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Late to the Party: ‘Killer Klowns from Outer Space’ (1988)

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Welcome back to another edition of Late to the Party, where the iHorror writers take turns checking off boxes on their personal unseen classics list.  With the release of the IT remake and the premiere of the new season of American Horror Story, it appears as if scary clowns are all the rage again.  This has forced me to make a rather embarrassing admission; I have never seen the 1988 cult classic Killer Klowns from Outer Space.  Until now.

Late to the Party - Killer Klowns from Outer Space

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), courtesy Trans World Entertainment (TWE).

Going in, there were a couple of things I knew about Killer Klowns from Outer Space.  Of course, I knew what the titular Killer Klowns looked like, since they are the film’s main iconic image.  Also, being an old punk rocker, I was familiar with the Dickies theme song.  But, other than that, I was going in blind when I popped in the $7.99 blu-ray from Walmart (I splurged on the limited edition Dia de los Muertos-inspired cover version).

Late to the Party - Killer Klowns from Outer Space

This one.  Image courtesy Walmart.

Basically, Killer Klowns from Outer Space is one big laugh riot.  There’s nothing serious about the film at all.  It’s a standard alien invasion flick along the lines of The Blob or Invasion of the Body Snatchers (in fact, it even lifts plot points from both of those influential movies), only with clowns (sorry, Klowns) as the alien invaders.  It’s a glorified B-movie.

Late to the Party: Killer Klowns from Outer Space

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), courtesy Trans World Entertainment (TWE).

What makes Killer Klowns from Outer Space a “glorified” B-movie instead of just your run-of-the-mill B-movie is the klowns themselves.  For what seems to be a very low-budget production, the alien Klown effects are very well done.  They’re more elaborate than just actors in makeup; the klowns look to be part rubber monster suit and part animatronic puppetry.  The klowns also take turns pulling out all the stops while terrorizing the public, doing clowny things like using victims as ventriloquist dummies and attacking bystanders with shadow puppets.  They even stick the people they abduct into cotton candy cocoons.  The story may lack creativity, but the appearances and the actions of the klowns are inventive enough to make the movie fun, and for a B-movie, that’s really all you can ask for.

Late to the Party: Killer Klowns from Outer Space

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), courtesy Trans World Entertainment (TWE).

I’ve personally never been particularly afraid of clowns, so in the end, Killer Klowns from Outer Space is exactly the movie that I thought it would be.  How could it be any different with a title like that?  The klowns did surprise me, as they were much more animated and “monster-like” than I thought they’d be, and some of their methods of attack are downright ingenious.  But, for the most part, Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a movie about just that – killer clowns from outer space – and doesn’t pretend to be anything else

 

Come on back next week for another edition of Late to the Party, or check out older ones you may have missed in the meantime!

(Feature image courtesy Chris Fischer)

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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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