Killjoy is a 2000 horror slasher film directed by Craig Ross, starring Angel Vargas, Vera Yell, Lee Marks, D. Austin, and Jamal Grimes. It follows a young man named Michael who’s murdered and seeks revenge by summoning the killer demon clown named Killjoy.
There is a story to be told and I do like seeing these different demonic clown films. Of course, we have films like It (1990) and Killer Klownz from Outer Space (1988), that set the standard for these kinds of films. And this film had a lot of potential. It’s not particularly fleshed out. Saying the plot is muddled is putting it mildly. Killjoy is summoned for what? Revenge? Then why is it tormenting the other characters when they had nothing to do with the events of the film. The way the story is setup is like a skit on YouTube, but just longer. It’s not long and pacing is decent. The ending of course is complete garbage.
Most of the characters are so unlikable, bland, uninteresting, and less than one dimensional. Perhaps if the story took the time to flesh them out, we’d probably connect with them better. Jada could’ve been a more interesting character had she’d been more fleshed out. We didn’t get to see her relationship with gangster Lorenzo. We didn’t get to see her relationship with Michael nor the emotional fallout of his death. And the character of Killjoy is a trip and not in a good way. He cracks bad jokes and doesn’t seem threatening in the least.
Overall, what could’ve been something truly awesome is reduced to garbage. (1 out of 5)
The movie is decent in term of its special effects. Honestly, the make-up effects are barely good enough to be called decent. Look, at the Killjoy character design. For one thing, what clown looks like him. He looks more like a jester than a clown. The hair is stupid, and the costume is just dumb and looks like it was purchased at a Halloween store. The kill sequences are alright, the setting is poor, and the special effects are hot garbage. There could’ve been better locations for the film to take place.
The score isn’t anything to run home about. In fact, it feels generic. And it’s a shame given the talent behind the music. Richard Kosinski has contributed to some of the biggest names in music and honestly, I don’t see it.
Overall aesthetic is what you’d expect from such a low budget but that’s no excuse if it was used effectively. (1 out of 5)
Poor performances by the main and supporting cast. Alright performance by Angel Vargas as Killjoy although there are many moments where the guy is reaching. The main cast includes Vera Yell (Jada), Lee Marks (Jamal), and D Austin (Monique). The supporting cast includes Jamal Grimes (Michael), Corey Hampton (T-Bone), Rani Goulant (Baby Boy), Napiera Groves (Kahara), William L. Johnson (Lorenzo), Dionne Rochelle (Tamara), and Carl Washington (Ray Jackson). One of the biggest problems of the film is the fact that the performances are lackluster.
The writing and direction is just garbage. Craig Ross directed this mess of a movie I can see why his career hadn’t taken off. Yeah, he’s directed other movies and tv episodes but nothing anything big from what I can tell. The dialogue is absolutely terrible and no matter how its delivered is just garbage. Most of Killjoy’s jokes are corny not clever, stupid not witty, and just straight up trashy. There is a series lack of exposition on any of the characters providing no backstory, no information on any of their relationships, and there is definitely a lack of character development. What is the mythology of Killjoy? Where did he come from? What is his purpose? What is his relationship with Michael? All of the questions that should’ve been answered (or at least addressed) are not asked.
Overall, there’s so much that I could complain about, but we’ll just let it rest. (1 out of 5)
The Verdict: In the end, Killjoy is one of those film that just sucks. Maybe it could’ve worked with a better writer, better actors, and a bigger budget. But as it stands this is one of the absolute worst movies. The acting is bad, the characters are poorly written, the writing is terrible, special effects garbage, just a complete mess of a movie. Killjoy gets 1 out of 5. If the score could go lower, then it would.
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