Hey there, horror fans! It is time for another edition of Horror With a Side of Cheese. I am searching for the cheesiest genre films ever created. The journey takes me across subgenres, throughout time and across the world. Twice every month, on the first and third Fridays, I come here and talk about my latest finds. The chosen media gets a rating between one and five cheese slices. Multiple factors go into the rating, such as story, acting, dialogue, effects and re-watchability. In this edition, I present the 2000 movie, Killjoy. Stick around to see how many cheese slices I am giving this one.
About Killjoy
In this campy horror film, a clown doll is brought to life through the use of dark magic. Naturally, the now-live doll is evil and bent on killing. Specifically, Killjoy is seeking revenge against those responsible for the death of his owner, and he will stop at nothing to take their lives in return. Can the trio survive against the clown doll? It is going to take everything they have at their disposal.
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This movie stars Ángel Vargas, Vera Yell, Lee Marks, Kareem J. Grimes, William L. Johnson and Dee Dee Austin. Craig Ross Jr. directed the film, and Carl Washington wrote the story. It is rated R and runs for one hour and 22 minutes.
Killjoy has no Tomatometer Score and a 27 percent Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. It also has a score of 2.7/10 on IMDb.
Fun facts: Despite its cheesy nature, this film spawned four sequels. Additionally, it is referenced in several other Full Moon projects.
My Thoughts
I have seen almost every movie ever made starring a clown as the “bad guy.” Oddly, I don’t actually like the trope. There are alarmingly few that I enjoyed. With that said, this one is a wild ride. Over the years, there have been many different versions of the evil clown trope. IT and Terrifier gave viewers a demon, Killer Klowns from Outer Space provided aliens, and Clown shows a human transforming. The list goes on. Killjoy gives viewers a slightly different take; the titular character begins existence as a doll and is forcefully brought to life to avenge its owner.
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The story is easily the best part of this movie. It is unique in many ways when compared to other similar films. Full Moon Features love to utilize toys for their villains. In that regard, it shares similarities to Puppet Master and Demonic Toys. Outside of Full Moon movies, it could be said that the title character is somewhat similar to Pennywise from IT. Beyond these slight ties, the story holds its own against other versions of the trope.
On to the effects. Simply put, the special effects features in Killjoy align with all of Full Moon’s projects. If you have seen any of the others, you understand what I am talking about. If you have not seen any of their movies, do it asap. In general, the films are cheesy and campy. They bring some level of gore and are enjoyable. Are they the highest quality thing you will see? Realistically, no. More often than not, the effects will leave you laughing or wondering what just happened. However, if you like cheesy spooky goodness, check out this production company. Thank me later.
As to the acting, again, it is on par with other films from this company. I will reiterate; if you enjoy a good cheesy movie, you will love Killjoy. Everything is over the top and at a perfect level of ridiculousness. I will say that some of the actors go above the usual cheesiness and give an impressive showing.
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The dialogue is incredibly cheesy. Much of what comes out of that painted mouth is too inappropriate to list here. There are female characters, and the living doll has no filter. Use your imagination. One I can mention is, “You can’t kill me. I’m already dead!” In another instance, Killjoy tells the humans to shut up before “I smoke yo punk ass.”
Finally, re-watchability. I admit to already having watched this one more than once. It will never be on my regular rotation, but occasionally, it is fun to pull off the shelf and revisit. Overall, I am giving this movie three cheese slices.
We have come to the end of another edition of Horror With a Side of Cheese. Have you seen this one? Let me know in the comments! If you want to check out Killjoy, it is streaming free on Prime Video and Tubi. In the meantime, check out the trailer below. Until next time, stay cheesy, stay spooky, and above all, watch more horror movies.
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/movie-review-pennywise-the-story-of-it/
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