At the grand re-opening of Klown Kamp at Camp Sparking Lake — long "closed due to death curse" — many a wannabe clown meets his maker in a grisly manner, such as a seltzer bottle full of face-melting acid. Naturally, the debut film from the directorial team of Daniel Valdez and Philip Gunn is primarily a parody of "Friday the 13th," but also "Full Metal Jacket," MTV's "Punk'd," '70s kung-fu films with baffling subtitles and — most deserving of all the skewering — Insane Clown Posse videos.
In Valdez/Gunn's whacked-out world, everybody's a literal clown in full face makeup (except for the ape in pajamas; equipped with whistle and clipboard, he works at the camp). Even the TV programming across all channels is all clowns, all the time, from political pundits to Spanish telenovelas.
Lunacy reigns — and so does the juvenile, of course. Like, it's kind of funny that when clowns play with themselves, you hear the beeping of handheld horns. Well, at least I found it funny; if you didn't, don't bother, because that's as good a litmus test as any. The guys use their absurd sense of humor (like the Nightcrawler-esque magician BAMFing his way in and out of the mayhem) to make up for budgetary shortcuts, although "KKM" looks better-funded than some Troma efforts, such as the also-new-to-DVD "Jessicka Rabid."
Stick through the credits to see Troma honcho Lloyd Kaufman doing a dance and a stinger of a reality show commercial. The extras are rife with Tromatic trailers (I really need to see this "Poultrygeist," I guess), "KKM" webisodes and Valdez/Gunn's early films, one of which touts a promise of "maximum nudity." Don't get too excited; the body tattoos ruined it for me. —Rod Lott
