cinema history class: killer klowns from outer space

Session: Bring Your Own Movie Month 2018, Week 3
Movie 1: Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
Directed by Stephen Chiodo
As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
Space aliens have landed and are terrorizing the town. Oh, and they look like clowns. Hilarity ensues.

Reaction:
I was very torn about what to bring for Bring Your Own Movie Month this year. Considering many candidates, I settled on Klowns because Sharon said she'd come to class if I showed it. IN the end, she couldn't come to class, as she had an Overwatch tournament to compete in, but that's neither here nor there. Klowns, is among my favorite movies, despite its sophomoric nature. The fact is, it's a better film than one would expect based on its screaming title.

Nevertheless, I was kind of nervous about how well it would go over. My choices for BYOM month have received mixed reviews. So I was pleased by the reactions.

I was expecting Sean to like it, and his grade was no surprise. I had discussed my choice with Keith, so I was also aware that he likes the film. In a sense that's out of character, as Keith tends not to like it when horror is played for comedic effect. But he apparently makes an exception for KK, because of its unique cleverness.

Joe and Dave were the two guys in the class who had never seen this, and they both surprised me by giving it high marks. They appreciated the campy quality, which seemed out of the 1960s, and they both (correctly) felt that John Vernon (as police officer Mooney) stole every scene he was in.

Despite having seen this many times, I gained some new insight. I forget who made the observation -- maybe it was Keith. But one of the things that makes the film work is the fact that the clowns seem to to seduce their victims, luring them in with comedy or other entertainment before turning on them. It's an interesting aspect to the dynamic that I had never noticed before.

Score!

Ratings:
Dave: 9.8
Ethan: 8
Joe: 9.67*
Keith: 9
Sean: 3 out of 4

*Joe specified his methodology: It scored a 9 as a sci-fi/horror film, a 10 as 1960's (esque) camp, and a 10 for the Dickies. He said to weigh those three scores equally. Thank God I'm an actuary.