Arts & Entertainment

Killer Klowns Invade Parx Casino

The filmmakers behind the sci-fi cult classic 'Killer Klowns from Outer Space' will present the flick Saturday night at Parx Casino, bringing the summer-long Awesome Fest to a close.

One night, back in the 1980s, filmmaker Stephen Chiodo was taking a night time drive in Los Angeles. A car began to pass him on the left, a simple act that sparked his imagination as he thought of possibilities for the identity of the driver.

"I just started thinking what would be the scariest thing to suddenly appear next to me," said Chiodo. "An image of a clown driving the car popped in my head. When I got home, I started riffing on the idea with my brothers."

That brainstorm session started a long process that would end up resulting in the low budget, science fiction cult classic Killer Klowns from Outer Space. With a $2 million production budget and a talent for makeup and set design, the brothers concocted a group of alien circus freaks scary enough to give just about anybody a case of coulrophobia.

As in the case with most cult movies, Killer Klowns from Outer Space had a short run in movie theaters in 1988 before getting discovered on VHS and basic cable viewings. The combination of science fiction chills and slapstick humor has made the movie a favorite among horror aficionados. The movie celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and has been re-released on Blu-Ray and DVD.

"People first discovered it on the USA Network," said Chiodo. "Then they got married and watched it on VHS with their kids. Now those kids are sharing it with their own kids. It's become a multi-generational tradition."

Chiodo and his brothers, Charles and Edward, will present the sci-fi cult classic at Parx Casino on Saturday, closing out AwesomeFest, the summer-long '80s movie extravaganza that screened classic flicks throughout the Philadelphia region. The brothers will participate in a Q&A as part of the event.

The Chiodo Brothers have spent their Hollywood careers as masters of puppetry and special effects. Their film and television credits include clay animation effects for The Simpsons, stop-motion scenes for the Will Ferrell holiday classic Elf, and puppet supervision for Team America: World Police.

"Matt Stone and Trey Parker brought us in after filming started to oversee the puppet production," said Chiodo. "They didn't want the puppet work to have too much finesse. They thought it would be funnier if the puppetry looked a little inept, bumping into each other, mouths not moving at the same time with the words, and they were right."

The Chiodo Brothers were brought up long before the era of computer generated images took over the vast majority of special effects. The digital images have helped create vast worlds in films such as Avatar and the Star Wars prequels, but Chiodo thinks they can never properly substitute the real thing.

"The computer effects make the movie look like a cool, high-end cartoon," says Chiodo. "It disconnects me from the movie. The fake rubber models will always be more real to me than the best CGI. They are tangible, they have a physical presence. The actors interact with them instead of a green screen."

AwesomeFest 2013 presents the 25th anniversary screening of Killer Klowns from Outer Space at Parx Casino, 2999 Street Rd., Bensalem on Saturday, Aug. 17 at 9 p.m. The Chiodo Brothers will be in attendance for a Q&A. Admission is free.


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