KILLJOY

 2000/18/72m

“He’s not clowning around!”

Director: Craig Ross / Writer: Carl Washington / Cast: Angel Vargas, Vera Yell, Lee Marks, D Austin, Jamal Grimes, William L. Johnson, Corey Hampton, Rano Goulant.

Body Count: 4

Laughter Lines: “That is why I’m here – to tell you all that you are in grave danger from the evil that calls itself…Killjoy!”

With a score of 2.4 on IMDb, this should really suck. In a lot of ways, it does, but I can at least say I wasn’t suicidally bored watching Killjoy – something that can’t be said for several other films I’ve endured recently.

Archetypal dork Michael (Grimes) loves Jada (Yell), but gets beaten up by her violent ex-boyfriend Lorenzo (Johnson) at every available opportunity. He tries to summon Killjoy, a sub-Beetlejuice murderous clown, to exact revenge, but is kidnapped and shot dead by Lorenzo and his homeys beforehand.

Soon after, each member of the gang is coerced by Killjoy in his ice-cream van, which serves as a portal to a nether realm where he imprisons them. Think Freddy in the Hood.

The ghost of a random homeless guy appears to Jada’s friend Monique and tells her that only Jada can defeat Killjoy by breaking Michael’s heart and destroying the doll. But Killjoy won’t go that easily.

Highlights include:

• (without validation) “We should split up.” / “What?” / “It’s the only way!”
• A booming off-camera voice from the sky to remind Jada about the doll (but sounds like the actor is stood beside the cameraman).
• Monique, upon realising that Killjoy is undefeated and has minions to do his bidding, says “oh no” as if she’s broken a nail.
• Watch the eyebrows of ‘the girlfriend’ in the scene at the club near the end.

Dreadful in almost every way, but kinda funny at times, and at least Vargas really throws his all into the title role.