There aren‘t many “black” horror films when compared to the insane amount of horror films that exist, and aside from Candyman, the “black horror villain icon” list is pretty bare. There is of course Blacula, Blackenstein and even Abby or that vampire in Brooklyn, but these are all just copies of other icons. I think that’s why Killjoy has a special place in my heart, even though the character was whitewashed in the sequels.
The film starts with Michael, a shy fellow who is in love with Jada. The problem is that Jada is in a relationship with a gangster, Lorenzo, who ends up killing Michael. Before Michael got murdered for being a “buster,” he had tried to summon a vengeful spirit, a clown called Killjoy. A year later, Jada and Lorenzo have broken up but she still loves him. Jamal, a new guy in love with her, should get the hint and move on but he moves forward with a relationship with Jada.
Unknown to any of them, Killjoy has arrived.
Killjoy is a mixture of Freddy Krueger and Pennywise, but in the hood. There is also as bit of Gene Simmons and Chris Tucker mixed in for good measure. Unlike Freddy, he doesn’t have to wait for his victims to fall asleep, he can transport them into a dreamscape where he makes the rules. Like Freddy, he likes to make puns but does so often to hint what is going to happen rather than after the fact. Like when he tells a gangster to “shut the fuck up before I smoke your punk ass” and then the gangster goes up in smokes.
Killjoy is a solid horror villain. His design is top notch, and well executed even though the film was probably made for a five-dollar bill and a bunch of wooden nickels. Angel Vargas portrays him and does a bang up job. He did not partake in the first sequel. IMDb says he wanted to do other projects (no idea what they could have been) and he was replaced by a white guy in all the future sequels.
The sequels aren’t really sequels, though. The first one, maybe, but the others suffered from a level of Flanderization that only Charles Band can achieve.
“Killjoy” is in no way, shape, or form, a good film when it comes to production, but that is a reason why it’s so charming. It has a fantastic feel of what I call earnest inaptitude. The filmmakers don’t really know what they are doing but they are trying their best to make all the tropes fit in where they think they should.
Take for an example a hobo character who looks knowingly at Michael at the start of the film. When the film is about midway through, he returns to tell the surviving characters what’s going on. He does that by explaining the first half of the film with scenes from the film. To add mysticism, he vanishes into thin air. This all makes sense but not the way it’s done. That scene for example is usually reserved for the beginning of the sequel.
The film is shot on a handheld camera, and some scenes can be a little overwhelming as the camera moves back and forth like a boat on stormy waters. The camera operator didn’t quite know what looks good, but he tried and it shows. Some scenes are shot with good composition from interesting angles.
“Killjoy” is a super-low-budget film but it’s very entertaining and earnest filmmaking. It should be a cult classic, and Killjoy should make a return. Just not in the Killjoy vs Gingerdead Man/Evil Bong/Puppet Master scenario which I’m sure Charles Band is working on.
