Terrifier

Yes there is almost no plot and it's very nihilistic and gratuitous, but it makes up for that with a truly creepy villain and some very well done and incredibly brutal gore effects.

The acting is perfectly fine. Nothing amazing, but it's perfectly acceptable. A lot better than you usually get in a low budget horror these days.

This isn't a movie that's going to revolutionize the genre, but it's a fun throwback to the good old days of unstoppable silent killers terrorizing people for arbitrary reasons.

Terrifier is completely comfortable with how gross and provocative it is. The 85 minute run time is the only nice thing about it in an extremely gory film that has some unforgettable kills and spends the majority of its time moving from victim to victim with no filler. It's a film of two halves where the first part contains all the best bits and takes some huge swings that the second half just can't live up to.

Jenna Kanell is by far the best out of all the speaking performers here. She's the person with the best fight or flight and the film's at its most investing when it's focusing on her survival. With his distinct look and committed performance, David Howard as Art the Clown is the main selling point and he's as funny as he is scary. He brings a lot of personality to Art, showing how much he's enjoying himself without any words.

Damien Leone's direction works with the noticeably low budget which adds a fair amount of charm. It's at its strongest when putting the unforgiving kills front and centre, even if it's very obvious that it's not being fair with its victims. Paul Wiley's score is a satisfyingly sinister presence which is a natural fit for a film rife with dirty sets, tacky gore and supporting performances that are knowingly bad.

Here is a film that will induce a big frown, as a marauding psycho wanders around town, with oversized boots and a dark crooked smile, a bag full of tools to remove and restyle, expresses emotions with gesture and mime, will take all you've got when you've just reached your prime, no mercy or pity, as you beg and you plead, feasting on all features, as you drain and you bleed.

If inflicting and unleashing violence and pain on another individual utilising a range of tools is your thing then step on in and enjoy the disturbing world of Art the Clown as he carves his way through several torsos while teaching Takashi Miike and the butchery trade a thing or two about carcass dissection.

Art the Clown started back in 2011 with a short movie by the same name, truth be told I didn't like it. The creator Damien Leone would keep Art around in his feature film All Hallows' Eve (2013) but as a small role.

Now here we are and Art has his own movie, but is it any good? Honestly, not really but it's better than his last solo outing.

It follows the standard slasher formula and sees a couple of girls on Halloween night come under attack from a psychotic clown.

So again this is generic stuff, it embraces all the usual tropes and though not predictable certainly has no surprises. It's also pretty ugly and oddly paced throughout.

What Terrifier does have however is sheer unadulterated brutality. This is gory nasty no holds barred merciless stuff, I was quite shocked actually. Considering the budget they make all of it look really good, so kudos to the sfx department.

I love clowns as antagonists but Art doesn't seem to tick enough boxes for me. He's less of a clown and more of a mime and doesn't seem to be an interesting enough character to carry his own film.

Passable stuff but by this time next week I'll have forgotten it.

The Good:

Impressively grisly visuals

Jenna Kanell

Unpredictable

The Bad:

Doesn't exactly flow

Poor cinematography

I didn't hold out much hope for this movie. Was expecting the usual bad acting and shoddy plot. However I was mildly surprised. If you like gore, a little bit of nudity and a killer clown that kind off pulls of crazy without saying a word then this could be for you. Don't expect a Spielberg plot though.

Better than the wonky cam, let's run through the woods movies.