Monday, October 16, 2017

#15, #16 - Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988), The Sandman (2017)

Yep, you knew it was coming.  That "other" killer Clown movie, Killer Klowns From Outer Space.  I came down with the flu yesterday, and couldn't finish yesterday's review, so I have two movies to review today.  Since I feel like crap, let's just get to it, shall we?

Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988), aka KKFOS, begins tranquilly enough.  A young couple, Mike and his sweetheart, Debbie, are hanging out at Makeout Point, ahem, well, making out (what a coincidence!), when a meteor flashes by overhead, and crashes nearby.  Of course, instead of continuing to make out, Debbie just wants to go and see it.  Women!  Mike and Debbie drive out into the wilderness, and run into what appears to be a giant circus tent, out in the middle of the forest.  Not being too bright, Mike and Debbie head inside to see what the circus clowns are up to.  Inside the tent is a maze of brightly-colored corridors and weird scientific equipment, and Debbie (who is apparently smarter than Mike) finally comes to realize, they are inside the crash-landed meteor!  :-o  They try to exit the tent, only to be chased out by angry clowns, and that's just the first ten minutes of the movie.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a B-movie, but it's a B-movie with heart.  Acting is decent, with Grant Cramer (now mostly a producer) as Mike, Suzanne Snyder (Weird Science, Return of the Living Dead 2) as Debbie, and John Allen Nelson (who I don't know from adam), as Dave, the friendly cop, and Debbie's ex-boyfriend.  Yeah, there's a crazy love triangle in this movie, too!  John Vernon (Dirty Harry, Josey Wales, Animal House, now sadly deceased) plays a curmudgeonly old cop who absolutely refuses to believe that Killer Klowns are invading his town, no matter how much evidence starts to pile up.  Special effects are good, especially all the effects around the Killer Klowns.  No nudity, but there's almost a shower scene.  Keep a close eye out for the Shadow Puppet scene, featuring the best use of shadow puppets I have seen in a movie thus far.  I saw this movie on MPLEX, which I guess is a premium channel, so start looking there if you want to see it.  I have no idea what MPLEX stands for, though.  Multiplex?  Metroplex?  Man-Plex?  Who knows?  Checking Grant Cramer's acting history on IMDB.com, I also discovered that they are planning to make a KKFOS 2!  :-D  I've seen KKFOS about a dozen times, and I cannot wait for the sequel.

The Sandman (2017) gets you into the story right off.  Madison and her father are driving at night, and as a cop car approaches from behind, madison's dad pulls a revolver from the glove box.  The cop car speeds past, and the father relaxes.  Madison's dad breaks into a convenience store for food and supplies, but while he's gathering up items (and attempting to pay for them), it becomes obvious that he's not the only one in the store.  He investigates, only to find his daughter.  "Is he here?"  the dad asks, and Madison nods.  Obviously, they both know who "he" is.  The Sandman has come.

This is a Syfy movie of the week, but don't let that stop you from watching it.  It's actually pretty good.  Acting and special effects are about normal for a syfy flick, with Haylie Duff playing Claire and Tobin Bell playing Valentine, and those are about the only two actors I recognized.  I think maybe they got better writers, because this movie not only had a decent plot to it, but it seemed well written, and flowed along rather quickly.  My only problems with this movie are (spoilers) that I'm not sure why the Sandman actually went after madison's dad, or how Valentine was able to capture Madison at all.  If the Sandman can stop a brick that Madison didn't even see coming, why couldn't he stop a few sleep-darts?  Makes no sense.  (shrug)  Oh well, I guess those writers still aren't quite top-notch.

That's all for tonight.  I feel like poop, so enjoy the rest of your evening.  Til next time!

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