How Did Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988) Become Part of Our Halloween Zeitgeist?

Folks, we’re almost halfway to Halloween! The delightful deviants over at Shudder have been running their aptly named annual April series for a couple weeks now, even though I’m not sure how much that’s really catching on. I get it, though; how else are you going to market horror films in a unique way during the springtime?¹

But before we look ahead to that holiday—which is blessedly on a Friday this year—let’s turn the calendar back six months instead. Because I’ve been wanting to investigate a phenomenon that stemmed from a new life experience I had on October 26th.

Reader, I finally went inside a Spirit Halloween store.

Despite my love of autumn and horror movies, I’ve never been a big costume guy. It always seems like a lot of time, money, and/or effort for something that I’ll only wear a couple times at most. And though Spirit Halloween eliminates the time and the effort parts of that equation—that’s kinda their raison d’être, right?—the idea of spending my disposable income on a cheap or trendy costume that I’ll barely use doesn’t appeal to me much. But I had a party or two to attend, and I figured I could wear whatever I bought to work on Halloween proper, so I gave in and drove to an outdoor mall in the suburbs.

When I went inside the store—which used to be a Bed Bath & Beyond, a fact that they’re not hiding at all—I wasn’t blown away, but I wasn’t underwhelmed either. It was just about what I thought it would be. There were plenty of generic spooky accessories, like the costume I ended up buying.² But there were lots of film-related accessories and toys as well.

There was plenty of Beetlejuice stuff, which made sense given how well Beetlejuice Beetlejuice did at the box office this fall. All of horror’s heavy hitters were thoroughly represented as well—Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Kreuger, Leatherface, etc. And of course plenty of Marvel, DC, Disney, Star Wars, and other family-friendly things of that ilk.

But I was (pleasantly) flabbergasted by all of the Killer Klowns From Outer Space merchandise.

It wasn’t just costumes and t-shirts. I’m talking popcorn guns, bobbleheads, Funko Pops, statues, even a 7-foot animatronic klown. I couldn’t believe how well-represented a film from 1988 was at this large-scale Halloween pop-up. A film that hasn’t had a single installment since the original release.³ (For now, at least.)⁴ Not for lack of trying, to director Stephen Chiodo’s credit; he and his brothers (who’ve made a nice living doing special effects for everything from Pee-wee’s Big Adventure to Team America: World Police) have been living in development hell for over a decade trying to get a reboot, a sequel, even a TV series off the ground but to no avail.

As much as I sympathize with the Chiodos’ struggles, the fact remains: Killer Klowns From Outer Space is a solitary 37-year-old cult classic, not a long-running blockbuster franchise. And I couldn’t help but wonder how this curiously strong legacy came to be. Why are there 48 Killer Klowns products for sale on Spirit Halloween’s website? How did this film enter our modern-day Halloween zeitgeist?

One thing I’ve had to remind myself of in recent years is the Stranger Things-ification of pop culture. And though I got my fill of that show over two or three seasons, I don’t think this is a bad thing; in fact, I think it kinda rocks that Dungeons & Dragons is cool now and young people are curious about video stores. Anything that sparks interest in older movies and retro ephemera is cool with me. Maybe some Stranger Things fans got curious and began exploring horror and sci-fi films of the 80s, but Killer Klowns From Outer Space doesn’t seem to be an overt reference on that show from what I can tell.⁵

Then there’s the (c/k)lown-ness of it all.⁶ As my librarian friend Guy pointed out to me at said Halloween party when I was discussing this phenomenon, clowns in general are hot right now! The hugely successful 2017/2019 reboot of It brought Pennywise back into the fold and gave the character an iconic new look. This timing might explain why Universal Studios Florida introduced a Killer Klowns section for their Halloween Horror Nights attraction in 2018, which was expanded in 2019 and added to Universal Studios Hollywood that same year. They even started selling merchandise.

When it comes to clowns, we can’t leave out the true sickos, of course. After all, the Terrifier trilogy made cinema history in October when Terrifier 3—an unrated film—claimed the top spot at the box office. Whether we like it or not, Art the Clown is now a horror icon.⁷ (And yes, Spirit Halloween did have a few Terrifier items for sale.)

Another reason dawned on me many weeks later, though, and I simply can’t shake it: Is it possible that the people going to Spirit Halloween stores and Universal theme parks and other spooky attractions…don’t realize that Killer Klowns From Outer Space is a film at all?

As I’ve grown older, I’ve done my best to understand the generation behind mine and embrace our differences. When I was a teenager, there was no insult more cutting than “poser.” You wouldn’t dare wear a band’s t-shirt or sew their patch onto your backpack if you couldn’t bring the receipts to prove you’re a “real fan.” From what I can tell, Gen Z is (thankfully) not like that. Nirvana and Sublime t-shirts abound, worn by people who simply love the 90s aesthetic and couldn’t care less about the bands.⁸

It wouldn’t surprise me if the people buying Killer Klowns toys and costumes simply had no interest in watching the film. After all, the title does a lot of work: They’re klowns, they’re killers, and they’re from outer space. What more do you need to know to enjoy the products? After all, it’s not like the film itself does any work to expand upon its lore. What you see is pretty much what you get.

Maybe these Spirit Halloween customers just want some gnarly klown kitsch to put in their homes or their yards. I would commend them on their style if they did. But maybe some of them are pop culture archeologists like the nerds of my generation and they’ll do some digging and discover a truly delightful film that features the characters they’re already familiar with. And if they’re like me, they might even buy the new Shout Factory 4K disc.⁹ (Which looks gorgeous, by the way.)

Killer Klowns From Outer Space is now streaming on Pluto TV, and it is available to rent elsewhere.

1. Unless you simply market the hell out of Critters 2: The Main Course, which is an Easter horror movie. (And a good one too.)

2. I chose to finally embrace my true self and bought a werewolf costume, complete with mask and gloves. It was very hot under that mask, but I looked cool as hell for the 30 seconds that I could keep it on for photos.

3. There is, however, a PS5 game that was released in 2024. If you have a PS5 and would like to let me come to your house to play the Killer Klowns From Outer Space game, I would like that very much.

4. A Killer Klowns remake miniseries was announced just this week! If this one sticks, it’ll be released by Amazon and produced by…Ryan Gosling? That dude is a real one. (Don’t forget that he recorded an album of spooky tunes 16 years ago.)

5. It doesn’t hurt that the film is PG-13 either. Maybe parents of younger viewers have been more likely to let their kids watch Killer Klowns From Outer Space than Alien or The Thing. Also, if I’m wrong and Stranger Things does pay tribute to this film, please let me know in the comments.

6. Is there a reason for this spelling beyond the consonant alliteration in the title? Are these space creatures called “klowns” to differentiate that they are aliens and thus a separate species from earth-bound clowns? This is not addressed in the film.

7. My take on the Terrifier series, which I watched all for the first time last fall: The films aren’t very good, but Art the Clown is a very good character. He’s iconic for a reason. There’s just too much fluff in the movies holding them back.

8. About a year ago, I was at a local filmmakers meet-up, and I met a younger guy wearing a Poison t-shirt. I got excited and told him “Hey, cool shirt, man! I saw Poison live three times when I was growing up.” He looked at me like I was an idiot and said “Oh, I don’t care about them at all.” He absolutely bodied me and I still haven’t recovered.

9. Don’t worry, I got it at a nice Black Friday discount. My physical media illness isn’t that bad.