some facts that will increase your coulrophobia (that’s fear of clowns).
1The Creators Were Special Effects Masters
TransWorld Entertainment/via MoviestillsDB
If you’ve seen the film, your first question might have been: How the hell did anyone think that up? “We just tried to make the movie we wanted to see,” director Stephen Chiodo said in a 2024 interview. The film, which Stephen created with his brothers Charles and Edward, reflected their passionate love for ’50s and ’60s drive-in sci-fi films, the Marx Brothers and MAD Magazine. They modeled the film on the classic alien invasion plot: Creatures from another world land in a small town, and residents have to convince the disbelieving authorities. But this time, the creatures traveled in a giant big top tent. “We just took it to the next level, of trying to convince people of something ridiculous,” said Charlie Chiodo.
The film also reflected their background in practical special effects. The siblings created effects for 1986’s Critters, 1991’s Ernest Scared Stupid, 2003’s Elf, and multiple episodes of The Simpsons (if you’ve ever seen an episode where Bart and Lisa watch some claymation animation on TV, that’s courtesy of the Chiodos). But they’re perhaps best known for creating the infamous “Large Marge” effect from 1985’s Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.
Though Charles and Edward never produced another film again, Stephen did direct one more: the 2020 stop-motion holiday film Alien Xmas, in which an alien from a race that intends to loot the earth instead decides to help Santa on Christmas Eve. It still plays with Killer Klowns‘ theme of alien invasion, but presents a gentler take (with no toilet attacks).
2The Actors Were Instructed to Play It Completely Straight
TransWorld Entertainment/via MoviestillsDB
From an invisible motorcycle to fatal cotton candy cocoons and a clown monster that emerges from the toilet, Killer Klowns is not short on incredibly silly plot devices. But the actors were instructed to play every scene “absolutely serious” according to Edward Chiodo. There was to be no winking at the audience. Instead, in the tradition of cheapie ’50s sci-fi films, every clown in a pizza box or Klownzilla was treated as if it were “a life and death situation, so the actors had to play it absolutely real, and that kind of offsets the absurdity,” said Edward.
3The Movie Was Supposed to Include Soupy Sales
Everett Collection
Since comedian Soupy Sales was famous for taking pies to the face on his 1950s children’s TV show, the Chiados wanted to hire him to play the security guard who is killed by an acid cream pie. But producers felt that the teen viewers of the film would have no idea who the classic funnyman was, and so it wouldn’t even be worth the money it would cost to fly Sales out to the set.
>> Check out these not so scary clowns
4The Theme Song Was Written Before the Band Could See the Movie
TransWorld Entertainment/courtesy Everett Collection
Nearly as famous as the film itself is its theme song, by punk band the Dickies. The artists behind songs like “Gigantor” and albums like Dawn of the Dickies (with a cover depicting the band being attacked by blue-faced zombies) were a natural fit for the film’s loving tribute to B-movies. However, during creation of the film, there was one hitch — to hit deadlines, the band had to write the song without having seen the finished film, or even having read the script.
Yet somehow, the song nails the film’s vibe perfectly, from its circus calliope-influenced melody to so-bad-they’re-good lyrics like “Some make us laugh, some make us cry/These klowns only gonna make you die.” The video included clips from the film as well as scenes where the Klowns took over a jail, imprisoning the band members and taking over their musical duties.
5Many, Many Planned Sequels Have Fallen Through
According to Stephen Chiodo, the brothers have been trying to get a sequel or TV series based on the show off the ground since the original film hit theaters in 1988. In a 2021 interview, Chiodo explained that the story was always conceived of as including multiple sequels: “We have this whole long trilogy – something we call a trilogy in four parts because we include the original – a TV series for cable [or] streaming. And it follows the adventures of all the characters as they go through their lives, crushed after the first invasion. It would make a great mini-series. So we’re constantly selling that for people who are interested.”
And they’ve had multiple close calls — in 1988, there was a plan to turn the film into a series on the USA Network, and in 2011, a combination sequel/remake film called Return of the Killer Klowns from Outer Space in 3-D was announced. As recently as 2018, there was a plan in place for the SyFy Channel to develop a remake. But that also fell through; according to Chiodo, the channel didn’t offer enough money to make the film with decent production values.
So why has a sequel never quite materialized? According to Chiodo, “Hollywood is just a horrible machine. The film didn’t really get much box office [during its original release] … and when you want to get a sequel done, they look at the box office. They don’t regard cult films as something to invest in.”
6The Film Saw a Second Burst of Popularity (Over 30 Years After Its Release)
Of course, you could argue that the movie — an eternal staple of midnight film screenings and video store “cult film” sections — never really went away. But while a sequel has never materialized, the past decade has seen an increasing wave of interest in the film and the Klowns.
In 2018, Universal Studios Orlando created a Killer Klowns haunted house for its Halloween Horror Nights event; the house was expanded in 2019, and also showed up at the park’s Los Angeles location. Spirit Halloween stores have carried a licensed line of Killer Klowns merchandise since 2021; anyone trying to bring on the Klownpocalypse can choose from a wide selection of hand puppets, laser guns, acid cream pies, and yes, the popcorn bazooka (though it sadly does not shoot edible popcorn). And just in 2024, a popular multiplayer video game based on the film was released. So even if there never is a sequel, you’ll still have a chance to watch teens dodge those cotton candy cocoons one more time.
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