#Why Syfy’s Killer Klowns from Outer Space Movie Didn’t Happen According to Stephen Chiodo

There have been rumours floating around for years regarding a planned sequel to the Chiodo brothers’ (Stephen, Charles & Edward) classic horror comedy Killer Klowns from Outer Space first released in 1988. There were talks of a 2012 release and even a TV series based on the Klowns but it soon became apparent that this wasn’t going to happen and many gave up on the idea all together.

However, hope seemed to be restored in 2018 when it was announced that SYFY was gearing up to licence the rights to make new feature films based on Killer Klowns from Outer Space and fellow 80’s cult horror comedy Stephen Herek’s Critters (1986).
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Since then, there has been a Critters reboot entitled Critters Attack! which was unleashed onto the public in 2019 to mixed reviews, but still no sign of the long awaited Killer Klowns sequel. Recently, Stephen Chiodo was featured on the Slasher Radio podcast and spoke about what has happened to these plans. When talking about the SYFY deal and the proposed sequel, he expressed little interest in working with the company, believing that it under values the Killer Klowns as a property.

“There was a deal… MGM controls the rights… and they went to SYFY. They did Critters, and you saw what that turned out to be like. But they wanted to do Klowns for like two million [dollars]. And we don’t want to do that… we did it for two million back in the ’80s. So we didn’t want to do it. And even MGM didn’t want to do it… they said it was a more valuable property than just signing off for that little money.”

The brothers clearly have a plethora of creative ideas as to where they could take the franchisee but, as it stands, are still shopping the product around.

“We have this whole long trilogy – something we call a trilogy in four parts because we include the original – a TV series for cable [or] streaming. And it follows the adventures of all the characters as they go through their lives, crushed after the first invasion. It would make a great mini-series. So we’re constantly selling that for people who are interested.”

The original movie tells the story of a group of psychotic aliens who appear to have taken the form of circus clowns. They land in a small town on Earth and attempt to capture and murder the humans to harvest for food. It is the only film to be written and directed by the Chiodo Brothers, who normally act as special effects artists and have helped out behind the scenes in films including Critters, Ernest Scared Stupid, and Team America: World Police.

Their special effects work on Killer Klowns from outer Space which involves a number of practical effects, including rubber suits and extravagant makeup, was praised by critics and, despite not being a huge hit at the box office, the film as since gone on to be considered a cult classic. However, Stephen feels that it is this lack of a huge box office return which is to blame for the development hell the proposed sequel has been in.

“…And we have been trying to get the sequel going since 1988. And Hollywood is just a horrible machine. The film didn’t really get much box office… and when you want to get a sequel done, they look at the box office. They don’t regard cult films as something to invest in.”

It looks as if, for the time being, fans will just have to be patient and hope for the best regarding what was once titled The Return of the Killer Klowns from Outer Space in 3D. In the meantime you can revisit the original on DVD or rent it from Amazon Prime. This news comes from slasherradio.com.

Topics: Killer Klowns 2, Killer Klowns from Outer Space