Killjoy (2000 film)


Killjoy is a 2000 American slasher film directed by Craig Ross, starring Ángel Vargas. It follows a young man who’s murdered and seeks revenge through a killer demon clown named Killjoy. It is the first entry in the Killjoy franchise.

Plot

Two young women, Monique and Jada, are talking when Michael, a nerdy kid walking home from school, encounters them. Jada is friends with Michael and asks her out but is rejected because Jada is with gangster, Lorenzo. Lorenzo, coincidentally, drives by with buddies T-Bone and Baby Boy in the car and sees Michael talking to Jada. They stop an beat up Michael while a homeless man watches on silently from an alley. That night, Michael, tries to bring to life a doll he calls Killjoy, but seemingly, it doesn’t work. He’s abducted by Lorenzo, T-Bone and Baby Boy and brought to a secluded area where he’s “accidentally” shot. They leave his body.
One year later: Jada is now seeing Jamal but is still dealing with her feelings for Lorenzo and Michael. Lorenzo is partying with T-Bone and Baby Boy and leaves to meet Kahara his new girlfriend. T-Bone and Baby Boy encounter an Ice Cream Truck with a clown inside who claims he sells drugs. Inviting them inside, Killjoy transports them to his lair, an abandoned warehouse. Baby Boy is rammed into the wall by the ice-cream truck, killing him. T-Bone finds a lit blunt and smokes it when he bursts into flames and disappears. Their battered and burned corpses are shown together in Killjoy’s lair. Meanwhile, at Kahara‘s apartment, Lorenzo investigates a noise at the door and sees a figure running off. He finds the ice-cream truck parked outside and Killjoy pulls him inside and into his lair. He shoots Killjoy over a dozen times, but Killjoy sucks up the bullets and shoots them out of his mouth, killing Lorenzo.
Meanwhile, Jada and Jamal are called to Monique’s apartment for an emergency. Once there, they find Monique with the homeless man from earlier who brings Jada up to speed on Michael and the gang members‘ fate and the origins of Killjoy who was brought to life by Michael’s desire for revenge. Killjoy merged with Michael’s spirit in order to gain more power, which he gets by killing. He also tells them that Killjoy can be destroyed by Jada, because the love of a young woman can destroy the evil in the heart. Before leaving, he tells them that they have to kill the doll the spirit came from, and the ice cream truck is conveniently, outside. He then vanishes in front of them.
They go to the truck and are pulled into Killjoy’s warehouse, where they’re confronted by undead versions of T-Bone, Baby Boy, and Lorenzo, who are now Killjoy's accomplices. The trios start fighting and Monique, Jada and Jamal are able to kill the henchmen again, their bodies disintegrating. Killjoy comes out, knocking out Jamal and Monique. He asks Jada for a kiss, which Jada agrees to, under one condition: that he will leave her world and never come back. But instead of disappearing, Killjoy transforms into Michael. Michael tells Jada that he did it all for her. Jada stabs Michael, who fades away.
Jamal, Jada, and Monique are about to leave when Killjoy, Lorenzo, T-Bone, and Baby Boy appear behind them. The trio frantically run back into the ice-cream truck and end up in Michael's house with the Killjoy doll on the floor, in a circle of candles. The doll turns into Michael, who constantly begs her for forgiveness, but Jada stabs him and he turns back into the doll. A portal opens outside and Baby Boy, T-Bone, and Lorenzo's souls are sucked in. The trio then watch as Killjoy vaporizes Michael and are sent back to Jada's room, where the homeless man thanks them and vanishes again. The trio go out to eat where they are confronted by Ray Jackson, and Tamara, both from Jada's English class. Ray says that he gained access to the club for free because his brother owns the place. When they ask his brother’s name he says Killjoy, laughs maniacally, then he and Tamara turn into Lorenzo and Killjoy, respectively, while Jada screams. She wakes up next to Jamal, revealing it to be a nightmare. The film ends with Jamal going under the covers seductively and popping out from under them as Killjoy.

Cast

The film was first released on DVD by Full Moon Home Video in November 2000, then again in 2001. It was also released by Film 2000 on Mar 12, 2001 on DVD. In 2005 it was included in a 4-DVD Collection titled Casket of Death and featuring 4 Full Moon films: The Horrible Doctor Bones, Witchouse, Killjoy, and Vampire Journals. Then between 2012-2017, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment included the film in at least 10 film collections, either being included with other B-Movie psycho killers or other Full Moon properties. For example, on August 7, 2012 the Killjoy trilogy was paired with the Scarecrow trilogy and then on November 6, 2012, paired with 9 of the Puppet Master films in a 12-film collection. The distributor rereleased the collection in 2017.

Reception

Reception to the film has been generally mixed. HorrorNews.net gave the film a mixed review, criticizing the film's low-budget set location as "less than desired", and the effectiveness of the title villain, stating: "while somewhat effective as a reoccurring lesser horror icon-style entity, does in fact come across as poor man’s Wishmaster", although asserting that fans of low-budget horror films will likely find it enjoyable.
Chris Summerfield from Scared Stiff Reviews.com awarded the film a negative score of 4.5 out of 10, criticizing the flatness of several of the film's characters, confusing plot points, and lack of scares.
The YouTube channel “brutalmoose” uploaded a video review of the film, ultimately recommending it to their viewers despite its flaws. While the majority of the video consists of the reviewers analyzing the film’s plot for cohesiveness and pointing out the many inconsistencies they argue that the low budget and the progressively confusing script gives it a “so bad, it’s good” quality with one reviewer even admitting to having watched it twice. They also point out the film’s 4 sequels over a nearly 20 year span as evidence of having sustained a fan base of some sort.
DVDbeaver.com made several positive points, despite acknowledging the film’s low budget and resulting technical flaws, saying “It’s watchable and interesting enough”. They also commented on how this film could be seen as a response to Candyman—the contrast being this film featuring “Black characters confronting an urban legend without the need of a white audience identification figure”.

Franchise

The film’s sequel, was released in 2002. A second sequel, Killjoy 3 was released in 2010, followed by Killjoy Goes to Hell in 2012, and Killjoy's Psycho Circus in 2016.