HALLOWEEN BLOGATHON 2010, HOUR 10
Klown Kamp Massacre
Written by David C. Valdez & Philip H.R. Gunn
Now, everyone who knows me knows that I love clowns. Primarily evil clowns. The eviler the better. Killer Klowns from Outer Space has long been a favorite of mine, for its bizarre blend of grotesque circus imagery, horror movie mayhem, and sick dark humor. When I saw Klown Kamp Massacre on Amazon Video On Demand, I had high hopes--if not expectations. I dropped a couple bones for this digital rental on the off chance that this was a slasher version of KKFOS.
Was it? Not exactly...
Back in 1995, young Edwin ventured off to the Bonzo Ranch in order to master the ways of the clown. It may have started off sweet, but things quickly went sour as Edwin lost his marbles and massacred his classmates. Flash forward 15 years or so, and the camp--long since out of business--is reopening its doors to welcome a whole new class. It's just too bad that they didn't listen to the crazy local yokel who warned them that the place had a death curse, and they were all going to die.
There are some violent and imgainative death scenes on display here that often times evoke old Warner Brothers cartoons by way of early Peter Jackson, like the old dynamite in the cream pie trick. This movie is obviously not meant to be taken seriously, and I'm okay with that. I enjoyed many of the spoofy slasher film references scattered throughout the running time. I just wish that the humor didn't so often go for the easy, low-brow laugh. Toilet humor and masturbation jokes have their place, but that place certainly doesn't pop up every minute or so.
The acting is stiff and amateur, the dialogue is often-poor and immature, and the storyline is all-too familiar...albeit we've never seen it acted out by clowns before. Less Killer Klowns from Outer Space and more Insane Clown Posse, this indie flick is a lot like the aforementioned rap group in a lot of respects. It has its moments of fun, but is too crude and too easy not to be outmatched when weighed against its peers. Sophmoric humor wears thin relatively quick.
Lame duck as it was, I'm not going to lie: I was entertained for most of its length, and Klown Kamp Massacre was worth the $1.99.
2010
Not Rated
84 Minutes
Color
English
United States
--J/Metro
