‘Killer Klowns from Outer Space’: 10 Things You May Not Know

One of the most memorable deaths in Killer Klowns from Outer Space is the poor security guard pelted with acid-filled pies outside of the amusement park. Originally, the Chiodo Brothers wanted this part to be played by Soupy Sales, a children’s TV star from the ’50s and ’60s, particularly known for often taking pies to the face.

The cameo was apparently not meant to be, as producers felt most viewers wouldn’t recognize Sales, and they didn’t want to spend the money on accommodating him.

Another memorably ridiculous death in the film comes when a Klown performs a shadow puppet show with his fingers for a group of people waiting at a bus stop. After showing a few impossibly-detailed figures, the shadow then becomes a hungry dinosaur that eats the entire group whole.

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“We tried to think of the stupidest, most impossible thing, and my brother Edward [Chiodo] came up with [Washington]; it was a really absurd thing to have happen,” director Stephen Chiodo said in a 2018 interview with Syfy, noting that the scene his “favorite to film out of the whole three-ring screamfest.”

Actor and comedian Christopher Titus made a big name for himself when he appeared on the Fox comedy series Titus, and he has also been featured in a variety of other television and movie roles. He has become very well-known in the comedy scene as well as a very successful stand-up comic with multiple comedy specials.

It all began with Killer Klowns from Outer Space, as Titus plays the role of Bob McReed — a young man seen carrying two large grocery bags full of beer and snacks to the town’s local makeout spot at the “Top of the World.” His glasses are later found amidst the sticky cotton candy in his abandoned car, meaning poor Bob did not survive the Killer Klown invasion.

After Killer Klowns from Outer Space was released, no sequels were immediately put into motion, and the surviving props from the film were only collecting dust. This led to two of the Klown masks getting redesigned to portray trolls in the popular Jim Varney movie Ernest Scared Stupid.

While Ernest Scared Stupid is obviously much more family-friendly than Killer Klowns, both are among the greatest horror-comedy movies ever made. Who knew the two films shared such a strong connection?

All seems hopeless in Killer Klowns from Outer Space until our heroes inadvertently discover the Klowns’ Achilles’ heel. All it takes to take one out is to destroy their round red noses. It’s very amusing, and it makes perfect sense, but how did the Chiodos determine the method used to fight back against the Klowns?

“It seemed so logical,” Edward Chiodo said at Spooky Empire 2011. Stephen Chiodo added that it was just a matter of taking the familiar zombie trope and applying it to their Klown creatures in their own film. “How do you kill a zombie? Shoot the brains, kill the zombie. Same idea,” Stephen purports. Fair enough.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2018, and the cast and crew of the film got back together to celebrate the occasion. Taking place on May 19, 2018, at The Montalban Theater in Los Angeles, the special event featured live orchestral music from original composer John Massari with The Dickies performing a live rendition of the classic theme song. Special guests at the reunion included the Chiodo Brothers and stars Grand Cramer and Suzanne Snyder, along with special entertainers like magicians, contortionists, and balloon artists. Along with a Q&A, the film was even screened with the musicians performing the score live for the audience.

Of course, the only bad news here is that there don’t seem to be any easily-accessible videos of the epic reunion, so most of us can only imagine how epic it might have been.

The “final boss” of the Killer Klowns is a monstrously-sized creature dubbed Klownzilla, featured in the closing moments of the film in a climactic battle. In actuality, Klownzilla is Charles Chiodo in another Klown costume, and camera tricks are used to make him appear to be much larger in comparison to the other characters.

As revealed by the DVD’s commentary track, however, the plan wasn’t always to put Charles in a suit when it came to unveiling Klownzilla. The Chiodo Brothers had instead envisioned using stop-motion to create a fully-animated gargantuan creature. Despite these plans, the decision was made to go with the more practical route, as creating a Klown suit was much cheaper and faster than using animation.

To save his girlfriend from the evil Klowns, awesomely-named lead character Mike Tobacco must team up with his girlfriend’s ex, Deputy Dave Hanson, by taking the Klowns head-on. Despite many deaths during the course of the movie, the film has a pretty happy ending, as Mike and Dave successfully save Debbie from the Klowns’ spaceship and manage to escape with all of their lives.

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If the original ending had remained intact, however, the closing moments of Killer Klowns from Outer Space would have been a bit more depressing. For the most part, the final sequence of events is the same, culminating in the explosion of the ship after Dave pops Klownzilla’s nose. Initially, Dave perished in the explosion, but after screening this version of the film with test audiences, the choice was made to film a more upbeat ending to end the movie on a more positive note.

In case you were wondering, the Terenzi Brothers also survive in their ice cream truck in both versions of the story.

We’ve all watched Killer Klowns from Outer Space, but have you experienced the film in person? The wonderful people at Universal Studios have been giving fans the opportunity to do just that for the past couple of years. In 2018, the film was featured as a scare zone for the 28th annual Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando, featuring many props and references to the film (along with many Klowns in the “flesh,” of course). Because the first go-around was a hit, Universal saw the Killer Klowns landing down once again for Killer Klowns-themed haunted house attractions at both Universal Orlando and Universal Hollywood.

Given what’s been happening in 2020, it’s not entirely clear as of now what will happen with the next Halloween Horror Nights event, but for those unable to attend in 2018 and 2019, let’s hope the Klowns make their way back to Universal at some point in the future again to help keep the film’s legacy alive with horror fans.

We’ve touched on how Killer Klowns from Outer Space is one of the ten best horror movies to never get a sequel, and that distinction hasn’t been for a lack of trying on the part of the Chiodo Brothers. For over three decades now, the filmmaking siblings have been open to developing a follow-up movie. In 2012, it had been reported that a new film was in the works, which would have even featured original star Grant Cramer reprising his role.

“I think it was one of the Chiodos who came up with the idea that everybody thinks Mike Tobacco is crazy. He’s kind of the town drunk/derelict who’s always mumbling about the Klowns coming back, and everybody thinks I’m nuts because I’m sure they’re going to return to attack the world again,” Cramer said of the project in 2012, revealing a handful of plot details as well. “Of course, when it happens, I have been planning for them to come back, so I end up being the mentor to these two young street performers whose car breaks down, and they end up in the small town of Kismet.”

So, what happened? For whatever reason, it seems that the project totally fizzled out once Mickey Mouse picked up the rights. In 2019, it was reported that Fox had intended to produce the planned sequel, dubbed Return of the Killer Klowns from Outer Space in 3-D, only for Disney to cancel the project when they bought out 20th Century Fox. We might still see another film someday, as Syfy also announced their own plans to develop a Killer Klowns sequel in 2018, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on it at this point, given the other false starts we’ve seen with Killer Klowns 2 over the past few decades.