what a tagline!

And now... the often referenced, but never featured... Killer Klowns from Outer Space! Note the cool balloony serif font in the "from Outer Space" part on the title screen (if you're watching it). I'll give you more facts than you ever needed to know on this movie as we venture through the Chiodo Brothers classic from years past. Fact one: 1:55 into the film we see Christopher Titus in his first ever on-screen role as the guy on a beer run who hates cops. Also, original title music comes from none other than punk rock cover-ers The Dickies.

We meet many characters in the first few minutes:
Officer Curtis Mooney- The collegetown cop who hates college students
Rich and Paul Terenzi- The zany comic relief brothers who rented an ice cream truck for the night to pick up chicks
Mike Tobacco- Our leading man of courage.
Debbie Stone- Our leading lady.

Mike and Debbie are making out in a raft in the back of a Jeep. I think by now you've realized-- this is a GREAT ride. It should be noted early, if you want to give the Chiodos some credit, they did some puppeteering in Team America, World Police. I think that's pretty good for starting off with this little number. Back to the making out though... as the love birds look into the sky they see a shooting star land not too far away. Debbie suggests they investigate, but Mike, like any good college man, would rather stay behind and get busy in the raft in the jeep. And, again, like any good college woman, Debbie wins.

We also meet a farmer who has a dog named Pooh Bear. We like the dog because we love all of God's creatures, except the dim-witted farmer who is lush with framer cliches. The farmer hopes to retrieve part of Haley's Comet when he walks to the crash site, but he soon changes to hopes of free passes when he sees a circus tent. After attempts to get into the tent, he is visibly frustrated. When Pooh Bear yelps, the farmer turns to find no dog. Immediately we know that these klowns mean business. We also get one of the more priceless lines in the movie: "Where's my dog? Where's my Pooh Bear?! I'll tear this thing apart with my bare hands!!" Of course, when his hands touch the ship he's electrocuted. Enter clown, who shoots the farmer... but with what?

Next, Mooney delivers the first curse word of the movie (PG-13) "shit." We also meet Dave Hanson, the "good cop" who plays a bigger role later. His introductory scene makes him a strong upstanding man of right and might.

Back in the woods we find Debbie and Mike. Debbie delivers memorable line #2 after a lame impression from Mike: "Lead the way Chief Running at the Mouth." The duo come up against a circus tent. We are posed the question, "What's a circus doing all the way out here?" Mike pressures Debbie into joining him to investigate the tent.

While inside the tent they find out that it is a spaceship that is powered by a mysterious source in the tent. They are surprised. I think we all are, right? When they go to hide from a wandering clown, they end up in a big room where they had hanging cotton candy cocoons that hold the bodies of dead human beings. When Mike calls out "Joe Lombardo!" The klowns get privy to the intruders and attack with the popcorn shooting gun-- explained in the dialogue-- "Popcorn! Why popcorn?!" "Because they're klowns!"

The two escape by the skin of their teeth (with some popcorn all over them) and decide it would be best if they spoke to the local law enforcement. Debbie knows a guy on the police force and he'll surely take care of them... right? Mike is a bit skeptical, as he knows they will sound crazy, but again, the ladies always win the arguments. As they drive away from the circus tent, the klowns follow close behind.

Sure enough, Mike was right. Of course, Dave, our hero cop, wants to hear them out, because he knows Debbie. Then again, we find out that Debbie and Dave used to be an item. Not anymore though. Mike's not too excited at that, but Dave humors the kids and goes to scope things out. Mooney calls out to them, "You won't make a dummy out of me!" And the award for best use of foreshadowing goes to...

In case we don't recognize the klowns as a legitimate threat, we do see them in a park puppet show where a guy watches. He laughs at it far more than any normal guy would, so we don't feel awful when he's shot into a cotton candy cocoon. And on Main Street we have the local drug store getting ravaged by klowns

Meanwhile, in the police car, Dave decided that Debbie should be taken home for safe-keeping. When Dave and Mike head up to the woods, there's no tent. Mike is promptly arrested for filing a false report. This is no good at all-- how can they not believe there is an epidemic of killer klowns?

As the plot progresses, we get scenes spliced in with the klowns killing. The most humorous of these involves a biker bar, where one of the klowns gets into an altercation with a group of motorcyclists. The biker breaks the klown's bike and mockingly shows concern. When the klown proposes a boxing match, the biker, in jest, asks, "What're you gonna do? Knock my block off?" The klown delivers an uppercut that leaves the biker's head in a trash can a few feet away. The bikers scatter like roaches in light.

Part 2 Part 3